There is certainly no lack of good ideas for 2021: slimming down, drinking less alcohol, meditating more often, and so on and so forth. Wait a minute! Aren't the resolutions you had this past year, and the year before that (and before that, and before that) amazingly similar to the new ones? Indeed! Perhaps they're even exactly the same.
No surprise! The enthusiasm with which we start each new year is a bit like the fireworks on New Year's Eve: After a loud bang and bright flash, everything soon fizzles out. Eventually, the inner culprit takes control again. And so the misery repeats itself year after year. But it doesn't have to be that way. If you take a few things to heart, 2021 could actually be a good year for you.
1. One after another
"The biggest mistake you can make is to do too many things at once," says psychologist Mario Schuster. If you not only want to stop smoking, but also ban sweets from your diet and finally start jogging, you're bound to overtax yourself.
"To break old habits, we need willpower," explains Schuster. But nobody has that in abundance. Pursuing several goals at the same time therefore also means that our willpower has to be multi-tracked — and thus is quickly used up. In the end, we don't get anywhere.
"There's nothing to be said against changing several habits," says the psychologist. "The important thing is to take things one step at a time."
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Australia on fire
Nancy and Brian Allen stand in front of their home in New South Wales, Australia, against a backdrop of ash and smoke from the nearby bush fires and an orange-red sky. Wildfires raged in Australia for the first months of the year; 34 people died and an area the size of the Republic of Ireland is thought to have burned. This natural disaster provided some of the most striking images of 2020.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Remembering Hanau
Cetin Gültekin remembers his brother Gökhan, aged 37, who was killed in a racist attack in Hanau, along with eight others. The perpetrator later killed himself and his mother. An artist collective painted this 27-meter-long mural to commemorate the victims.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Act of humanity
This picture also made waves. At a Black Lives Matter protest in London, Patrick Hutchinson brought an injured far-right counter-protester to safety. His act of humanity was celebrated on social media. Hutchinson was originally there to protect young Black protesters from getting caught up in violence.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Living statue of liberty
Bearing a phone for a torch, this young woman joined a protest outside the Belarusian Embassy in Warsaw to express her solidarity with the opposition after the disputed presidential election in Belarus.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
From the rubble came music
In August, a devastating explosion killed over 200 people in Beirut and left many more homeless, including the musician Raymond Essayan who also suffered concussion. He pieced together a piano from the rubble for a music video that then went viral.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Photo op sends mixed messages
This image of US President Donald Trump holding a bible in front of St John’s Church in Washington DC was supposed to win over his supporters among evangelical Christians. Just before, peaceful protests had been dispersed with tear gas to clear the president’s path to the church — leading many to call Trump out for hypocrisy.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
A healing hug
Joseph Varon was treating patients at a COVID-19 station in Texas when he encountered this distraught elderly man. Varon asked him why he was crying, he later told the media: "And the man says, 'I want to be with my wife.' So, I just grab him and I hold him." The man wasn’t allowed any visitors, even at Thanksgiving.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Saved by a whale's tail
No, this is not an optical illusion. This subway train had derailed when it was saved by a sculpture of a giant whale. There were no passengers on board and nobody was injured in this spectacular accident in the Netherlands in November.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Masked identity
Alicia Keys dressed up almost like a cyborg for her virtual performance at this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards, which took place online because of the pandemic. She only revealed her identity towards the end of her act, one of the most popular of the event.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Not taking any chances
Dana Clark stood in line for hours with her 18-month-old son in front of city hall in New Orleans to vote in this year’s US presidential election. The teacher said that she wanted to protect her son, herself and her pupils because she wasn’t sure how many people would be wearing masks.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
An Indian village opts for the Democrats
Residents of the ancestral village of US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s running mate in this year’s election, pray for a Democratic victory. Harris’ maternal grandfather grew up in Thulasendrapuram in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India.
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A glance back at 2020 in pictures
Dreaming of a healthy Christmas
This year, Santa Claus greeted kids at the Aalborg Zoo in Denmark from within a huge snow globe, to protect himself and them from the coronavirus. The holidays will be different this year, for parents and children alike.
Author: Stephanie Höppner
2. It must be fun
So now we have to pick out a resolution on which we can concentrate fully. But which one? They're all reasonable and sensible, after all. The answer sounds simple: "It must be fun. We need a positive approach to the change we want to make," says Schuster.
"I have to stop smoking" and "I want to stop smoking" may differ only marginally in terms of language. From a psychological point of view, however, it is crucial for the long-term success of a project whether we have to, or want to, do something.
