Holiday Reset: Finding Peace and Purpose Amid the Chaos

The holidays can feel like a whirlwind of to-do lists, last-minute plans, and endless obligations—but what if this season could also be a time for calm and clarity? In this episode, we’ll guide you through simple ways to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what truly matters. From practical mindfulness techniques to creating a vision for a purposeful New Year, this 14-minute reset is your gift to yourself. Join us as we embrace the magic of the season with peace, gratitude, and focus. Perfect for anyone looking to end the year with intention and step into 2024 with clarity.

IG: @themrmindd

Transcript

Ryan Johnson (00:02):

You've made it! You made through Christmas the first night of Hanukkah. If I forgot your holiday, it's not because I don't care, okay? It's just because I don't know about it. So let me know about it. Fact is we made it through. How do you feel? I know the holidays are a mixed bag of joy, reflection, maybe even some stress. But today I want to give you a little gift, just a tiny one, A quick mindset reset as we close out 2024. Here we go. Thank you so much for tuning into the Mr. Mind Podcast. Your twice a week dose of living well, even through the holidays, even when you spend everything that you had, even when you promised yourself that you weren't going to spend that much money, but oh my gosh, the nieces, the nephews, the kids, they're looking at you.
(01:02)
They're looking up at you with those big, beautiful eyes and saying, please, auntie, please, uncle, please, mama, please. Dad, I need, I want this toy. How much is this toy? I'll get it for you. $1,300. Okay, it's the holidays. Why not everyone had their real unique journey through the year? I know I've had mine. What was yours? What are some good things about it? What are some bad things about it? I hope more good than bad, but I'll tell you what, you guys all made it. You're here, you're listening to the podcast, and that means you have made it through. Not everyone has, but you did. I think that the holidays are a natural time for reflection. The lessons, the triumphs that we go through. Imagine how many, I know I've been through quite a bit myself. One of the biggest lessons that I've been through was choose business partners wisely.
(02:04)
Oh yeah. Got into a little business relationship last year. I knew I shouldn't have. I knew I shouldn't have. People actually called me and said, Ryan, don't do it, but I'll tell you what, I was working for a company and this company went under and I told the company, Hey, I could do this. And they said, alright, I'll sell it to you if you can find an investor. And I went to someone that was my mentor at a certain time, and I go to him and I said, Hey, I have this thing. I work for this company and I want to go ahead and take over it. They're going out, but I know that I can do well. I know that I can do well. He said, I don't really know about transportation, but I know someone that does. And he sent someone with me that has his own transportation company and he sent him with me.
(02:50)
And we sat down with my old boss, the owner of that company, and we had a conversation. Pretty much the main selling point was me. But here's the thing, he didn't know about me. He doesn't know Ryan Johnson. He doesn't know me from the random Joe that walks across the street at noon. He does not know me. He did not know me. He didn't know me. So what happened? Well, the deal went south. It didn't work. So I opened my own company up and it is what it is today. So I kept that in mind, even though people were like, Hey, I wouldn't trust this guy. I said, you know what, Ryan? I didn't get the chance that I wanted back then. So how about I give this person a chance? That was a bad idea.
(03:35)
Bad idea. So what do you do now? You're in this partnership. Well, you navigate through it, and that was a really big lesson, how to navigate through this business relationship. Of course, yeah. You can just blow it up and say, forget it. I pull out. Well, how do you navigate through it? I always wanted to be an amazing businessman. And I tell you what, you tell the universe, Hey, I want to be an amazing business person. You think the universe is going to say, now you are. No. They're going to give you challenges. They're going to give you hurdles to leap over. They're going to give you valleys and trenches to crawl through so you can become that businessman. And that is the journey that I'm on now, what about yours? What is a lesson that you learned this past year? What is a lesson that you have learned?
(04:25)
Maybe you're going through it still. What is it? Think about what's one thing that you've accomplished this year that you're proud of? What's one thing that you accomplished that you are proud of? I have a couple, but what about you? What's a lesson that you learned that made you stronger? What made you stronger this year? And I do understand that the holidays could press many different stress buttons at the same exact time. It almost feels like it's a massive to-do list Instead of a celebration, we get caught up in giving the perfect gift or hosting the perfect meal that we forget to really appreciate what's already here. After you listen to this podcast, I really want you to put this in your notes so that you do at the end of this day, okay? Do this. At the end of today, write down three things that you're grateful for.
(05:17)
Three things. Just write 'em down. It could be as simple as I'm grateful that I'm alive, or it could be. I'm grateful for the incident that happened yesterday because that incident made me stronger and made me who I am today. Today, this hour, it made me strong enough to be able to tackle the next obstacle that comes in my path. Whatever it is, write down three. You know what? Forget about the night. Do it in the morning. Wake up and do it in the morning. Make it a part of your routine. Wake up. What are you grateful for? Oh man. Let's see. And what that'll do is that'll get you thinking on a more positive level for your day to ensure that you don't wake up on the wrong side of the bed. And I talk about this next one a lot, but only because it's a very important limiting beliefs.
(06:07)
Embrace the new year, and it's very essential to release that mental baggage that no longer serves you. I'm not good enough. I'll never succeed. Oh, no, you won't. There's a quote by someone that says, if you believe that you can, you are right. But here's the thing, if you believe, you cannot guess what you are, right? Imagine carrying an overpacked bag into the new year, just a massive one. One that you have to sit down to zip up one of those. Well, to make room for the good things ahead, you have to unpack the extra weight. So this is what you're going to do. Write down a belief from this past year that held you back. I'm making it simple. Just one. Crumple it up, burn it, or symbolically toss it away. Whichever one's more safe. And that's going to signify you letting it go.
