Executive New Year’s Resolutions for 2026: From Extreme Endurance Challenges to Mastering Work-Life Integration

As the calendar turns to 2026, corporate leaders across diverse industries are setting personal and professional objectives that reveal a fascinating shift in executive priorities. Gone are the days when CEOs focused solely on quarterly earnings and shareholder value—today’s business leaders are pursuing holistic goals that balance extreme physical challenges, family connections, technological mastery, and fundamental wellness.

Leaders helming major enterprises—from American genealogy powerhouse Ancestry and $2.4 billion wellness platform Wellhub, to event ticketing giant Eventbrite and boutique facial care chain Glowbar—are sharing surprisingly personal ambitions. Their resolutions range from conquering an eight-day mountain biking odyssey through South African terrain, to the deceptively simple goal of consistently achieving seven hours of quality sleep each night.

These executive aspirations illuminate a broader cultural transformation in leadership philosophy. Beyond conference rooms and earnings calls, today’s CEOs recognize that personal growth, physical health, family bonds, and mental wellness directly impact their capacity to lead effectively. Here’s an in-depth look at what these influential business leaders hope to accomplish in the year ahead:

Extreme Endurance: Conquering an 8-Day Mountain Biking Expedition

Sami Inkinen, Cofounder and CEO of Virta Health Group

Inkinen exemplifies the type-A executive personality taken to its logical extreme—he’s an self-described “obsessive planner” who methodically establishes specific objectives across multiple life domains: friendships and family relationships, professional leadership responsibilities, personal health metrics, and adventure experiences.

The 2026 Challenge:

For the coming year, Inkinen has committed to an extraordinarily demanding eight-day mountain biking stage race across South Africa, competing alongside a partner. This isn’t a casual weekend cycling trip—stage races of this duration test physical endurance, mental resilience, navigation skills, and the ability to recover quickly between consecutive high-intensity days.

Why This Matters:

Multi-day endurance events have become increasingly popular among high-performing executives because they require many of the same capabilities necessary for business leadership:

  • Strategic planning: Route selection, pacing strategy, nutrition timing
  • Resilience under adversity: Managing mechanical failures, weather challenges, physical exhaustion
  • Partnership dynamics: Coordinating effectively with a teammate under stress
  • Mental fortitude: Pushing through discomfort when quitting would be easier

The Contemplative Balance:

Recognizing that extreme physical challenges alone don’t constitute complete wellness, Inkinen is also considering adding a short meditation retreat to his 2026 plans. Since discovering meditation in 2013, he’s found the practice instrumental for mental clarity and stress management—a valuable counterbalance to the adrenaline-fueled intensity of competitive endurance sports.

Leadership Insight:

Inkinen’s approach reflects a growing understanding among executives that peak performance requires both pushing limits and creating space for recovery and reflection. The combination of extreme physical challenge and contemplative practice represents the modern executive’s quest for balanced optimization.

 

Daily Movement Goal: 20,000 Steps Through Urban Exploration

Seth Berkowitz, CEO and Founder of Insomnia Cookies

While some executives pursue exotic adventure travel, Berkowitz has set a more accessible but equally challenging daily objective: consistently walking at least 20,000 steps every single day throughout 2026.

The Strategy:

To achieve this substantial daily movement target (roughly 9-10 miles depending on stride length), Berkowitz employs several tactical approaches:

Geographic Advantage: He strategically spends the majority of his time in New York City and Philadelphia—two of America’s most walkable urban environments where car dependence is minimal and walking is often the fastest transportation option.

Lifestyle Integration: Rather than treating his step goal as separate “exercise time,” Berkowitz integrates movement into his work responsibilities. When visiting cities with multiple Insomnia Cookies locations, walking between bakeries serves both his fitness objective and business oversight responsibilities.

The Consistency Challenge:

Berkowitz candidly acknowledges that some days achieving 20,000 steps proves more feasible than others—a realistic assessment that separates sustainable goals from unrealistic expectations. The resolution’s success will depend on maintaining the habit even when circumstances make it inconvenient.

Business Parallel:

Interestingly, Berkowitz’s personal expansion goal (increasing daily steps) mirrors his professional objective: “continuing to expand our Insomnia Cookies unparalleled reach across the globe to deliver our warm, delicious cookies to more Insomniacs.” Both personal and professional resolutions center on consistent, sustainable growth rather than sporadic intensity.