3. Remain realistic
Those who spent most of their free time lying on the couch in 2020 and have now made a plan to go jogging for an hour four times a week in 2021 are setting the bar extremely high. Most likely too high.
A proven couch potato can be proud if he or she manages to get up even twice. Even if it's only for half an hour. "Regularity is more important than duration and intensity," explains psychologist Schuster. After all, the point is to establish sport as a new habit. Those who don't immediately overtax themselves to the point of exhaustion also have a better chance of retaining the fun (see point 3), and thus also their good intentions.
4. Be accountable
The resolution has been selected and has taken shape. "Now it may be helpful to tell a few people about it," says the psychologist. Because it strengthens the commitment and provides accountability. A promise that we make alone in a quiet little room is broken more quickly than one we make out loud.
5. Do not despair
2021 is underway and we are managing to stick to our good intentions. But then it comes, the first motivation hole — and with it the longing for a cigarette. On top of that, the gravitational force of the couch has never been greater! So we give in, lie down and have a smoke. What now?
"Under no circumstances should you condemn yourself for it," warns Schuster. Because that would quickly derail the entire project. Setbacks are always possible and perhaps even probable. And they are okay!
Instead, the focus should be on feelings of success — no matter how small they may seem. This strengthens our self-efficacy, explains Schuster. "Self-efficacy means the conviction of a person to be able to create something by his or her own efforts." Those who maintain this belief in themselves do not throw in the towel so quickly.
6. Better no resolution at all than a bad resolution
Even good resolutions can be bad — when they're difficult to integrate into our lives, or when the driving force is an "I must" and not "I want."
When we then fail spectacularly, and self-condemnation has completely killed our self-efficacy, we must realize that even the best resolution is not automatically good. And that, in some cases, we are better off starting the New Year without any good resolutions.
This article has been updated.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
Saqqara
Saqqara, the necropolis of the city of Memphis, about 30 kilometers south of Cairo, is considered one of most important archaeological sites in Egypt together with the Valley of the Kings and the pyramids of Giza. The settlement struck the headlines this year with yet another spectacular discovery: In September and October, researchers found beautifully decorated wooden coffins.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
Twelve more wooden coffins
In November, experts uncovered a dozen more sarcophagi in Saqqara. The beautifully decorated wooden coffins are considered to be over 2,500 years old, Egyptian researchers said. Individual coffins were opened carefully to anaylze their contents.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
Striking rock in Egypt
Egyptologists from the University of Bonn discovered an inscription on this rock, believed to be over 5,000 years old. It was discovered in Wadi Abu Subeira, northeast of Aswan. Experts, including those from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, found that the rock was actually a town sign from the fourth century BC.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
The ruins of Pompeii
The archaeological site of the Roman city of Pompeii, southwards of Naples, surprises the world with new discoveries every now and then. In 79 AD, during the historical volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius, mud, ash rain and molten lava buried the place, killing people and animals. Only in the 18th century were archaeologists able to uncover the relics.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
Fast food, Pompeii style
Shortly before Christmas, archaeologists in Pompeii presented the most spectacular discovery of the year: a "thermopolia," an antique food stall with a painted counter. Its gaps had small containers, believed to keep food warm,. Dishes made of duck, chicken and other animals were sold here to residents.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
The city wall of Jerusalem
There were completely new discoveries in 2020 as well. After a long period of excavation where Jerusalem is located today, a team of experts under German archaeologist Dieter Vieweger uncovered parts of an ancient city wall, which is believed to be from the time of King Herod and the Byzantine period. The discovery confirmed that ancient Jerusalem was much smaller than believed until now.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
A village from the 2nd century
Jerusalem is racked by religious and political conflict. The various archaeological layers have stored thousand years of the city's multicultural history. In early 2020 the remains of a village wall were discovered in Jerusalem. Traces of everyday life reveal interesting information about the settlements at the time.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
Old city, new discoveries
In November, construction workers at a sewer in Athens stumbled upon the massive head of an ancient sculpture. On close examination, it turned out to be the marble head of the Greek god, Hermes, according to the Greek Ministry of Culture. Experts believe the head could be from the 3rd or the 4th century. Every now and then, an ancient artefact is discovered in Athens' old city.
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Ancient treasures found in 2020
The mystery of Stonehenge
To this day, we don't know whether Stonehenge was a temple, an ancient sacrificial site or an observatory. But in 2020, researchers found where the monoliths came from. According to a recent study, the sarsen stones, as the massive sandstone blocks are known, originated from a nearby forest called West Woods in southern England.
Author: Heike Mund
