--- title: Sheryl Sandberg's New Year's Resolution Inspired by Friends description: Since the tragic death of her husband, she vows to record three joyful moments every day canonical: https://time.com/4158759/this-is-sheryl-sandbergs-new-years-resolution/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-30T18:27:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:45:10.322Z og:title: This Is Sheryl Sandberg's New Year's Resolution og:description: Inspired by the support from her friends after her husband's death og:url: https://time.com/4158759/this-is-sheryl-sandbergs-new-years-resolution/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d95eccef985db09/698876903c163902a445b4ee/gettyimages-495485960.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Business Leaders Speak At Fortune Global Forum In San Franciso og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is Sheryl Sandberg's New Year's Resolution twitter:description: Inspired by the support from her friends after her husband's death twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d95eccef985db09/698876903c163902a445b4ee/gettyimages-495485960.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is Sheryl Sandberg's New Year's Resolution  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Dec 30, 2015 6:27 PM UTC  Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg speaks during the Fortune Global Forum on November 3, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan--Getty Images) Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg speaks during the Fortune Global Forum on November 3, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan--Getty Images)Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Dec 30, 2015 6:27 PM UTC Last year, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s New Years resolution was to meditate more. But this year, everything has changed. After her husband Dave Goldberg died suddenly in May, Sandberg has been left to raise two young children while dealing with her grief in the public eye. So Sandberg’s New Year’s resolution is a little different this year. “When I first lost Dave, I felt overwhelmed with just getting through each day,” she wrote in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/sheryl) on New Year’s Eve. “My friend Adam Grant suggested that every night before bed I write down three things I did well that day. I tried to do this, although some days I had such a hard time thinking of anything I did well that I’d end up listing ‘made a cup of tea.’ But over time, focusing on things I’d done well helped me rebuild my confidence. Even if it was small, I could record something positive each day.'” “I want to continue this practice, so my New Year’s resolution is to write down three joyful moments each day,” she [wrote.](https://www.facebook.com/sheryl) Sandberg also credits her friends for helping her get through such a difficult period in her life. “They checked in daily. Even though they live across the country, they showed up early and often. They did not just hold me as I cried– they cried with me.” Sandberg says this group of friends was the inspiration for Lean In Circles, and “a big part of why I am able to smile again.” She notes that there are now 25,000 Lean In Circles in more than 120 countries, and 80% of people involved in a Circle say the support has allowed them to tackle a new challenge. “My Lean In Circle will help me stick to my resolution and I will help them stick to theirs,” she wrote. “Together, we are stronger than we are individually. And because of them, I know I am never alone.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4158759/this-is-sheryl-sandbergs-new-years-resolution/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4158759/this-is-sheryl-sandbergs-new-years-resolution/"},"headline":"This Is Sheryl Sandberg's New Year's Resolution","datePublished":"2015-12-30T18:27:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:45:10.322Z","description":"Since the tragic death of her husband, she vows to record three joyful moments every day","url":"https://time.com/4158759/this-is-sheryl-sandbergs-new-years-resolution/","keywords":["Living","Sheryl Sandberg","Friendship","Lean In","new years"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d95eccef985db09/698876903c163902a445b4ee/gettyimages-495485960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d95eccef985db09/698876903c163902a445b4ee/gettyimages-495485960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Business Leaders Speak At Fortune Global Forum In San Franciso","caption":"Business Leaders Speak At Fortune Global Forum In San Franciso","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4158759/this-is-sheryl-sandbergs-new-years-resolution/","name":"This Is Sheryl Sandberg's New Year's Resolution"}}]}] ```