Health Impact:

Research consistently demonstrates that 10,000 steps per day provides substantial health benefits, while 20,000 steps—double that benchmark—offers enhanced cardiovascular conditioning, weight management, mental health improvements, and reduced disease risk. For a CEO managing the demands of a growing food retail empire, this daily investment in physical health represents a strategic advantage.

 

Mindful Presence: Embracing Life’s Big and Small Moments

Julia Hartz, CEO and Cofounder of Eventbrite

In stark contrast to quantifiable metrics like step counts or race completions, Hartz has set an intentionally qualitative resolution focused on experiential richness rather than measurable achievements.

The Resolution:

“To live presently and embrace both the big and small IRL moments that build life’s memories—whether that’s creating new experiences through travel, spending time with loved ones, or exploring my own interests in culture and entertainment.”

Why “IRL” Matters:

Hartz’s specific emphasis on “IRL” (in real life) moments is particularly significant given that she leads a digital ticketing platform. The irony isn’t lost—the CEO of a company facilitating virtual event discovery and digital ticket purchases is consciously prioritizing physical presence and tangible experiences.

This reflects a broader recognition among technology leaders that despite the convenience and efficiency of digital tools, irreplaceable value exists in physical proximity, face-to-face interaction, and embodied experiences.

The Anti-Metrics Approach:

Unlike resolutions tied to specific numbers (days, steps, hours), Hartz’s goal resists quantification. Success won’t be measured by achieving a certain number of experiences but rather by the quality of attention and presence she brings to whatever experiences unfold.

Components of Living Presently:

Travel Exploration: Creating new experiences through exposure to different cultures, environments, and perspectives—particularly valuable for an executive whose business depends on understanding diverse event experiences globally.

Relationship Investment: Dedicating intentional time to loved ones without the distraction of work concerns or digital devices—increasingly challenging for executives whose responsibilities never truly stop.

Personal Interests: Pursuing culture and entertainment purely for enjoyment and enrichment, not networking or business development—reclaiming activities that bring joy independent of professional utility.

The Leadership Challenge:

For CEOs, “living presently” represents perhaps the most difficult resolution. Leadership roles create constant pressure to think ahead—anticipating market changes, planning strategic pivots, preparing for upcoming challenges. Hartz’s commitment to presence acknowledges that this forward-focused mindset, while professionally necessary, can rob leaders of the richness available in the current moment.

 

Vision Boards Over Resolutions: Focusing on Feeling Rather Than Doing

Rachel Liverman, CEO and Founder of Glowbar

Liverman takes an unconventional approach that rejects traditional New Year’s resolutions entirely, based on her historical pattern of not maintaining them and the resulting discouragement.

The Alternative Framework:

Instead of action-based resolutions, Liverman creates an updated virtual vision board focused on how she wants 2026 to feel rather than what she wants to accomplish.

Why This Distinction Matters:

Traditional resolutions typically center on specific behaviors: “Exercise four times weekly,” “Read 24 books,” “Learn Spanish.” These action-oriented goals create binary success/failure outcomes—you either did the thing or didn’t.

Liverman’s approach recognizes a psychological reality: when we focus rigidly on specific actions, it becomes easy to lose track, fall behind, feel guilty, and ultimately abandon the entire effort. The discouragement from “failure” often proves more damaging than the benefits from partial success.

Feeling-Based Goal Setting:

By contrast, feeling-based goals create a compass rather than a destination:

Example Applications:

  • Desired feeling: “Energized and vibrant”
    • Supports this: Regular movement, nutritious eating, adequate sleep, creative projects
    • Doesn’t support this: Overcommitting to draining obligations, excessive alcohol, burnout work patterns
  • Desired feeling: “Connected and loved”
    • Supports this: Quality time with friends and family, meaningful conversations, shared experiences
    • Doesn’t support this: Constant work availability, superficial social media engagement, isolation

The Filtering Benefit:

When you establish a feeling-based intention, every decision can be evaluated against that standard: “Does this activity/commitment/choice support how I want to feel this year, or does it detract from it?” This creates natural guardrails that help prioritize effectively without rigid rules.

Vision Board Methodology:

Virtual vision boards typically include:

  • Images that evoke desired emotional states
  • Quotes or phrases that capture intended feelings
  • Color palettes that resonate with the year’s emotional tone
  • Symbols or icons representing values and priorities

The Flexibility Advantage:

Liverman’s approach allows adaptation throughout the year. If circumstances change—a family health crisis, unexpected business opportunity, global pandemic—a feeling-based framework remains relevant while specific action commitments might become impossible or irrelevant.

