#460 Do New Year’s Resolutions Really Work? - Article by Niels Brabandt
Do New Year’s Resolutions Really Work?
What Science and Leadership Practice Reveal
By Niels Brabandt
At the turn of every year, organisations and individuals alike enter a familiar ritual. Gyms fill up, ambitions are declared, and commitments to personal and professional improvement are made with confidence. Yet, only weeks later, scepticism sets in. New Year’s resolutions are often dismissed as symbolic gestures rather than serious instruments of change.
For business decision makers, this scepticism matters. If goal setting at the start of the year is largely ineffective, then the ritual wastes not only personal energy but also organisational focus. The critical question, therefore, is not whether people like New Year’s resolutions, but whether they actually work. The answer, grounded in scientific evidence and leadership practice, is more nuanced and more encouraging than popular myths suggest.
The Problem with Popular Wisdom
A single figure dominates public discourse around New Year’s resolutions: nine per cent. It is frequently claimed that only nine per cent of people succeed in keeping their resolutions. The number sounds precise, credible, and discouraging. It is also unsupported by credible science.
This figure originates from non-peer-reviewed publications, often circulated by motivational speakers or commercial actors with an interest in selling programmes, memberships, or supplements. The precision of the number is rhetorical rather than scientific. In leadership contexts, such numerology would rightly be dismissed as poor evidence. The same standard should apply here.
When one turns to peer-reviewed research, a very different picture emerges.
What the Research Actually Shows
One of the most cited and methodologically sound long-term studies was conducted by Norcross and Vangarelli in the late 1980s. Their findings are striking. After one week, 77 per cent of participants were still adhering to their New Year’s resolutions. After two years, 19 per cent continued to do so. In other words, one in five people achieved a sustained behavioural change significant enough to qualify as a habit.
Later research by Norcross and colleagues in the early 2000s reported even higher success rates, with 46 per cent of respondents describing themselves as successful. While these figures rely on self-reporting and must therefore be treated with caution, they nevertheless contradict the narrative of near universal failure.
More recently, research by Oscarsson and colleagues has added an important layer of differentiation. The type of goal matters. Participants who set positive, approach-oriented goals achieved them significantly more often than those who set avoidance goals. Stated simply, deciding to do something new is more effective than deciding to stop doing something old.
Why Resolutions Fail
Understanding why many resolutions fail is as important as understanding why some succeed. Three recurring patterns stand out.
First, many goals are too vague. Statements such as “I want to be more successful” or “I want to live healthier” lack operational meaning. In organisational terms, they resemble strategies without metrics or actions. Without clarity, there is nothing to execute.
Second, resolutions often focus exclusively on outcomes. Wanting to lose weight, earn more money, or achieve a promotion describes a desired end state, not the process required to reach it. Without clearly defined methods, routines, and decision rules, motivation dissipates quickly.
Third, many resolutions are overly dependent on external factors. Goals that rely primarily on willpower, other people, or uncontrollable circumstances are inherently fragile. When pressure increases, as it inevitably does in professional life, such goals are among the first to be abandoned.
What Actually Works
Both research and practical leadership experience point to three factors that consistently increase the likelihood of success.
The first is behaviour-based change. Effective resolutions define precisely which behaviour will stop and which will replace it. This turns abstract intention into concrete action. For example, replacing a specific habit with an alternative is far more effective than relying on restraint alone.
The second factor is measurability. Sustainable change requires feedback. Clear criteria, regular tracking, and honest evaluation are not instruments of self-punishment, but of strategic alignment. Leaders understand this instinctively in business. The same logic applies to personal goals.
The third factor is identity. Goals are more likely to endure when they align with how individuals see themselves or aspire to see themselves. When a resolution becomes part of one’s professional or personal identity, persistence increases significantly. Crucially, the underlying motivation must be internal. Goals driven primarily by comparison or external pressure rarely last.
Implications for Business Decision Makers
For executives and senior leaders, New Year’s resolutions are not merely a private concern. They reflect broader themes of self-leadership, behavioural change, and organisational transformation. Leaders who apply evidence-based goal setting in their own lives are better positioned to design realistic strategies for teams and organisations.
