Every January, we’re handed the same script:
Set goals. Fix yourself. Become a better version of you.
And every January, thousands of people step into the New Year already carrying enough weight - redundancy, uncertainty, a job market that feels unrecognisable, confidence that’s been chipped away one rejection at a time.
The last thing they need is another stick to beat themselves with.
Over the past few days, between Christmas and New Year, I’ve been reading through the recent M3 Job Club member survey. Page after page, one message came through louder than anything else:
People don’t need resolutions.
People need hope.
People need each other.
Not one person said, “I succeeded because I made a New Year’s resolution.”
But they did say:
“It picked up the shattered pieces of my life.”
“It reminded me I’m not a failure.”
“It stopped me feeling alone.”
“It gave me structure, purpose, and confidence.”
“It made my future look brighter.”
These aren’t comments about productivity.
They’re comments about humanity.
Support. Hope. Empowerment. Community. Belonging.
That’s what changes lives.
Not a list of resolutions taped to the fridge.
When someone walks into the club for the first time, they’re not looking for a motivational slogan. They’re looking for a place where they don’t have to pretend. A place where they can breathe. A place where they can say, “I’m struggling,” and hear, “You’re not alone.”
And that - more than any January promise - is what helps people rebuild.
So here’s our New Year message:
If you’re out of work, in transition, or simply exhausted by the pressure to reinvent yourself every January:
You don’t need a new you.
You need support, connection, and hope.
You need people who see your value even when you can’t.
And if you’re someone who can offer that, as an employer, policymaker, community leader, or simply a human being, then this is your moment.
As we step into 2026, let’s stop asking people to “do better”.
- Let’s start building environments where people feel safe enough to try.
- Let’s invest in the organisations that hold people up when life knocks them sideways.
- Let’s champion community over comparison.
- Let’s make hope accessible.
Because hope isn’t soft.
Hope is structural.
Hope is strategy.
Hope is what gets people back on their feet.
And right now, hope is exactly what the world needs more of.
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