Psychological Foundation:

Research in motivation and behavior change increasingly supports this approach. Studies show that emotional connection to goals (why they matter, how they’ll feel) predicts success better than purely cognitive commitment to specific actions.

 

Legacy Preservation: Digitizing Family History Before It’s Lost

Howard Hochhauser, CEO and President of Ancestry

Hochhauser’s resolution emerges from personal loss and professional alignment—his father’s passing in late August 2024 at age 87 has catalyzed both grief and gratitude, creating urgency around family memory preservation.

The Personal Catalyst:

Losing a parent, particularly one who lived a long, full life, naturally triggers reflection about legacy, memory, and the stories that bind generations together. For Hochhauser, this loss has sharpened his focus on intentional family time and staying “rooted in the things that matter most.”

The Specific Commitment:

Hochhauser plans to systematically work through his father’s collection of old slides and videos, digitizing and preserving them, then adding this visual history to the family tree so these memories can be shared across generations.

The Regret Factor:

He candidly admits his “only regret is not doing it sooner,” recognizing that this preservation work ideally happens while parents and grandparents remain available to provide context—explaining who appears in photos, where they were taken, what occasions they commemorate, and what stories surround those captured moments.

The Universal Message:

Hochhauser encourages everyone to “take the time to capture these stories while our parents and grandparents are still here to help us understand the moments behind the photos.” Photos without context become mere images; with stories attached, they transform into meaningful narrative threads connecting past and present.

Professional Synergy:

As head of Ancestry—a company built around family history discovery and genealogical research—Hochhauser’s personal resolution aligns perfectly with his professional mission. He’s essentially becoming his own customer, experiencing firsthand the value proposition his company offers millions of users.

The Technical Process:

Slide and video digitization involves:

  • Scanning or professional conversion of physical media to digital formats
  • Organization and cataloging with dates, locations, and people identified
  • Metadata addition providing searchable context
  • Cloud storage ensuring preservation against physical degradation
  • Sharing mechanisms allowing family members access
  • Integration with family trees connecting images to genealogical records

The Emotional Dimension:

Beyond practical preservation, this project serves grief processing. Reviewing decades of family images provides a structured way to remember, celebrate, and honor his father’s life while creating something valuable for children and grandchildren who will never meet their grandfather.

The Generational Gift:

By digitizing and contextualizing these memories now, Hochhauser ensures future generations—his children, grandchildren, and beyond—will have access to family history that might otherwise be lost. This work transforms ephemeral memory into permanent legacy.

 

AI Mastery and Ethical Leadership: Staying Ahead in the Identity Revolution

Ricardo Amper, CEO and Founder of Incode

Amper’s resolutions span both professional technological leadership and personal family commitment, recognizing these domains as interconnected rather than separate.

Professional Resolution: AI Leadership

“I want to stay ahead of the curve in AI and identity. The industry is moving so fast that staying updated is almost a sport. You cannot just follow trends. You have to understand which ones will define the next decade and which ones are just noise.”

The Challenge:

AI development currently advances at unprecedented velocity. Breakthroughs that would have taken years now occur in months or weeks. For a CEO whose company specializes in identity verification and authentication—technologies deeply impacted by AI capabilities—staying current isn’t optional, it’s existential.

Beyond Trend-Following:

Amper articulates a crucial distinction between passively following trends versus actively discerning which developments carry lasting significance. This requires:

  • Deep technical understanding: Not just surface-level awareness but genuine comprehension of underlying mechanisms
  • Pattern recognition: Identifying which innovations represent fundamental shifts versus incremental improvements
  • Strategic foresight: Predicting which trends will compound and which will fade
  • Industry contextualization: Understanding how AI advances specifically impact identity verification, security, and privacy

The Ethical Imperative:

Beyond technical mastery, Amper expresses commitment to ensuring “AI flourishes on fairer and safer ground, so society can benefit from its breakthroughs without sacrificing trust or accountability.”

This reflects growing recognition among technology leaders that AI’s transformative potential comes with serious risks:

  • Bias and discrimination: AI systems often perpetuate or amplify existing societal biases
  • Privacy erosion: Powerful AI enables unprecedented surveillance and data exploitation
  • Accountability gaps: When AI systems make consequential decisions, determining responsibility becomes complex
  • Fairness concerns: AI benefits may accrue primarily to already-privileged groups

Amper’s resolution positions him not just as a technology adopter but as a steward working to shape AI’s development toward equitable outcomes.

