New Year’s Resolution: The Good, Bad, & Truly Hilarious! (Pt 2)

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Attention! Attention! This is a public service announcement!

This is the time of year when, like caterpillars transforming into butterflies, your friends and families will start drafting soliloquies titled ‘new year, new me’ and flooding your social media timeline. This is also the time of year when they might call you to account for the person you have been throughout this year and inquire on the grand changes you plan to make to your life to be a better person in the new year, no matter what shape or form that might come in. In other words ladies and gentlemen, this is New Year’s Resolution season! But the question is, despite our best intentions and efforts, do New Year’s resolutions actually work or do they best us each year?

Beijingkids posed this question to Mina Yan – Managing Editor of beijingkids and new mom of one,  He Siyu  – beijingkids head of HR and mom of adorable twins, Dave Hanssen – photographer and dad of two, and Hannah Northcott - Beijing mom and co-founder of WellWomen, middle school drama, dance teacher, and theater director at International School of Beijing (ISB), on what the good, the bad, and the ugly are when it comes to the infamous New Year’s Resolutions, and the answers were open, honest, and quite amusing!

Mina Yan and daughter Aria

Beijingkids: What do you believe the secret to making and keeping realistic New Year’s resolutions is?

Mina Yan: In the past, my resolutions have always been something generic like losing weight and I’ve never been able to keep them for more than a few months. I think this year I’m going to set the same resolution but also give myself a target to reach like how many kilos to lose so that there’s a goal to work towards.

Dave Hanssen: I think the secret to keeping a New Years resolution is to not make one, why wait to make changes that you want to make on January 1st, why not start now?

He Siyu: My secret is making it step by step, lots of tiny New Year’s resolutions are easier to make and keep.

Hannah Northcott: 2021 is an extraordinary year. We’re still living through what feels like a never-ending cycle of COVID cases and waking-up to a new year unfortunately is not the magic wand that will make all of our problems go away.

So what do we do? Give yourself more time.

Bill Gates shared that “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

Instead of making a new year’s resolution,  what if you dream of the truest, most beautiful version of yourself, your life, and your relationships that you can imagine in ten years?

Dream big and write it all down. You don’t have to share it with anyone. It’s for you.

What would the winter of 2031 look like? How would you start your day? Where do you live? Who do you live with? What do you do? How do the things look and smell like, around you?

Debbie Millman, one of the most influential designers of today teaches about the “Ten Year Plan for a Remarkable Life.” Check out the writing prompt that she uses in the Tim Ferris Podcast

Being honest about where you’re at and gaining clarity on where you want to go, will give you a compelling reason to stick with your goals or new year’s resolution.

He Siyu

BJK: What are some good, bad, and outright crazy resolutions you made in 2019 rolling into 2020?

Well… I wanted to be more social and go to the gym more but 2020 put a dent in those plans.

For 2019 I didn’t make any resolutions

Moving into a bigger apartment. (Failed). Everything about my kids goes well. (Succeeded). Be rich. (Failed)

I wanted to learn five new dishes and made three – mango salsa, mango refrigerated cake, and colored pancakes. I’m like the equivalent of a twelve-year-old in the kitchen but perhaps adding to my culinary repertoire can be a goal in 2021 (this is where my husband, Steve will insert a joke about my many adventures in the kitchen or the lack of it…)

On the flip side, one of the things that I journaled in 2019 was, “I will make mornings magical.”

My friend Rebecca and I, created and practiced a daily routine called Magical Morning early in 2020 to get us through our lowest point of COVID and since then have shared it with other women through blog posts and a virtual course.

Hannah Northcott with her adorable daughters

BJK: What has 2020 taught you about New Year’s resolutions?

2020 made me realize that I don’t need to go big to keep to my resolutions. For example, if I want to work out more I don’t need to splurge on a super expensive gym membership. Youtube videos work just fine as long as I can set a clear goal to follow.

2020 has taught me that there is no time like the present to make a change, no need to wait till January 1st, 2021.

“Be rich” never comes true.

I learned to be adaptable and flexible – to let go of control, especially on the things that I had no control over because the way we dealt with the uncertainty of the global pandemic affected our peace and joy.

Dave Hanssen, his sons, and their cat. Can’t forget the cat

BJK: What is your biggest New Year’s resolution moving into the year 2021?

To lose the pregnancy weight and to find a balance between my job and family life.

My biggest New Years resolution for 2021 is to not make a New Years resolution

Same as 2020, moving into a bigger apartment with my family.

From someone who used to be on the “go big or go home train,” I want to make subtle shifts to becoming an essentialist – to choose what matters and let go of the things that no longer align with my mind, body, heart, and soul.

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Photos: Courtesy of Mina Yan, Dave Hansen, Hannah Northcott, He Siyu, Unsplash

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