The calendar itself is less important than the structure of the goal. A resolution made on the first of January has no inherent advantage over one made in April or September. What matters is clarity, ownership, and execution.
Conclusion
Do New Year’s resolutions work? The evidence suggests that they can, and often do, when designed correctly. Far from being a futile tradition, they can serve as a powerful catalyst for sustainable change, provided they are specific, behaviour-oriented, measurable, and rooted in identity.
For business decision makers, the lesson is clear. Success is rarely a product of motivation alone. It is the result of structure, disciplined execution, and an honest understanding of human behaviour. When these elements are in place, New Year’s resolutions are not a myth. They are a strategic opportunity.
Niels Brabandt
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More on this topic in this week's videocast and podcast with Niels Brabandt: Videocast / Apple Podcasts / Spotify
For the videocast’s and podcast’s transcript, read below this article.
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Niels Brabandt is an expert in sustainable leadership with more than 20 years of experience in practice and science.
Niels Brabandt: Professional Training, Speaking, Coaching, Consulting, Mentoring, Project & Interim Management. Event host, MC, Moderator.
Podcast and Videocast Transcript
Niels Brabandt
It's the end of the year and what happens at the end of the year? Naturally, we face New Year's resolutions. And this episode today, I was almost forced by people who send me emails because some people who do not only listen to me on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, but they watch the videos on YouTube that I publish according, well, basically in a weekly rhythm, I always, when I record this podcast, I now also record the video since the beginning of the year, roughly, or to publish the video. And some people realized, And especially British people, thank you very much for the very indirect questioning of, oh, you look good. Are you doing well? Yeah, the real thing is I lost weight and I lost a significant amount of weight. And other people, basically Germans, were more straightforward and basically they said, Could you tell me how you achieved this? Was it a New Year's resolution? And no, it was not.
Niels Brabandt
However, many questions hovered around New Year's resolution. People wondered, Is there scientific evidence if New Year's resolutions actually work or not? And that's what we're going to talk about today. New Year's resolutions, something you should actually follow? Is there scientific evidence for them in their favor? Or is it something where you basically should say, nah, not really something you should follow because it basically doesn't work? That is the topic of today's podcast. And by the way, the most direct version of this whole weight loss thing I heard so far, at least as of yet, was when I went to my favourite London Chinese restaurants where one of the waiters said, oh, you look great. You are now a skinny man. And I thought, how nice. And then the person said, in March, you were fat man. I thought, yeah, that's correct. Pretty straightforward. I thought Germans are straightforward, but that is a new level. Yes. I said, yeah, I agree.
Niels Brabandt
Do New Year's resolutions actually work? That is the topic of today. And as soon as you start to do any kind of research, which for many people, and that's fair to do, starts with Googling around. Most people very quickly meet one number, and that's 9%. 9%. And of course, you might now think, well, 9% is probably the amount of people who achieve their resolution. On the one hand, you could think that on the other hand, it is the number that mostly motivational inspirational speakers throw around, usually to then sell their pointless online class or a gym membership or any kind of supplement that helps you blah, blah, blah. 9% is the number that you find in non-peer reviewed journals. Non-peer reviewed means these aren't even scientific journals. They might look scientific or they sound scientific, but these are just PDFs published by someone usually with an economic interest in selling something to you. Nine percent, there's no scientific backing. I couldn't find any scientific backing for the number of nine percent.
Niels Brabandt
But people use this because it triggers a certain moment of credibility with you when you're listening. When I tell you something like, listen, I looked up in science and 9.31% of all people actually are able to achieve their New Year's resolutions. Sounds great, doesn't it? Really scientific, really scientific. It sounds scientific because it's an odd number. That's the only trick they do here. If anyone would tell you 10% only achieved their New Year's resolution, you would say, no, that's not true because it just sounds too random. Well, the reality is 9.31% was a number which I just pulled out of thin air.
Niels Brabandt
There is scientific evidence to New Year's resolutions, fortunately, and I looked it up for you, and that's what we're going to talk about today. Do New Year's resolutions actually work. And the question now is how to approach them if they work. And of course, there's science. And the first bit of science, because when you look at these studies, always look at long-term studies, because when people now say, well, Niels, you're quoting a study from 1988. Yes, I do. And that's one of the major ones, Norcross and Vangarelli did in 1988 a study for long-term observance, observations, where they look at, do people make New Year's resolutions? And if so, did they follow up?