Personal Resolution: Fatherhood and Partnership

“Personally, my resolution is to grow as a father and partner while raising two children. Balancing family and work is not something you master once. It is a daily commitment.”

The Perpetual Challenge:

Amper’s acknowledgment that work-life balance “is not something you master once” reflects mature understanding. Many professionals treat balance as a problem to solve—implement the right systems, and it’s handled. Amper recognizes it as an ongoing practice requiring daily attention and adjustment.

The Values Connection:

He explicitly links his parenting approach to his professional values: “I want my children to grow up in a world that is fair and democratic, and that starts with how I show up at home.”

This insight recognizes that creating ethical technology and a just society begins with the values modeled within families. Children who grow up seeing parents prioritize fairness, listen respectfully, and honor commitments learn these principles more powerfully than through any formal education.

The Integration:

Amper’s dual resolutions—professional AI leadership and personal family commitment—aren’t separate goals but interconnected elements of a coherent value system. His work on ethical AI development and his commitment to raising children in a fair, democratic world stem from the same foundational beliefs about how society should function.

 

Quantified Wellness: Achieving 7+ Hours of Sleep and Relationship Investment

Cesar Carvalho, CEO and Cofounder of Wellhub

As the leader of a $2.4 billion wellness platform, Carvalho approaches his personal resolutions with the same data-driven methodology he brings to business strategy, explicitly “treating [wellness] like business objectives with clear targets and tracking.”

Primary Focus: Sleep Optimization

“Sleep is honestly where I’ve been struggling most, so that’s my main focus: 7+ hours with good recovery scores at least five nights a week, tracked through one of Wellhub’s partner apps.”

Why Sleep Matters:

Carvalho’s prioritization of sleep reflects scientific consensus: adequate sleep is foundational to virtually every aspect of health and performance. Research consistently demonstrates that sleep deprivation impairs:

  • Cognitive function: Decision-making, creativity, problem-solving
  • Emotional regulation: Stress management, interpersonal interactions
  • Physical health: Immune function, metabolic regulation, injury recovery
  • Leadership effectiveness: Strategic thinking, empathy, communication clarity

For a CEO managing a growing global wellness company, chronically inadequate sleep represents a strategic vulnerability, not just a personal inconvenience.

The Tracking Mechanism:

Carvalho’s commitment to tracking sleep through Wellhub partner applications demonstrates several principles:

Practice what you preach: As a wellness platform CEO, using his company’s ecosystem holds him accountable and provides firsthand user experience

Data-driven accountability: Objective tracking prevents self-deception about sleep quality and quantity

Recovery metrics: Modern sleep tracking goes beyond hours, measuring sleep stages, heart rate variability, and overall recovery—providing actionable insights for improvement

The Realistic Standard:

Note that Carvalho sets his target as “at least five nights a week” rather than every night—acknowledging that occasional disruptions (travel, life events, work crises) will occur. This realistic flexibility prevents the all-or-nothing thinking that often sabotages wellness goals.

Exercise Commitment: 240 Minutes Weekly

“I’m also keeping up with 240 minutes of cardio and strength training weekly, which breaks down to one hour, four days a week that I can squeeze in between meetings and family time.”

The Structured Approach:

By specifying exactly 240 minutes (four hours) distributed across four one-hour sessions, Carvalho creates clear parameters that simplify scheduling. This isn’t vague “exercise more” intention but concrete time allocation.

The Balance Challenge:

His phrase “squeeze in between meetings and family time” reveals the reality for busy executives—fitness must be actively scheduled and protected, or it gets crowded out by seemingly more urgent demands.

The Comprehensive Approach:

Combining both cardio (cardiovascular health, endurance, mental clarity) and strength training (muscle mass, bone density, metabolic health) represents evidence-based best practice. Many busy professionals default to cardio only, missing strength training’s substantial benefits.

Relationship Investment: Couples Travel

“And personally, I want to take four trips with my wife without the kids. Even short ones count. That quality time together is everything.”

The Specificity:

Four trips is concrete and achievable—roughly quarterly. This creates natural checkpoints throughout the year to ensure follow-through.

The “No Kids” Specification:

While family vacations serve important purposes, Carvalho recognizes that couple-focused travel serves a different relationship need. Parents often find that “family vacations” primarily involve managing children’s needs rather than connecting as partners.

