3 New Years Resolutions for Achieving Peace of Mind
Happy New Year indeed! Is anyone else extremely excited to turn the page to a fresh year full of possibilities and potential on January 1st, 2021? While its unlikely that the world suddenly turns around like the flip of a switch when the clock strikes midnight, there’s just something about a fresh new year that inspires change and progress.
At the very least it can serve as an opportunity to reflect on the year that was and set new goals that will set us on the path to a better future. There’s something empowering about that! While it seems like now more than ever the world’s circumstances are out of our control, making small improvements to our daily routine can be both liberating and therapeutic. To ensure that these resolutions are achieved, we prefer to follow the SMART method. While everyone has their own way of doing things, for us, making goals specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely are key to successful follow through.
With that in mind, we’re excited to share with you our official Gaus Acoustics resolutions for 2021! In line with our brand and our passions, we’re focusing on improving our mental health and peace of mind. It feels apt given the circumstances. Let’s dive right in!
1. Focus on Gratitude
To start off, we thought it would be a good idea to focus on a resolution that forces us to reflect on our lives and learn from the year that was. When attempting to strategically improve your life, its so essential to look to the past for guidance. While 2020 was an extremely difficult year for so many, that struggle will be for nothing if we don't take gratitude in the lessons learned. We've all found strength that we didn't know we had before. We've overcome some of the most difficult obstacles we will ever know in our lifetimes. We've had to rely on each other and on ourselves to get through the twists and turns that this year has thrown at us, and to be able to make it to the other side, we are eternally grateful.
So our first resolution for 2021 is to take time every day to look back and identify specific times, actions, people and places that have helped us get to where we are today. Following in the SMART methodology, here is exactly how we plan to do it:
Specific - Every morning before starting our daily routine, we'll be taking 10 minutes to write down and silently reflect on one thing we are grateful for. It can be from the day before, the year before, or the decade before as long as you feel gratitude for whatever it is in that moment.
Measurable - While the journal entries will help us stay honest and measure how well we've been sticking to our resolution, we will also tangibly or verbally express our gratitude to the person, business, location, or thing that we are grateful for at least once per week.
Attainable - Since this goal is internally driven and takes only our own effort everyday, we strongly believe that this is an attainable goal.
Relevant - Gratitude is always relevant, but it seems more relevant now more than ever.
Timely - One year from now, we will be able to look back on our journal entries and hopefully smile knowing how much we have to be thankful for.
2. Create a "Happy Place"
Achieving peace of mind can be difficult in the midst of our daily routines. Think about it - between the morning commute, an 8+ hour workday, taking care of the family, preparing meals, and everything else that needs to be taken care of in our every day lives, it can be so difficult to take the time to clear your mind, sit still and just breathe. We know we're guilty of overscheduling ourselves. And even worse, when we do get a down moment alone, we are ashamed to say we often spend it drinking a glass of wine in front of the TV. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there's so much more room for growth when you spend time intentionally focusing on self care.
In order to properly do this, it helps to create a space that is specifically designed to bring you peace. One devoid of distractions of any kind. Whether your oasis is positioned in a pillow fort in your bedroom, out back in the garage, or the otherwise creepy attic in your house, choose a physical space where you can isolate yourself with a few of your favorite things (books, candles, art, Christmas lights, record player etc.) and intently focus on yourself.
We have a feeling that this physical space will do wonders for our mental health, especially as the family catches on and provides the space we need to decompress.
Specific: Build a permanent physical space that is silent and free from distractions. Preferably one that is easily accessed within the confines of our daily routines.
Measurable: While this one won't exactly have ongoing measurement, as long as the space exists and is singularly used by you for these purposes only, the mission will be accomplished.
Attainable: While everyone's available space will vary, the hope is that we can all find a quiet, solitary space to claim as our own. For us, this is attainable.
Relevant: Absolutely.
Timely: Our goal is to have the space identified and at least started by the first week of January. While it will certainly evolve over time, getting started will be the most important part!
Sound Topics
Featured Partners
3. Pay it Forward
Now that we have peace, solitude and reflection covered, that should be all of the self care that we need to resolve for. The final resolution for 2021 out of the Gaus Team is to create and strengthen our connections with our community by resolving to pay it forward.
What could bring you peace of mind any better than being the reason for someone else's peace? Nothing is quite as effective at helping us feel in control of our lives like a few random acts of kindness that change someone's day or life for the better. Whether its paying for someone else's order at your local coffee shop, volunteering for a weekend at the soup kitchen, or complimenting someone's shoes at the grocery store, the small things often make the biggest difference.
We are confident that the responses you get from grateful strangers will more than repay the time, money, or effort you expend to make their day. Paying it forward is the best way to inject positivity into the world, and right now it seems like we could all use a little more of that.
Specific: Weekly random acts of kindness for complete strangers. (On top of daily acts of kindness for those near and dear to us)
Measurable: To ensure we stay on top of it, it helps to make this resolution with a group. As a small business that meets multiple times weekly, sharing our random acts of kindness at a consistent cadence should be no problem at all.
Attainable: Kindness is always within reach
Relevant: Again, absolutely.
Timely: Weekly check ins throughout the year should keep us on task and on time!
New Years resolutions generally get a bad reputation, but this year we're determined to follow through. Writing your goals and ambitions down and using the SMART methodology goes a long way towards forcing commitment.
We want to hear your New Years resolutions! We hope you join us in committing to improving and growing in 2021. If there's anything we can do to help you achieve your goals or provide peace of mind in your life, please contact us today!
Happy New Years! Cheers to making this year SO much better than the last one.