Niels Brabandt
And the good number is 77% did for one week. Because the real number of that study is 19%. 19% were still sticking to the New Year's resolutions after two years. And after two years, you can say it pretty much became a habit and they really changed. The good thing here is it is a really reliable study. You can't find any studies which are published in 2025 dealing with New Year's resolutions from 2024 because the year isn't even over yet and scientific publication take a while, it takes a while. So, Norcross and Van Garelli in 1988 found out 77%, meaning one quarter already failed within one week. And 80%, four out of five, do not make it in the long run. However, one out of five does. And that's the good news here. You can be that one out of five.
Niels Brabandt
When we look into other studies, Norcross again, but this time together with Mercado and Blagg, they again published in 2002 that 46% report that they are successful with their New Year's resolution. The downside of that study is a bit, it's self-reported. Self-reported means you have a questionnaire where someone says, okay, you wanted to stop smoking. Did you stop smoking? Yes, no. And some people just straightforward lie on these questionnaires. And some people give socially expected answers. So for example, when you have a New Year's resolution, you say, I think I drink too much alcohol. And two years later, someone asks you, do you still drink too much alcohol? You most likely will say, no, no, no, no. I really drink less because you know that there will be a judgment, a negative judgement against you if you say yes, especially when it happens in a work context now. So the self-reported numbers, let's just say not too reliable. However, still we can say 46% means more than half didn't, but almost half did. That's at least a bit of an upside here.
Niels Brabandt
What I found fascinating, and that's the first thing you can already stick to, is the kind of goal that you set. And it was OsKus and in 2020 published a study that 59% of all people followed up with their New Year's resolution as long as it is a positive goal instead of an avoidance goal. Positive goals, 59% followed through. Avoidance goals, 47%. Just to give you a real world practise example, 59% positive goals means when someone says, I want to make $1,000 more per month and get this promotion by October of next year. That's a positive goal.
Niels Brabandt
A negative goal is when you, for example, say, I want to stop smoking. Because, okay, what else do you want to do? Because stop smoking, okay? So when anyone goes out for a cigarette, you just don't join them or you join them and just stand around getting fresh air or what's left of the fresh air there. So just saying, stop doing this, often has the disadvantage, there is no concept of not doing something. When I tell you, don't eat chocolate, What happens in your brain is you probably now have a picture in front of your mind or in your mind and you think of a bar of chocolate with like a red X crossed through it. You don't think of an empty space like, okay, yeah, there's like no chocolate. I have a picture of no chocolate. There is no picture of no chocolate. So positive goals are always better what you want to do instead of avoidance goals.
Niels Brabandt
And I now of course, because the question will come anyway in the comment section otherwise or via email. How did I achieve this? First, of course, thank you very much for the very thoughtful emails of many of you. Many people asked me if I had a disease or if I was significantly sick. And fortunately, I was not. I didn't have a single day of disease or day off. I didn't miss a single day of work since year 11 at school. That was the last time when I missed school because I was sick. Ever since I was healthy. I am very fortunate with that. I am very lucky. I'm very thankful for that. So, no, I lost weight because I wanted it, not because I had to.
Niels Brabandt
That is the very first aspect here. And on April 25th, completely random date, it was a Sunday where I said, enough, I want to lose weight. However, I immediately also decided on what to do. So, for example, I decided I stopped to drink the fizzy drink of Coke, Coca Cola as my main drink of the day. I replace it with water during the working week and Coke Zero during the times when I go out. That was number one. Number two was I do not randomly grab any snacks that are available in meeting rooms. When I want to eat something which is like a bit sugary, a bit more sweet, a bit of a sweet tooth to serve, I ate protein bars, way more healthy. And the third aspect I did was, I do not take public transport absolutely anywhere or a taxi. I keep walking any distance up to one hour I walk.
