As we enter 2024, Monday State of Mind is undergoing a transformation right alongside you, our cherished listeners. Picture this: Instead of clinging to structured themes, we're leaning into the fluidity of life with spontaneous, timely discussions that resonate with your daily experiences. As your host, Michael Maassel, I'm electrified to share our evolved podcast landscape, where we'll traverse the intricate weave of thoughts and emotions together. Reflecting on the richness of our 129-episode journey, it's clear that we've constructed a foundation, a treasury of wisdom, that we'll continue to build upon. This season is about embracing the ebb and flow of self-care and personal development, recognizing that while the quest for perfection is elusive, the path to nurturing our growth is unending.
Ready to be part of a community dedicated to crafting the finest version of themselves? Join us as we delve into the heart of what makes us tick. I extend a heartfelt 'thank you' for your unwavering support and am humbled by the opportunity to continue this journey with you. And as we march forward, let's remember to lean on each other and on invaluable resources like the Harmony Foundation when the going gets tough. Better humans aren't built in isolation—it takes a village and a family, and that's what we are here at Monday State of Mind.
For over 50 years, Harmony Foundation has worked as a nonprofit to serve those seeking recovery from substance addictions. Our residential and intensive outpatient programs are in a collaborative and respectful treatment environment with multiple specialty tracks offering additional support. Our main campus is nestled on a 43-acre campus in the Rocky Mountains just outside of Estes Park, Colorado, that promotes physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. With one of the most robust alumni programs in the county, clients remain connected and empowered for a lifelong journey of recovery.
For more information about Harmony Foundation, please visit:
www.harmonyfoundationinc.com
As we enter 2024, Monday State of Mind is undergoing a transformation right alongside you, our cherished listeners. Picture this: Instead of clinging to structured themes, we're leaning into the fluidity of life with spontaneous, timely discussions that resonate with your daily experiences. As your host, Michael Maassel, I'm electrified to share our evolved podcast landscape, where we'll traverse the intricate weave of thoughts and emotions together. Reflecting on the richness of our 129-episode journey, it's clear that we've constructed a foundation, a treasury of wisdom, that we'll continue to build upon. This season is about embracing the ebb and flow of self-care and personal development, recognizing that while the quest for perfection is elusive, the path to nurturing our growth is unending.
Ready to be part of a community dedicated to crafting the finest version of themselves? Join us as we delve into the heart of what makes us tick. I extend a heartfelt 'thank you' for your unwavering support and am humbled by the opportunity to continue this journey with you. And as we march forward, let's remember to lean on each other and on invaluable resources like the Harmony Foundation when the going gets tough. Better humans aren't built in isolation—it takes a village and a family, and that's what we are here at Monday State of Mind.
For over 50 years, Harmony Foundation has worked as a nonprofit to serve those seeking recovery from substance addictions. Our residential and intensive outpatient programs are in a collaborative and respectful treatment environment with multiple specialty tracks offering additional support. Our main campus is nestled on a 43-acre campus in the Rocky Mountains just outside of Estes Park, Colorado, that promotes physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. With one of the most robust alumni programs in the county, clients remain connected and empowered for a lifelong journey of recovery.
For more information about Harmony Foundation, please visit:
www.harmonyfoundationinc.com
Hey, hey, welcome to season three. That's right, listeners, season three of Monday State of Mind, brought to you by Harmony Foundation. My name is Michael Mazel and I am your host. I am happy to be at 2024. Season three of Monday State of Mind is in the house. I am so excited. Happy January.
Speaker 1:I hope all of you had a wonderful end of the year. I hope all of you celebrated the end of 2023 in a way that brought you insane amounts of joy, because it is all about doing what brings us joy, even if it's not meeting the norms of celebrating with family. Maybe you just did whatever you wanted to do and now you're kicking off this year like I did what I needed to do for me, and if you didn't do those things, maybe you let that plant to seed for how you choose to show up this year for the holidays. So you heard me. I'll say it again season three is in the house and I'm so excited about this because Christy and I, and all of you who have listened to my podcast before you know who Christy is. She is my right hand woman behind the scenes doing all the editing, all the promoting, doing all the titling. She is just I don't know what I would do without her. I mean, she's my right hand woman, so of course I talked to her about what's going on on the podcast and we are choosing to shake it up a bit. I've been feeling it for a while and I was just like listen. We have recorded so many months of themes and they have served a beautiful purpose. We have recorded 129 episodes from Monday State of Mind, and that is a lot of themes monthly that I brought amazing humans on to talk about and brought multiple humans in to talk about each theme so that all of you could build a connection with whoever it was that was talking about the theme that really resonated with you. For you, I have built a resource library of connection. A massive, extensive library exists for Monday State of Mind, for resources, for tips and tricks, and it is so beautiful, it's just straight beautiful.
