Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work — and What to Do Instead
Resilience Across Borders Podcast
Release Date: 01/16/2026
Audit Your Beliefs: Identify What’s Holding You Back
Resilience Across Borders Podcast
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Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work — and What to Do Instead
Resilience Across Borders Podcast
Every January, millions of people set New Year’s resolutions only to abandon them weeks later. In this episode of Resilience Across Borders, host Rachid Zahidi, author of the EMO Gym Journal, explains why resolutions fail and shares a proven, psychology-based approach to building lasting habits and real personal change. Instead of relying on motivation and willpower, this episode focuses on identity-based change, emotional regulation, and small, consistent systems that support long-term growth. If you want sustainable self-improvement that lasts beyond January, this episode will change how...
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From Fault-Finding to Fulfillment
Resilience Across Borders Podcast
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Resilience Across Borders Podcast
Learn to spot what fills your tank—and what empties it. In this episode of the 'Resilience Across Borders' podcast, host Rachid Zahidi discusses the critical impact of actions on personal energy levels. Key strategies highlighted include monitoring physical inputs, noticing emotional investments, guarding mental focus, honoring rest, and aligning actions with personal values. By making conscious choices, listeners can maintain a full energy tank, move through their days with vitality, focus, and peace of mind. The episode also encourages listeners to be mindful of their...
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Resilience Across Borders Podcast
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Should I work with a Coach or a Therapist?
Resilience Across Borders Podcast
In today’s episode of Resilience Across Borders, host Rachid Zahidi, author of The Emo Gym Journal, breaks down a topic many people quietly struggle with: Should I work with a coach or a therapist? With personal development and mental-health awareness on the rise, the line between the two can feel blurry. Rachid clarifies the key differences, shares real-life examples, and gives you a simple framework to help you decide the right support for your current season of life. What You’ll Learn in This Episode: The core difference between coaching and therapy Why coaches are future-focused...
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Resilience Across Borders Podcast
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Resilience Across Borders Podcast
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Harnessing the Power of Pain and Pleasure for Better Habits
Resilience Across Borders Podcast
In this episode of the Resilience Across Borders podcast, Rachid discusses the principle of pain and pleasure, a concept popularized by thinkers like Aristotle and modern psychologists. The episode focuses on how we can use this principle to break bad habits and form better ones by consciously linking pain to harmful behaviors and pleasure to beneficial ones. Rachid offers practical strategies, including visualization exercises and immediate rewards, and emphasizes the importance of reframing discomfort as a sign of progress. The episode encourages listeners to make...
info_outlineEvery January, millions of people set New Year’s resolutions only to abandon them weeks later. In this episode of Resilience Across Borders, host Rachid Zahidi, author of the EMO Gym Journal, explains why resolutions fail and shares a proven, psychology-based approach to building lasting habits and real personal change.
Instead of relying on motivation and willpower, this episode focuses on identity-based change, emotional regulation, and small, consistent systems that support long-term growth. If you want sustainable self-improvement that lasts beyond January, this episode will change how you approach goals forever.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
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Why New Year’s resolutions don’t stick
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The difference between outcome-based goals and identity-based habits
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How motivation fails under stress—and what works instead
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The role of the nervous system in habit formation
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How micro-commitments create momentum
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Why emotional awareness prevents self-sabotage
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How to overcome the all-or-nothing mindset
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What resilience really looks like in everyday life
Key Takeaways:
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Real change starts with who you’re becoming, not what you’re forcing
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Systems and environment matter more than motivation
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Nervous system regulation makes change possible
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Consistency beats intensity
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Progress comes from returning, not perfection
Practical Tools Shared:
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Identity-based journaling prompts
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Nervous system regulation techniques
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Habit-building through environmental design
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Micro-habits for emotional resilience
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Daily emotional awareness check-ins
Resources Mentioned:
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EmoGym: Your Journal and Emotional Gym by Rachid Zahidi (available on Amazon)
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Companion blog and episode resources: atresilience.com
About the Podcast:
Resilience Across Borders explores emotional resilience, personal growth, and self-leadership through psychology, lived experience, and practical tools—helping listeners build clarity, stability, and sustainable habits in an uncertain world.
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Be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. Stay resilient.