Niels Brabandt
Meaning in Zurich where I live, I almost walk anywhere, walk anywhere because I live at Albisriedenplatz in the west. And within one hour, I can walk up to Zürich, which is in the east of Zürich. So, I can walk almost anywhere. And in London, I have another rule where I say anything that can be done by bike within an hour, I do buy a e-bike. I use Forest, which is one of the vendors. There's also Lime and Voy and all these different vendors. Anything done which can be done via e-bike will be done via e-bike or walking. So when it's just walking, everything up to one hour is a walk. When it's more than one hour, I look at, okay, how far is it with a bike? If it's within one hour, I do one hour of bikes, e-bike riding. And that had a tremendous impact on my weight loss. 80 to 90% of a weight loss journey is is new nutrition. The rest is moving. I didn't go to the gym. I never used how all these injection and diet injections and Ozempic and Mounjano or something or all these injection and needles are called, no, nothing of that. Zero Zilch Schnatter.
Niels Brabandt
So we now have to look at what are the failing approaches and why do they fail and what are the successful approaches and why are they successful? So failing approaches. The number one is something is too vague. I can tell you now the New Year's resolutions of probably 80% of all people. Number one is stop smoking or be more healthy. Number two is lose weight, become more fit in general. Number three is be more successful, make more money, something like that. And that is just too vague. When you say you want to stop smoking, so what do you want to do instead of that? Simply stopping smoking when you're solely relying on your willpower might work when you're a very strong-willed person, however, So, let's say you're out, you had a couple of drinks, you're really in the mood, amazing times, anyone goes outside, has a cigarette, and they offer one to you. Are you the one saying no? When you now say, yeah, yeah, cool, congratulations. And when you now say, well, probably get pressured into it, there you are. So, what do you want to do? There needs to be a plan.
Niels Brabandt
So, when anything is too vague, when you say, I want to eat more healthy, what does that mean? What do you want to eat? So, for example, when I had my weight loss journey, Some people told me, oh, you know what? Cucumbers are great. There are hardly any calories in there. You can eat as many cucumbers as you want. It's basically just water with a bit of veggie around it, almost zero calories. You can eat as many cucumbers as you want because cucumbers have hardly any calories. Here are my news. That's exactly how cucumbers taste. That's why I can't eat cucumbers all day because I'm just feeling I'm doing something which is inherently awful. And when someone says, oh, yeah, you know, sprouts are really nice. Sprouts come straight from hell. That's my opinion on that. So when you now think I'm only sitting here eating salad, you're wrong with that one. I needed something better. And that's why I made a plan. I used AI, I got myself into research and science about new nutrition, and I set up a plan for every single situation which I am going to face. Can I always stick to the plan? No, because sometimes you have a client dinner where they serve you plates with non-healthy food, and then you can leave something aside, but probably all of that. But in general, in most situations, you have control over what you eat. And when anyone in the meeting room grabs a cookie, you simply don't. You open the meeting with the first point on the agenda and you just get started.
Niels Brabandt
So number one is it's too vague. Number two is it's too outcome focused. And having a goal is important. However, when you, for example, say, I want to lose 20 kilogrammes or 20 pounds or two stone or whatever you want to lose, then how do you want to do that? And I told you I have my rules. So for example, I walk everything up to one hour, except when I'm on a business trip where I have my suitcase with me, everything up to 30 minutes will be walked. Exception is when it's storming or raining because I don't want to be dripping wet.
Niels Brabandt
So everything up to one hour walking with a suitcase, 30 minutes. If it's walking but it's too far, e-bike is the next option. Up to one hour here again, when I have a suitcase, I can't take my suitcase on an e-bike. So I have to take public transport, which then is option number three.
Niels Brabandt
And that is simply something I did. I didn't only have the goal in mind, I simply said I want to achieve it by having the means to do that. And when you say you want to have that promotion, you have to wonder, do you have what it takes? Maybe you need additional qualifications. Maybe it means getting that bachelor's degree. Maybe it means having a master's degree, which you do on the side. Be besides full-time working.
Niels Brabandt
Maybe it means more networking. Maybe it means longer hours. 35, 40, 40, 50, 60 hours a week might mean all of that. And then you have to decide, do you want to do that? Only having the wish saying, I want to have the amazing promotion and more money. And by the way, I want to have all of that on the back of 50 days paid holidays and a 35 hour working week. I got some bad news for you. Most likely it ain't gonna happen.
