Before You Set New Goals for 2026, Read This

Dear mentees and former mentees, dear friends, business partners, and everyone reading this,

Because that’s the trap, right? We’re always reaching forward. Next project. Next goal. Next version of ourselves. And somewhere in that constant “more”, we forget to notice what we already survived, built, learned, and gave.

What 2025 was for me

2025 was intense. In the best and in the exhausting way.

It was a year of building and stretching: in my job in people and organisational development, in writing, in speaking and in mentoring conversations that stayed with me long after the call ended.

It was also a year where I was reminded again and again that “impact” isn’t some big dramatic moment. Most of the time it’s quiet.

It’s:

 

• • when someone tells you, “I needed that sentence today.”

• • when you watch a person go from doubting themselves to taking one real step

• • when you show up for people consistently, not perfectly

• • when you give something back and realize it changes you too

Founding Rotaract Hamburg International this year made that very real for me. We did small things that mattered. Not glamorous but human and we built an amazing team. And honestly, those moments grounded me more than any productivity hack ever could.

About New Year’s resolutions (and why I’m a bit allergic to them)

I love ambition. I really do. But I think we sometimes turn January into a yearly self-criticism festival.

We make huge plans, we promise ourselves a completely new personality by February, and then we act surprised when it doesn’t work.

There’s this stat that comes up a lot: an analysis based on a massive amount of activity data from the fitness app Strava suggests that nearly 80% of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by January 19 (they even call it “Quitter’s Day”).

And the point isn’t to shame anyone with numbers. The point is: maybe the problem isn’t you. Maybe the problem is the way we set goals.

Psychology has a term for what happens next: the intention–behavior gap. We can mean something with our whole heart and still not do it, because real life has stress, habits, context, emotions, tired days, messy days

So if you’re going into 2026 with goals, do it. I’m not anti-goals.
I’m just pro-realism, pro-kindness, pro-steps that actually fit into your life.

The world feels heavier lately

I also want to name something I’ve felt more in the last weeks and months: when you look at the news long enough, it starts to feel like everything is getting worse. Germany, globally, everywhere. Wars, conflict, attacks, constant outrage. It can feel like a cloud sitting on your chest.

And yes, staying informed matters. But so does staying sane, don’t you think?

There’s a reason “doomscrolling” (+ AI-Slop!) became a word. Constant exposure to distressing news can seriously affect mood, stress levels, and well-being.

So I’m trying something very intentional: distance.
Not ignorance. Distance.

More space for friendships. For family. For real conversations. For being present without checking my phone all the time. For doing things that bring me back into my body.

I want 2026 to have more of that.

My small wish for you (and for myself)

If you take one thing from this post, let it be this:

Use the holidays to slow down. Even a little.

Reflect. Not to optimize yourself. Just to understand yourself.

And please don’t underestimate the tiny moments that make life feel human again:
a smile in the train, holding the door, making room, texting someone first, listening properly, looking up from your phone when someone is talking to you.

Because life isn’t the big turning point you’re waiting for.
Life is exactly those moments, every day.

Change rarely arrives as one sudden decision. It happens as a quiet cascade: one small choice, then another, then another. And at some point you look back and realize the direction shifted.

So treat the small moments like they matter.

They don’t just change the tone of a day.
They are the day.

Going into 2026

Whether you make resolutions, build a vision board, or do none of that, I hope you keep one thing: optimism.

Not the fake kind. Not “everything is great”.
More like: “I’m staying open. I’m staying kind. I’m staying awake.”

Look left and right sometimes, not only straight ahead.
Think of other people.
Give when you can.
And trust that step by step is still progress.

Lately, I’ve been writing about a concept that has been on my mind for some time: Fremdverstehen.

There isn’t a perfect one-word translation in English. Something like “understanding the other” gets close, but it misses the depth. For me, Fremdverstehen is a deliberate choice: to step outside your own bubble for a moment and genuinely try to understand a perspective that isn’t yours.

And one thing matters here:

Fremdverstehen is not about agreeing with everything.
It’s not about saying “everyone is right.”
It’s not about watering down your own values.

It’s about something much rarer: listening without immediately preparing your counter-argument.
It’s about being able to say: “I don’t share your view, but I want to understand how you got there.”
And sometimes: “I can accept that you see the world differently, and still respect you as a person.”

Honestly, I feel like we’re losing this.

We’re becoming faster at judging, quicker to label, quicker to cut people off. Online, especially, everything is optimized for outrage, certainty, and instant reactions. The space in the middle, where curiosity lives, is shrinking.

But leadership, relationships, and society don’t work like comment sections.

If we want less division and more trust, we need to rebuild that muscle: the ability to meet difference without turning it into an enemy.

In that spirit: enjoy the Christmas season, take care of yourself, and have a good start into the new year.

Marlow