What questions should we ask when we talk about New Year's Resolutions?

New season. Same curiosity. And a topic most of us have a complicated relationship with.

In the Season 2 premiere of Listening for the Questions, Dr. Patti Fletcher, Dan Ward, and Lynne Cuppernull take on New Year’s resolutions and immediately question whether we should be making them at all. Instead of debating which resolutions work, the conversation focuses on something far more interesting: the questions underneath our urge to start fresh every January.

Why do we keep making resolutions even when we know we will probably break them? Who are these resolutions really for? Why do they feel so loaded with pressure, perfectionism, and failure? And what if the problem is not our willpower but the way we frame change in the first place?

Lynne, Patti, and Dan explore the difference between resolutions and goals, identity and transformation, progress and perfection. They unpack the gendered pressure baked into many resolutions, especially those tied to appearance, discipline, and self control. They also play with the idea of replacing resolutions with questions and what happens when curiosity takes the place of self judgment.

Along the way, the conversation wanders through birthday resolutions, school year fresh starts, acting as if you are already your future self, and even how AI can interrupt our default thinking by asking better questions instead of offering quick answers.

This episode is thoughtful, funny, honest, and deeply human. It is not about fixing yourself. It is about understanding why you want to change, whose values are shaping that desire, and how asking better questions might lead to more meaningful growth.

As Season 2 begins, this episode invites you to consider a different kind of fresh start. One where any day can be January 1st.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Listening for the Questions is where curiosity is our compass.

Transcript

Patti 0:14

Hey everybody, welcome to season two of Listening for the Questions. I'm Dr. Patti Fletcher. As you know by now, I'm a recovering C-suite executive from Big Tech, a leadership futurist working at the intersection of people, business, technology, and data, and the best-selling author of Disruptors, Success Strategies from Women Who Break the Mold. And wow, I don't know about you two, but I am so excited for this new season.

Lynne 0:40

Yes, I am too. Hi, everybody. I'm Lynne Cuppernull. I'm a leadership coach, a healthcare consultant, and the co-founder of the Sparklit group, along with Dan. I'm also a mom and a triathlete. And I am so excited to be back with you guys, Patti and Dan, as we kick off this new season. Happy New Year, everybody.

Dan 0:59

Hey, hello, listeners, and hello, Patti and Lynne. It's great to be with you again. My name is Dan Ward. I'm an engineer and a military technologist by background. I'm also an author and a juggler. And yes, I'm still a punk.

Lynne 1:11

Before we jump into today's topic, I'm glad you're still a punk, Dan, that that hasn't changed in the new year. Before we jump in, we wanted to pause to acknowledge you all our amazing listeners, and share some listener feedback we've received on some of the 2025 episodes. We loved hearing this from Leanne, who, upon listening to the episode about the questions we should be asking about magic, said, I think the problem magicians are solving is opening up people to wonder. But I would add that it's also inspiring people that they too are magic. Love that, Leanne. I love that we carry that into 2026. And if we needed any more proof that kids ask fantastic questions, here's one that came in from a listener's daughter. Why do fingers have tips and toes not have tips? But you can tiptoe but not tip finger.

Dan 2:12

That's amazing. I love that question. And uh Leanne, thanks for the comments about magic too. I totally agree. Uh my friend Laura passed along this question that her son asked, Why don't fish have eyelashes?

Patti 2:24

Oh, that's a good question. So it turns out that you two hang out with far kinder people than I do. Because one of the listeners who reached out to me, my friend Melissa, asked me a rather snarky question. Why would you ever want to eat a sandwich without bread? Because sandwiches are made with bread. And then she gave me a history lesson. And I just want to say this is a questions podcast, not an answers one, little Miss Melissa.

Dan 2:54

I love it. All right. So to set the stage a little for today's episode, I want to say that even though I love holidays, New Year's Eve is my least favorite holiday ever because hey, everybody, I like to go to bed early. Uh, but the one thing I do like about New Year's Eve is I like making resolutions for the new year.

Patti 3:12

Yeah, today's topic. It's New Year's resolutions, and can't wait to hear what your questions are, listeners, when it comes to these. And it just seems it's something that we we do every year. So, what are the questions we should be asking when we talk about New Year's resolutions, which are really just commitments and promises that many of us break to ourselves when it comes to the new year and fresh starts? And you know, I want to break our rules a little bit, Dan and Lynn, and ask you for an answer on something. Do you make New Year's resolutions and did are you making them this year?