Speaker 1:And I am choosing to close that chapter of the month to month theme and I'm opening a new one, because if there's one thing I know to be true is that changes the only constant, and so let's switch it up, let's do it so I'm choosing to come from a more present, live approach. Instead of planning months and months of themes. I'm going to go more real time with all of you with what is happening presently that I really feel I want to share about. I want to talk about that I believe is going to add value to your life, or whoever it is that I come into contact with that. I'm like man, I need to get you on the podcast because I believe that you'll add value. Yes, of course, we are still going to launch every single Monday, but it's not going to be themed based. I find that so exciting so that it keeps all of you even more on your toes. And again, we're just going to be talking about real time things that are happening, whether it's in my life, whether it's in people that I come into context lives, the state of the world. This guy's the limit. There is no limit here on Monday state of mind. So buckle up, baby, you are in for a treat this next year.
Speaker 1:As we, I'm just going to say we're going to go rogue, right, we're going rogue. We're not going to go into the constructs of planning and being organized. I want to keep it so present and so real. So here we go. How are we kicking this off? We're going to kick it off with a little something, something that I want you to think about as you go into 2024.
Speaker 1:So many of you and even I will say I do too to some degree look at a new year is like a new year. I want to do things differently. A lot of us find energy around a new year, new habits, and then there's some of you that find energy to shake it up at any time, at any moment, and I do that too. I also think that there's always something to be said about choosing to just really embrace January, embrace the new year, reset our mind a little bit, get a good mantra, get something to just get us pumped about a whole new calendar year. I'm gonna post some questions for you guys to think about as you grow into 2024.
Speaker 1:Number one think about building habits that really help you as you go into 2024, what are some habits that you have been just dying to implement, but you've been too scared. You're like I don't have the time. I don't wanna drop what I'm doing currently or rearrange my routine, but you're stuck and you sit there on some nights and wonder why you're unhappy. Look at your habits. Are your day-to-day habits? Are they helping you or are they hurting you. Build habits that help you in 2024. Next, perfection is not possible. I love this because, let me tell you, perfection is what kept me from trying so many things for so many years, and perfection denied me new experiences. You will never be perfect at anything ever, so why not just go for it? Go for it because, again, perfection is not possible, so just go and do the thing anyways.
Speaker 1:Number three caring for yourself is so important. All right. What are you going to choose to do for yourself, for your life, that allows you to show up as the best version of you? For me, it was getting sober, and it's continuing to stay sober. It's continuing to surround myself with an amazing recovery community that loves me and supports me. What are you doing to care for yourself? Are you going to bed at a decent hour? Are you getting to good sleep? What are you putting into your body that is fueling you instead of hurting you? Are you drinking the water? Are you eating the good food, or are you just running on caffeine and sugar? What are you going to choose to look at to make sure that you are caring for yourself? Because we all have a choice in how we care for ourselves. Don't tell me you don't, because you do so. What are you going to do for yourself?
Speaker 1:Gratitude can drastically improve your day. Do you ever take a minute to be grateful? Do you ever just pause and think about? There are so many things for you to be grateful for, to shift your mindset. What can you do with gratitude as you move through 2024? I'm telling you right now gratitude has changed my life, changed it. You've heard me say before on this podcast even amongst a really crappy day, if it just has been a totally crappy day, I can always get anchored back into. You know what, michael, I'm grateful that I'm still sober and I didn't drink over anything that happened today. Or if you're not in recovery yet, hey, you survived the day. Be grateful that you're still alive. Be grateful. Break it down to being that simple, small daily wins can also change your life. Think about that.
Speaker 1:Small daily wins. It's not about big, big, big birds-eye-view level wins. It's about the small things. Maybe it's the fact that you drink more water today than you did yesterday and your mind feels more clear. A small win is hey, you didn't hit the snooze and you got out of bed and you feel better because you didn't drag your feet on the day. Maybe it's that you went to the gym. Maybe a small win is that you smiled at a stranger and they smiled back and that just changed your day. Maybe a small win is that you actually chose to get reports in on time at work instead of waiting till the last minute. And so, instead of waiting till the last minute, you have all this other time in your day. Small daily wins, aka small hinges, swing big doors.