Niels Brabandt
And I know this is not great, but it is part of that. You need to have the outcome and the plan what to do, not only the outcome, because that will vanish very quickly. Because the third option, why aspects are, this is by the way, all content from the people who did the studies in the first place. So all the thank you goes to Norcross, Van Garelli, Mercado, Blagg, and Oskars. Not to me, they put their brains in there.
Niels Brabandt
I'm just quoting this. Third aspect is when something is too dependent. So for example, when someone says, and one person I can tell you did the exact right thing, and I'm going to give you the example of him in a minute. When you say, Hey, I just need to be happier. So I need to focus on just, you know, when there's sunlight out there, and I need to be out there and I need to enjoy it because I really need the sun to be happy. And then I asked that person, Where do you live? And they told me Trondheim, north of Norway.
Niels Brabandt
Yeah, well, during winter you have, I think, 1.5 hours or even less hours of sun. Even the difference between London and Manchester. London is just on the brink of remaining sanity and happiness. Minimum sun hours in average per day. Manchester already is an hour below that. So when you are dependent on something which is beyond your means, when you say, I'm only happy when I see these friends, or when you say, I will go to the gym, But I will take that one friend. So what do you do when that one friend has days off or is injured or is not in the mood?
Niels Brabandt
Are you suddenly retiring as well from going to the gym? When you are too dependent on factors that are beyond your control, you need to change something. When you are too dependent on aspects which you cannot be held accountable of, then something needs to change. And by the way, one of my colleagues who is a sales trainer decided to move to Spain. He said, we as a family, that means my wife and I and our child, we all say we are always genuinely happy when we are down there. And the main reason is the sunny weather and the relaxed lifestyle. By the way, that was his quote, not mine.
Niels Brabandt
And I said, so what do you want to do? He said, In April, we're going to relocate. They leave Germany and they move to Spain. And I said, well, that comes with something. He said, yeah, it's going to be a salary cut for him, basically one third. However, cost of living where they choose to live is 40% down. 30% less cost of living with 40% less cost of living with one third salary cut means still 10% plus. So there you are.
Niels Brabandt
It's a complete plan laid out. It's not only we fly down there, let's look at the sun and hope things figure out from there, which unfortunately, and this is how these reality TV formats suddenly start up, people immigrate somewhere and then try to figure it out when they arrive. Usually not a great plan.
Niels Brabandt
So don't be too vague. Don't be too outcome focused, but also have a plan how you want to achieve it. And now don't be too dependent on external factors because now we talk about what are these successful approaches. And the first one is behaviour based. And that is something I told you my journey already. I decided where to change my behavior. When I say I want to lose weight, it was my personal decision.
Niels Brabandt
I wanted to lose weight. If I had said, yeah, I want to lose weight, but you know, I really love to eat crisps every day and I love my chocolate and I love to drink Coca-Cola. And by the way, also stop doing corporate shaming here. When I hear one more personally, oh yeah, it's bad big food, it's bad Coca-Cola, it's bad Pepsi, it's bad Fanta, it's bad chocolate. No one helped me at gunpoint, told me you have to eat this. It was my free choice. Stop blaming large corporations for your misery.
Niels Brabandt
When you are unable to say no to a piece of food, you really need to get your things together and reconsider your choices because there is always a choice when it comes to food. Of course, in certain regions where salaries are low and costs are high, you can genuinely say that some people cannot afford healthy food. And then you need to figure out how to do that. However, in the vast majority of places where people are living in industry and industrialised countries, and most people who listen to this podcast live in these places, You have a choice. You know you have a choice, but you simply like to blame others. Stop blaming corporations. They have a 0% share in this because you can choose what you eat.
Niels Brabandt
No one forces you and pulls your mouth open and crams down the chocolate bar. I chose to eat 200 grammes of chocolate today, or 100 grammes at least. And I changed it. So the number one aspect is behavior. Based change. And by the way, I decided not to take any of these dietary supplements. I decided not to go to the gym because I really don't enjoy the gym.
