Would you invest in a business that has an 80% failure rate and lasts only about 45 days? Well, that defines the effectiveness of our average New Year’s resolution. Some pundits say you can improve your odds by making sure your resolutions are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Based, and Time-Oriented. But smart isn’t necessarily wise.

It ain’t what you think. Not talking sex here. I’m referring to your “Occupation” which has a secondary definition as “the action, state, or period of occupying or being occupied by military force.” Is that your relationship with work? Is your business really just “busy-ness” or, worse, a hostile takeover of your soul?

“Understand your unique value and take that forward into the world. Do not inherit labels others place upon you,” I told the 2019 graduating class in my keynote speech. The students immediately reacted and recognized what I meant. It seemed to resonate with them.

Attain: “to achieve through effort” Attune: “to adjust as to be harmonious” Atone: “to make reparations for a sin, crime, or error” At one: “in a state of harmony or accord”

Ever imagine what the love child of academics Mihaly Czcsikszentmihalyi and Carol Dweck would look like? I’m sure that led to a resounding, “No, Chip, I’m not a ginormous geek like you.”

We measure our days by what we do. We measure our lives by who we are. Our daily “to-do” list is stuffed full of urgency. I feel such a rush when I’ve crossed off the last item on my list (i.e, picking up my dry cleaning). At the end of the day, though, it’s just a sugar rush.

Nobody has mastered curiosity more than a child. Give a kid a rock, and some bubble wrap and their imagination will light up with possibility. From a blade of grass to their own shadow, the whole world is a child’s playground, ready to be explored, investigated and questioned. Unfortunately, as we get older and busier, our curiosity narrows to what’s practical or will get us to the “next level.”

This David Whyte gem describes the holiday season, parenthood, and what it means to be a Modern Elder who is more focused on being interested than interesting. Just beyond yourself.

If I had one piece of advice to offer any leader, it’s this simple, but profound question you would pose to each of your direct reports, “How can I support you to do the best work of your life?” We live in worlds our questions create. This thoughtfully-conceived question can illuminate someone’s life path.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr crafted this well-known and loved invocation during the Great Depression, and it’s become a touchstone of the global twelve-step community.