Speaker 1:A small daily win for me and sobriety is every day waking up sober, acknowledging what I can and cannot do and trying to just be a decent human being and not cause harm. That is a small win. In the world of Michael Mausel is being sober and not causing harm. Next one I wanna say oh, guys, this is good, this is good. If it is not a hell yes, then it is a hell no. There are so many people, including me, that try to be like oh well, maybe, sure, yeah, sure, I'll do this. Guys, come on, save yourself a little heartache here. If it is not a hell yes, like you are not, like I am so freaking jazzed about this, don't do it, then it is a hell no.
Speaker 1:Saying no is a sentence. Saying no equals freedom. Saying no allows you to create more room in your life for the things that really do bring you the joy that you are so desperately seeking. If you say yes and you don't mean it, that is a destructive habit of people pleasing and that's not gonna get you very far, I'm telling you right now. You'll be living in a lot of world of hurt. So really, I'm telling you, get anchored. Get so anchored and if it is not a hell yes, then it is a hell no, and celebrate that brave decision so that you can create the space in your life for more hell yeses and not this gray. Oh, that is so powerful, so powerful. Two more I want you guys to think about going into this year.
Speaker 1:You cannot make everyone understand you. Oh, I love this so much. I'll say it again you cannot make everybody understand you, and I tried for a long time, especially in sobriety, trying to get people to understand why I still go to meetings, why I go to bed early and then get up earlier, why I'm so disciplined with my routine or my exercise, or what I put into my body or how I show up. I don't need to explain myself to everybody. People are either going to accept me or not, and I'm gonna offer that to you too. Know that you will not be for everybody, but you will be for the right people. And so don't try to make everybody understand what you are doing Like you don't have to explain yourself. Attract the people that are moved by how you show up. Save yourself that time and wasted energy of trying to find acceptance with people that it doesn't even matter. It doesn't matter. Ah, there is so much freedom in that.
Speaker 1:Last thing I wanna say to you guys for going into this year is feel your emotions. Feel your emotions. Do not stuff them, do not push them under a carpet. When you feel something, acknowledge it, get curious, move through it and decide that you're not gonna sit there and let yourself become a prisoner in your own body of judgment of an emotion. We are not prisoners. Emotions are freedom. When we choose to not feel, that's when we become prisoners in our own body.
Speaker 1:Feel your emotions and do not judge your emotions. Be grateful that you have emotions. Emotions allow us to be able to feel what feels right, what doesn't feel right. It's also an intuitive compass of where do we need to direct our life, our thoughts, our actions based on these emotions. Your emotions are there as your greatest teacher. Let them guide you, let them teach you, let them be that compass that all of us so desperately want but so many of us are afraid of because we judge ourselves. I no longer judge myself. Instead, I get curious. If I'm feeling a certain way and it's uncomfortable, I'm like, okay, michael, let's take a look at that. What's going on? Emotions are freedom. Emotions build connection. Feel your emotions. You guys.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you right now I can't stress that enough here we go, 2024. I hope you put this on repeat. I hope you share this with somebody that maybe needs a little spark, a little boost to get going for the year. Turn those wheels with your brain, get yourself going because, again, how can we expect to change our lives or to be able to move through things if we don't choose to take the time to look inward? We have the answers. Quit looking outward. Look inward, what is going on with you, with me, so that I can turn that around literally and be like, okay, let's do something about this instead of suppress it. We are so gifted, we are so lucky to be able to wake up every single day and live on this planet. We're lucky and so, since we are gifted this time on this amazing planet, maximize it. Get out there and really look at what you can and can't control and do something about it. Elevate, let's grow, let's do this 2024.
Speaker 1:Thank you to all of you who continue to show up and listen to Monday State of Mind and, if this is your first time, welcome to the family. I am happy that you are here Together. We continue to make moves and, like I say at the end of the podcast, we do continue to build better humans. I want to continue to be a better human and I am so excited to continue to share with you thoughts, feelings, emotions on how we can all win this game of life. Thank you again. You guys, let's freaking go. Before we part ways, I want to remind you that help is available. If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please reach out to Harmony Foundation at 970-586-4491. Just remember that together we build better humans. All right, you guys, I'll see you next week.