Today’s Episode
New year, new resolution. Or the same plans that quietly fail? In this episode of MaoMi Chinese, we talk about New Year resolutions: big ambitions, small realities, and why so many plans don’t last. From cooking at home to going to the gym, let’s discuss how to make goals that actually work.
Membership Preview
Want to learn Chinese through real TV shows? In next episode of MaoMi Chinese+, we explore Chinese dramas and variety shows from 2025 that learners can actually understand. From school life and work pressure to love, travel and comedy, find out what to watch, how hard the language is, and what Chinese you can learn from each show.
Support MaoMi & Get exclusive to premium content!
*Please be mindful that Spotify does not support the membership program.
大家好！欢迎回来MaoMi Chinese！
首先祝大家新年快乐！我们结束了2025年，开始了2026年。我们的人生少了一年的时间，但是多了一年的故事。很多人都喜欢做新年计划，也就是New Year Resolution。去年的这个时候，你也做了新年计划吗？你的新年计划是什么？这些新年计划你都做到了吗？我去年做了一些新年计划，有些成功了，有些失败了。今天，我们就一起来聊聊新年计划吧！
我们在做新年计划的时候，总是有很多雄心壮志。雄心壮志是一个成语，意思是一些伟大的目标，也就是英文里的ambition。虽然做新年计划的时候，有很多雄心壮志，但是，真的做事情的时候，我们又常常觉得很难。后来，我们就不做了，新年计划也失败了。
比如，2025年1月1日，我的一个新年计划是：为了更健康，我要自己做饭，不吃外卖。我以为这个计划很简单，但是其实太难了。因为我每天在学校工作很忙，也很累，回家以后，我一点儿力气也没有，也不想做饭。我现在住在泰国曼谷，曼谷有非常多的餐厅，叫外卖太方便了，而且也不贵。所以，我在做这个计划的两个月以后，就失败了。
我开始想，应该怎么样做新年计划呢？我觉得，第一，做新年计划应该要具体，也就是很清楚地知道自己要做什么。比如，我今年的一个新年计划，是每个星期在家做饭至少两次。第二，做新年计划也要现实一点。比如，我知道自己工作很忙，每天都做饭不太现实，每天都去健身房也不太现实。所以，我今年的计划是：每个星期在家做饭至少两次，每个星期至少去健身房三次，每次锻炼三十分钟就可以了。第三，做新年计划也可以灵活，也就是有时候不做，也可以。比如，我今天去了骑自行车，那么我这个星期，如果太累了，就可以少去一次健身房。
你怎么看新年计划呢？你会做新年计划吗？你觉得我们应该怎么做新年计划呢？欢迎给我们留言，和我们分享哦！
Hello everyone! Welcome back to MaoMi Chinese!
First of all, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year! We have finished 2025 and started 2026. We have one year less of time in our lives, but one more year of stories. Many people like to make New Year’s resolutions. At this time last year, did you make any New Year’s resolutions? What were they? And did you manage to keep them? I made some New Year’s resolutions last year — some were successful, and some failed. Today, let’s talk about New Year’s resolutions together.
When we make New Year’s resolutions, we often have lots of big ambitions. “雄心壮志” is a Chinese idiom, meaning great goals — in English, ambition. Although we have many ambitions when we make plans, when it comes to actually doing them, we often feel that it’s very difficult. After a while, we give up, and our New Year’s resolutions fail.
For example, on 1 January 2025, one of my New Year’s resolutions was: to be healthier, I would cook for myself and not order takeaway. I thought this plan would be very easy, but in fact it was too hard. I work very busy days at school, and I’m very tired. When I get home, I have no energy at all and don’t want to cook. I live in Bangkok, Thailand, and there are so many restaurants here. Ordering takeaway is extremely convenient and not expensive. So after two months, I failed at this plan.
I then started to think: how should we make New Year’s resolutions? I think, first, our resolutions should be specific — we should clearly know what we want to do. For example, one of my resolutions this year is to cook at home at least twice a week. Second, our resolutions should be realistic. I know I’m very busy at work, so cooking every day isn’t realistic, and going to the gym every day isn’t realistic either. So this year, my plan is to cook at home at least twice a week, go to the gym at least three times a week, and exercise for thirty minutes each time. Third, our resolutions can be flexible — it’s OK not to follow them perfectly every time. For example, if I go cycling today, then if I feel too tired later in the week, I can go to the gym one less time.
What do you think about New Year’s resolutions? Do you make them? How do you think we should make New Year’s resolutions? Feel free to leave us a comment and share your thoughts!
我每年做新年计划，每年失败。我觉得这是因为我总是太累了，没有办法继续做我的计划。不过今年我的第一个新年计划是睡觉地更好，所以不累了，肯定成功别的新年计划（我希望 :P)。