As my circle of friends gets older, our conversations about New Year’s resolutions have changed from looking ahead to looking back. Many of us have regrets about decisions we’ve made, especially where we’ve put our time and focus.

I sense a shift.

People are talking more about softer goals that give them more time for simpler pleasures. We’re forgiving ourselves for the past choices that left us working hard, then playing hard as if that helped us relax.

And we’re learning by watching younger generations prioritize quality of life over the size of a paycheque or a job title. If only we had these insights earlier.

During my chats about the year ahead, I’m seeing trends in the beliefs we grew up with and how they shaped our expectations for ourselves. Those internal voices made us think we had to take certain steps to continually improve when we........

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