(06:53)
Oh, Ryan, that's stupid. Oh, oh, that's stupid. Well, you didn't do it last year. And how did that work out? Did you carry the beliefs from the previous year into this year? You did. Okay, if you did, what are you going to do different this year to ensure that you don't carry this year's beliefs? Well, negative beliefs into the next here. What are you going to do different? We all know the quote. Keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different outcome. Be insane if you want, but I know you don't want to. That's why you're listening to this podcast instead of, I am not good enough. Try. I am capable and I grow stronger with every step. You might say, Ryan, that's a lie. Is it? Well, no. It is a lie. If you think, yeah, that's a lie, guess what? It is a lie, but it's not really try it.
(07:42)
I'm not saying for you to say, I'm going to fly into outer space next week. No, this is stuff that can actually be accomplished. New Year's resolutions. Make sure that your New Year's resolutions are really detailed and realistic because one of the reasons why resolutions often fail is because they're too vague, are unrealistic. Intention setting is more focused and achievable. There is a really big difference between intention setting and resolution. Resolution is you saying, I'm going to lose 20 pounds. That's the resolution, lose 20 pounds. Intention would be you saying, I am going to move my body in ways that'll energize me and enable me to lose weight. There's three categories of intention, guys. One of 'em is personal growth. What do you want to learn or improve on in this next year? There we have relationships. How will you nurture connections with others and yourself?
(08:47)
How are you going to do it? Notice the question is, how not? Are you going to do it? Are you going to do it? Yeah, I'll do it. Okay, well, that's where the detail sets in and that's where the magic happens. The magic is in the details. And number three, wellbeing. How can you prioritize self-care? And what is self-care to you? Sometimes people believe that self-care is only on the exterior. Hair, nails, eyes, lips, B, B, L, whatever it is. And that's a factor. But let's not forget about the inside. How can you prioritize your internal self-care? What do you need to do? One way that you can figure this out is journaling, but don't worry because I am going to give you a few journaling prompts that'll help you prioritize internal self-care. Number one, what does self-care mean to me and how can I make space for it daily?
(09:42)
What does self-care mean to me and how can I make space for it daily? Here's the second one. What can I say no to this week to protect my wellbeing? That is very, very important. What can I say no to this week to protect my wellbeing? Number three, when did I last feel at peace? And how can I recreate that? When did I last feel at peace? And how can I recreate that? Make sure that when you go through these three categories of intentions, you create a smart intention for the category. So what is a smart intention? Now, SMART is an acronym. S-M-A-R-T-S is for specific. M is for measurable, A is for achievable, R is for relevant, T is for time bound. So let's go through it. So let's say this is for public speaking, for personal growth. So instead of saying, I want to improve, you got to specify what aspect of public speaking you want to focus on, right?
(10:48)
So for instance, I want to become a more confident speaker when speaking to an audience by practicing structured presentations. Toastmasters is really good for that. I took that for about a year and a half, and it works wonders. You should definitely try that out for sure. Now, measurable. Alright, so you're going to set a metric to track your progress. How will you know you're improving? Define measurable outcomes, like practicing a certain number of times or receiving feedback. I say do it two, three times a week. Practice, practice, practice. An example of that written down would be, I will practice and deliver a five minute speech weekly and ask for feedback from a trusted friend or coach achievable. Again, make sure that this goal is realistic and within your control, your control, it should be challenging but not impossible. Not impossible given your resources and current abilities.
(11:45)
For instance, practicing once a week is doable with my schedule, even if I have other commitments relevant. Make sure that you align your intention with your broader goals and values. Why is it important to you? And ensure it fits into your personal growth journey. Right? Example, improving my public speaking will boost my confidence and will help me advance in my career as a coach. Make sure it's time bound right, and pretty much that's saying set a deadline. So set a deadline to create urgency and accountability. You have to include a specific timeframe to achieve your intention. If you give yourself an hour to clean your room, I promise you it'll take an hour. However, if you give yourself 30 minutes to clean your room, oh, you bet. More than likely it'll take 30 minutes. For example, by the end of March, I'll feel confident enough to deliver a 10 minute talk at a networking event.
(12:43)
And whenever you're feeling as if you can't do this, just remember that you can. More importantly that you will guys, the later part of this year, I've shared moments and reflection and growth with you via these podcasts, and it's been one hell of a journey, and I just want to thank you so much for listening to me and my madness and my children in the background. That screams every now and then. But on a serious note, this new year is a blank page and you hold the pen. The question is, how are you going to write your story this upcoming year? Remember, the possibilities are endless when you let go of fear and embrace hope. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of the Mr Mind podcast. Please make sure that you like rate and subscribe, but more importantly, can you do me a favor? That very last person that you text, can you please text that person and say, Hey, I hope you're having a great morning. Hey, I hope you're having a great afternoon. You know what? I hope you're having a great night because you never know. They just might need it. Aloha.