Niels Brabandt
That's not the fault of the gym. Gyms are amazing for many people, just not for me.
Niels Brabandt
I decided I changed my food behavior. I decide that I walk more. And that worked out for me.
Niels Brabandt
Doesn't work out, doesn't need to work out for anyone else except me. It's perfectly fine when it only works for me. So cheque where you can change your behaviour and always choose what is your new behavior. When you say I will stop smoking, and someone says, what do you do when you all go out, you all have a drink, and you're all in the mood, and suddenly someone offers them to you, what do you want to do? Maybe you can tell your friends, Don't offer me one. Perfect. That's probably step number one. But you need to have positive goals. What do you want to do? Not what do you want to avoid. And by the way, too dependent, what we had before, also means when you're solely relying on willpower, that in most cases is simply not enough.
Niels Brabandt
Many people who say they have strong willpower means they have strong privilege from where they came from. Wealthy parents, privilege opened the door. Everything was pretty easy for them. And they know no matter how often I fail, there's always a safety net that catches me financially and personally. Then of course you have willpower because you have nothing to lose. When you have a stressful life, your willpower sooner or later will vanish. You need more than willpower to succeed in this world. You need also willpower, but you need more than that. You need to have a plan.
Niels Brabandt
In addition to specific behavior, You need to be measurable. So where do you want to go? I gave myself the goal. I said, it's April 25th. And I told myself on December 31st, I want to be below the 100 kilogramme mark. So below 200 pounds for our American listeners. I'm not going to do the whole stone thing because I don't know about that. I live in London, but I never got the whole stone pound. I know, but stone, sorry, I'm out of that. So I decided to go for 99.9 kilogramme on December 31st. And I achieved this goal, I dropped 50 kilograms, meaning 100 pounds, within exact six months.
Niels Brabandt
On October 25th, I was at 95 kilograms, and now I'm at 92. I'm hovering somewhere in between 92 and 93-94. That's perfectly fine. And by the way, of course, then I changed my behaviour also a bit. When I achieved the goal, I said, Now I'm finally going to be able to eat my nachos again with salsa sauce at the cinema. Some people say, oh, you don't have to eat nachos when you go to the cinema. Hear the news. I have to because I love them. I love them. I love to have the tortillas, nachos with salsa sauce. They are amazing and they are part for me of every cinema visit. And I go to the movies very often, every year, especially on business trips. I really do it very, very often.
Niels Brabandt
So be measurable. What actions do you take? How often do you take them? In which context do you take them? What about this situation, that situation? What are the difficult situations? And how do you deal with them? Be specific because then you are prepared. When you say, oh, I'm more spontaneous person, spontaneity is the desperate, the desperate approach of social justification for your either unwillingness or incapability to plan. Spontaneity is not going to get you to your goals. You are waiting for the random moment that someone says, it's going to be you and you are famous by tomorrow. No, not happening. Spontaneity is the desperate social attempt to justify your inability to plan. Sorry for these hard words, but some people just need to hear that.
Niels Brabandt
So be specific and measurable, change your behavior. And on top of that, try to find something which is identity linked. And that is something which is now deeply rooted in your personality. I just like when I know I can achieve something. For example, when someone says, yes, set your goal, maybe you can get a PhD in mathematics. In math? Yeah, no, I won't do it. First, I'm not good at math. Second, I'm not much interested in it, not in the theoretical way that you do at university. So really not for me. However, when I play somewhere where I think I'm reasonably okay-ish, then I'd like to be one of the best people there. And I admire one of my friends who also lost weight this year and wanted to become fitter. He joined a running group and he was always in the last 10th of the group. They ran around the park and he said, I want to be in the top 5%. He doesn't need to be number one because they're professional runners amongst them. He will never he would never be in the top 5%. would He probably never be the top one, but he wanted to be in the top 5%. And within a year, he trained himself there.