The Flexibility:

“Even short ones count” removes barriers. Rather than requiring elaborate international trips, weekend getaways or even overnight escapes suffice—making the goal accessible despite demanding schedules.

The Priority Statement:

“That quality time together is everything” reveals Carvalho’s recognition that maintaining a strong partnership requires intentional investment, not just residual time after professional and parenting demands are met.

The Holistic Integration:

Taken together, Carvalho’s resolutions demonstrate sophisticated understanding of wellness ecosystems. Better sleep enhances workout performance and relationship quality. Regular exercise improves sleep and stress management. Strong partnership provides emotional support that makes professional demands more sustainable. Rather than isolated goals, these resolutions form an integrated wellness strategy.

 

Reconnecting with Nature and Reviving Family Traditions

Loren Brill Castle, CEO and Founder of Sweet Loren’s

Castle’s resolutions center on two themes: reconnecting with grounding practices and reviving meaningful traditions—both aimed at counteracting the disconnection that busy leadership roles can create.

Resolution 1: Weekly Nature Connection

“I moved to LA for easy access to nature, yet I don’t always take advantage of it, even though I know I feel 100 times better when I disconnect outside; so, in 2026 I want to commit to a weekly hike or beach walk.”

The Intention-Action Gap:

Castle’s candid admission—that she chose Los Angeles specifically for nature access but fails to consistently utilize it—illustrates a common executive challenge. We make life choices based on values, then allow busy schedules to prevent us from living according to those values.

The Knowledge-Behavior Gap:

She explicitly acknowledges knowing she “feels 100 times better when I disconnect outside,” yet this knowledge alone hasn’t translated to consistent behavior. This gap between knowing what helps and actually doing it represents one of the most common human struggles, particularly for busy professionals who intellectually understand wellness importance but struggle with practical implementation.

The Weekly Commitment:

By committing to weekly rather than daily nature connection, Castle sets a sustainable bar. Weekly rhythms often work better for busy executives than daily requirements—they’re frequent enough to maintain benefits but flexible enough to accommodate variable schedules.

The Mental Health Investment:

Castle frames this commitment as “a gift to my mental and physical health,” recognizing that nature connection isn’t indulgence but essential maintenance. Research consistently demonstrates that time in natural environments reduces stress hormones, improves mood, enhances creativity, and provides restoration that indoor environments simply cannot replicate.

Resolution 2: Friday Night Family Dinners

“I’m also bringing back a childhood tradition: Friday night family dinners at home. Growing up, it was a ritual we all looked forward to, and I want to create that same end of week celebration with my family.”

The Tradition Revival:

Castle’s commitment to resurrect Friday night family dinners from her own childhood demonstrates several insights:

Positive childhood experiences often provide blueprints for the family culture we want to create as adults

Weekly rituals create rhythm and anticipation—family members know they’ll gather every Friday regardless of the week’s chaos

End-of-week timing transforms Friday dinner into a celebration marking the transition from work demands to weekend rest

The Home Specification:

Note that Castle specifies dinners “at home” rather than restaurants. Home dinners eliminate the stimulation, distraction, and expense of dining out, creating more intimate space for genuine connection and conversation.

The Celebration Framing:

By describing Friday dinner as a celebration, Castle elevates it beyond mere meal consumption. This framing creates positive anticipation and reinforces the gathering’s importance.

Creating Family Culture:

As both CEO and parent, Castle recognizes that intentional tradition-building doesn’t happen accidentally. The same strategic thinking required for business success applies to creating meaningful family culture—you must decide what matters, commit to it explicitly, and follow through consistently.

The Integration:

Castle’s two resolutions work synergistically. Weekly nature connection provides personal restoration and stress management that makes her more present and engaged during family dinners. Family dinners provide relational fulfillment that sustains her through professional demands. Together, they create a balanced ecosystem supporting both individual wellbeing and family connection.

 

Executive Resolution Themes: What We Can Learn

Analyzing these CEO commitments reveals several powerful patterns:

1. Holistic Leadership Philosophy

Modern executives increasingly reject the false dichotomy between professional success and personal wellbeing. Rather than viewing wellness as something to pursue “when things calm down,” they recognize it as foundational to sustained leadership effectiveness.

2. Quantified Self-Improvement

Several leaders employ specific metrics (20,000 steps, 7+ hours sleep, 240 minutes exercise, four trips) reflecting the data-driven mindset that serves them professionally. However, others (Hartz, Liverman) intentionally resist quantification, valuing qualitative experience over measurable achievement.