Dan 3:48

Patty, I did. I totally made some resolutions. I even wrote them down this year.

Lynne 3:53

Well, I was all set to say no. And then as I was thinking about this this morning, I do have a couple. Yes, I do have a couple. I I'm not gonna say them out loud.

Patti 4:06

Lynn, is it is it like throwing a penny into a wishbell if you say it out loud, it won't come true? Exactly. I love that. I love that. So the answer is I make resolutions twice a year. One is in September, um, be beginning of the school year. It's always my fresh new start. And those are a little bit different than January, but I have restricted myself to just one New Year's resolution this year, which I'm sure I'll break by noon on January 1st. Now I'm dying to know what it is.

Lynne 4:35

I have to say, I I have a complicated relationship with resolutions. On the one hand, uh, you know, as a as an athlete, I'm all about setting goals and achieving goals. Um, but New Year's resolutions feel different somehow. I don't know. It's like they come in with they come with this built-in expectation of time-bound and failure. Time-bound failure. Um, and is there just this expectation that because it's a new year, you need a new goal? What's that about?

unknown 5:08

Right?

Dan 5:08

Why is that? Why do we feel the need in the new year to set these resolutions? And like, why do we go through this whole exercise of making resolutions, even though we know we'll probably forget about them? I mean, let alone break them. We will forget about them entirely before the month is over. And then what if that's all okay? Right? What if the point of a resolution is is more about making it than keeping it?

Patti 5:31

That is a really good question. And I listening to both of you and going, when did I actually start making New Year's resolutions? Was that like an adult thing? I have no idea. But here's the thing: it turns out I'm not the only one who breaks a New Year's resolution almost as fast as I think of one. Actually, I I tend to stop, I'm a quitter. I tend to stop a little bit sooner because I break it and I'm all or nothing with my New Year's resolutions, which maybe we should talk about. Is that the right way to think about them? But look, the research is pretty clear. For for those of you listening who are going, oh gosh, I'm going to break this one, you're not alone. 88% of resolutions are broken within the first two weeks, and 80% of us abandon them by mid-February. In fact, the second Friday in January, and I'm going to get a t-shirt that says this, is called Quitter's Day, because that's when people abandon their resolutions. I'm just imagining all of us like in the streets marching with the big double middle fingers, which I just gave to my co-hosts on the screen right now, 40 years resolutions.

Dan 6:32

It cracks me off that quitter's day is a thing. And, you know, since we do tend to break resolutions so quickly, one question I've always wondered is like, why don't we have resolution check-in day? You know, sometime in early February, mid-March, maybe again in June, every few months, why don't we check in and say, like, hey, how are those resolutions coming along?

Lynne 6:52

Oh, Dan, just hearing that question stresses me out a little bit. Um, I'm still stuck on the why do we make them in the first place? If we know we're probably going to break them, what is it within us that compels us to make them? And maybe what should we be we be thinking about instead, right? If we're being compelled to change something, what question should we be asking about why we want to change something?

Dan 7:24

Ooh, those are great questions, Lena. And and I promise I won't ask you how yours are coming along. No worries.

Patti 7:32

As you too know, and and many folks who listen, I'm in I'm in the business of transformation, and it's been just a lifelong thing for me, right? And it's here's where I am, here's where I want to be, or here's where we are, here's where I'd like to take us, you know, from a leader perspective. And I have to go from where I am and all those things I believe and do, and all those habits that put me in the current to put me in the future. And, you know, it kind of makes me wonder, as I'm thinking of you, Lynn, you're absolutely right. We put so much pressure on ourselves, and it's kind of like I don't like going out on New Year's Eve either. I just I've never liked that. It felt just fake and false. And so I'm wondering, you know, do is New Year's the only time, like Dan, you said birthdays, is New Year's the only time that you make resolutions? And for you, are those resolutions something about a transformation, something you want different for yourself because you feel you'd be a better version? And then here's another one, you know me, I like to put 15 questions into one. Um, why do we put so much pressure on ourselves? Right. I love Lynn that you're like, and I'm not sharing it. And I think, but if you're not sharing it, why have all the pressure? Because you're not accountable to anyone but yourself. So I'm wondering kind of like, what's your thought process? And do we just maybe change the narrative and make many resolutions throughout the year?