Niels Brabandt
That's goal setting. Which tribe, which group, what are the people you want to be? What other people you want to be part of? What is your tribe, your group, your community? Because identity drives things forward. And one of the reasons why I left Germany and I didn't leave because I held grudges, but I had the impression that the entrepreneurial thinking and the competition in this country is not as strong as I like it to be. And the UK was a lot more competitive there, and Switzerland is even more than the UK. And now some people say, oh, I hate these competitive cultures. Yeah, then don't move there. You don't have to move there. You can stay wherever you are. I like to be in competitive circumstances. I like to compete. I don't like, I'm not going to be the next world champion in table tennis because I'm really bad at that. I'm not the person who says I can achieve anything. I know talents and I know skills I have and I'm excelling in these and I like to compete to a reasonably high level when I see a point in having the competition to achieve my goal.
Niels Brabandt
So you have to cheque what is your group, your tribe, what is your community, what is the group of people where you want to be one of the best. And when you do with friends together and you become all great, that's the best of it all. Take care of each other and lift each other up. That is the best option you can ever have.
Niels Brabandt
When you then approach whatever goal you have in the way I just told you with science as your backing, avoiding the failing approaches and getting the successful approaches in, then you will achieve your goals no matter if it's a New Year's resolution or not. Because I started with no New Year's resolution, then I will do exactly the same this year. Because when I have a goal, I can set the goal whenever I want and then I achieve it to date, which I set. But I do not need a January 1st because we have 12 first dates of a month.
Niels Brabandt
And when someone tells me, oh, December to January is different, that sounds when someone says it really matters to me, do it, go for it. Amazing. But it really doesn't mean much to me. And that's why I set my goals whenever I want to set them rather than waiting for December 31st, January 1st to then start. What's holding you back before? And I decided for myself on April end of April to lose weight. And it went pretty well from there.
Niels Brabandt
Thank you very much for your support, by the way, of all the friends and family and anyone who supported me on the way there. If you now do everything that we have here, go buy science backed approaches, avoid the failing ones, take the successful approaches, then you will achieve any goal that you set yourself. And I wish you all the best doing so.
Niels Brabandt
And when you now say, Hey, I'd like to discuss something. So first, of course, I wish you a very happy New Year when you really listen to this podcast or video, watch the videocast on December 31st. First word comes out. I wish you all already a happy new year.
Niels Brabandt
Of course, feel free to like this episode on YouTube. Feel free to subscribe to my channel. Comment if you like to. And by the way, review reviews are very happy. I'm very happy about reviews on Spotify, Apple podcast, five stars. Thank you very much for doing so. Recommend this podcast in video course among friends, colleagues anywhere in the workplace or in your private sphere somewhere shared on social media. Thank you very much for any kind of support.
Niels Brabandt
In addition, we offer leadership tips on YouTube Shorts, as the name mentions only on YouTube. So it really pays off when you go on YouTube and you really put the subscribe and put the little bell in there so you get a short notification when something new pops up. Also, of course, be sure that Apple Podcasts and Spotify, you follow me there and go to my website nbhyphenetworks.biz. You can see what I do for a living. Thank you very much for doing so as well.
Niels Brabandt
If you now like to discuss something via email because it's confidential or private, feel free to do so. This episode happened due to emails. Nb@nb-networks.com I'm looking forward to receiving your email.
Niels Brabandt
We also have live sessions. We just had an amazing one. Next one's coming up in January. expert.nb-networks.com Put your email address in there. No worries. You only receive one email every week, Wednesday morning. It's a 100% content ad free guarantee. Full access to all the podcasts, articles, video casts, specials, anything we have only given via the leadership letter available in the English and German language. And there's also the date and the time and the access link to the live session. We only advertise that on the leadership letter. So it really pays off. And also it's content only. There is no sales in there. No worries. It's all content for you. Nothing about me.
Niels Brabandt
Of course, you can also connect with me on LinkedIn. Feel free to do so. Follow me on Instagram, like me on Facebook or subscribe to my channel on YouTube.
Niels Brabandt
The most important thing is always one of the last things I say here, and that is apply, apply, apply what you learned. Because only when you apply what you learned, you will see the positive outcome and changes that you obviously want to see in your life, your company or your organisation or anywhere in between. You know, outside of that spectrum. I wish you all the best doing so. Happy New Year.
Niels Brabandt
And at the end of this podcast as well as at the end of this video cast, there's only one thing left for me to say. Thank you very much for your time.