3. Legacy and Connection

Multiple resolutions center on relationships and memory—Hochhauser preserving family history, Castle reviving dinner traditions, Carvalho prioritizing couple time, Hartz emphasizing presence with loved ones. These successful business leaders recognize that professional accomplishments feel hollow without strong personal connections.

4. Physical Challenge as Mental Training

Inkinen’s eight-day race and Berkowitz’s 20,000 daily steps demonstrate how physical challenges serve dual purposes—fitness benefits plus mental resilience development. The discipline required for ambitious physical goals translates directly to business challenges.

5. Technology Stewardship

Amper’s commitment to ethical AI development reflects growing recognition among technology leaders that innovation without consideration for societal impact creates long-term problems. CEOs increasingly see themselves as stewards responsible for technology’s trajectory, not just exploiters of its commercial potential.

6. Sustainable Over Heroic

Notice the emphasis on sustainable commitments (weekly nature walks, weekly dinners, five nights of good sleep) rather than unsustainable perfection (every day, every night, every meal). These leaders understand that consistency beats intensity for long-term behavior change.

7. Self-Knowledge and Adaptation

Liverman’s rejection of traditional resolutions based on her historical pattern, Castle’s acknowledgment of the intention-action gap, and Carvalho’s focus on his specific struggle area (sleep) all demonstrate sophisticated self-awareness. Effective leaders know themselves well enough to design personalized approaches rather than following generic advice.

 

The Meta-Resolution: Integration Over Separation

Perhaps the most significant insight from these executive resolutions is their implicit rejection of work-life “balance” as typically conceived—a zero-sum tradeoff where professional success requires personal sacrifice or vice versa.

Instead, these leaders pursue integration—recognizing that:

  • Better sleep makes them more effective CEOs
  • Physical fitness enhances strategic thinking
  • Strong relationships provide resilience during business challenges
  • Nature connection sparks creativity and problem-solving
  • Family traditions create emotional stability that supports risk-taking
  • Ethical technology development aligns professional work with personal values

The modern executive resolution isn’t about work OR life—it’s about creating an integrated existence where professional effectiveness and personal fulfillment reinforce rather than compete with each other.

 

Practical Applications for Non-CEOs

While these resolutions come from corporate leaders, their principles apply across organizational levels:

For Individual Contributors:

  • Set both professional and personal goals that complement rather than compete
  • Track what matters to you, whether quantitative or qualitative
  • Identify one tradition or practice from your past worth reviving
  • Commit to weekly (not daily) practices for sustainability

For Middle Managers:

  • Model integrated wellness for your team—your behavior sets culture
  • Share your own wellness commitments to give others permission
  • Create team norms that support personal goal pursuit
  • Recognize that your team’s personal wellbeing impacts performance

For Senior Leaders:

  • Publicly discuss your own resolution journey, including struggles
  • Allocate resources (time, money, policy) supporting employee wellness goals
  • Evaluate whether organizational culture enables or obstructs integration
  • Consider how your company’s products/services impact societal wellbeing

 

Leadership Beyond the Boardroom

These CEO resolutions for 2026 illuminate an evolving understanding of leadership success. The executives profiled aren’t pursuing these personal goals despite their professional responsibilities—they’re pursuing them because of those responsibilities.

They recognize that sustainable leadership excellence requires:

  • Physical vitality to maintain energy through demanding schedules
  • Mental clarity from adequate sleep and stress management
  • Emotional richness from strong relationships and meaningful experiences
  • Ethical grounding from alignment between values and actions
  • Creative restoration from nature connection and novel experiences

As we begin 2026, perhaps the most valuable resolution isn’t any specific commitment but rather the meta-resolution these executives model: refusing to separate who we are as leaders from who we are as complete human beings—with bodies needing movement, minds requiring rest, hearts seeking connection, and spirits craving meaning.

The most effective leaders aren’t those who sacrifice everything for professional achievement, but those who recognize that professional excellence emerges from—and depends upon—a foundation of integrated human flourishing.

The question isn’t whether you can afford to invest in your complete wellbeing as you pursue professional goals. It’s whether you can afford not to.

 

As these executive examples demonstrate, the most successful 2026 resolutions will be those that recognize the false dichotomy between professional success and personal wellbeing—choosing integration over separation, sustainability over heroic intensity, and self-knowledge over generic advice.

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