Dan 8:58

I love the idea of birthday resolutions. Like, why isn't that a thing? That might be like that feels a timely opportunity to make some resolutions. I mean, the difference is we don't all have the same birthday, right? So I'd be making mine in March, and you're making yours in a different month, as opposed to all doing it together in January. And I wonder if that's one of the reasons why we do have this New Year's resolution because it's a shared date. You know, we all get together to make them and then and then probably ignore them and break them uh all at the same time. But I kind of dare I'm I might make a birthday resolution this year. Uh check in again with me on March.

Lynne 9:35

I love the idea of birthday resolutions. Um, and Patty, you you got me thinking about, you know, why is it that I want I don't want to say it out loud? Um and who are we making these resolutions for? Are they really for ourselves, or are they about who we think we should be based on some, I don't know, something, what society tells us, uh what partners or friends are telling us?

Dan 10:04

So is it about transformation or is it about identity, like what we want to become or or who we are? And maybe there's is there a connection between transformation and identity? Patty, that sounds like a lot of the work that you do.

Patti 10:16

It does. And, you know, it's interesting. When I think about New Year's resolutions, I tend to put them in the category that I would put Lent in, where you're giving something up. And a lot of New Year's resolutions, and and you know, let me know what you think, but they feel almost like I have a vice and it's not good for me, right? And so I'm just gonna say my New Year's resolution is probably going to be not to swear as much as I do, which I break, Dan. You know, Lynn, I've told you this by noon, usually. Sometimes I make it to noon actually on January 1st, usually by about 10 a.m. when I drop something and you know, say a swear word. Um, I'm clumsy. It is what it is, it's my natural reaction. So, so, but are these resolutions about actually making us better in some way? And in, you know, going, who are we doing it for, right? And do we need to maybe reclassify a resolution? Because this really is about I'm someone, and I know each of you are, and if you're listening to this podcast, chances are you too, someone who works at our lives, right? Who is always trying to do new experiences, see things through a different set of eyeballs that maybe have held us back before? And I like that. I like, you know, this is the year's birthday, right? So I like that we're doing this with someone else's birthday. What I don't love is why so much pressure? Why worry about it? And also, why choose a net resolution that you think you're gonna fail at anyway? And is that just like a thing? Is something magical gonna happen at, you know, the stroke of midnight when the ball drops? But do you feel that? Do you feel with resolutions it's advice that it's dealing with something negative? Could it be something positive? And why do we put so much pressure whether we share it with people or not? I'd also love to know the history of New Year's resolutions. Like when's that start? And let's go find that person and beat them up.

Lynne 12:05

Right. All right, we're not going all Earl of Sandwich on this episode, right? We're not gonna dive, tempting as it is, into the history of resolutions. But Patty, I was I I sort of got stuck on something I heard you say earlier around giving up swearing. And I was just curious, like when we make these resolutions, and we'll take that one as an example, like what about doing it, or in this case, not doing something, is important to you? Do we take the time to think, what about this is important to me?

Dan 12:40

Right? When we think about our resolutions, I think one of the questions we probably should be asking ourselves is, is this important to me, or am I making this resolution because I think it's important to somebody else? So I I've decided to start swearing more, Patty. How about that? You and I will just balance it out, right?

Patti 12:57

I feel like that resolution is dedicated to me. And I say that I feel seen and heard and understood.

Dan 13:05

Right. Well, and and I do wonder too, uh, because I mean, full disclosure, I tend to be the guy who who keeps his resolutions. Like I do generally like Of course you do. I I I I tend to live up to them fairly uh most of the time. But I wonder about the people who do keep their resolutions, what's different about them or different about the types of resolutions that that we make? You know, are some types of resolutions more likely to be kept and remembered and and followed throughout the year than others? And does does that matter? You know, is it is it helpful to set certain resolutions knowing that you're gonna make them? Or is there something good about setting a resolution knowing I probably won't make it, but it's it's worth trying anyway?

Patti 13:47

And why do we see it as a perfection thing? Because when I do the work of transformation, it's progress, not perfection, right? It's the little things, and you work at it, and if it doesn't work, you learn from it and you figure out why. And then you figure out how the why of it not working. And is that the mindset? Right? And I love when I think about the swearing. This is from my mother who passed away a year and a half ago. At this point, I don't think she gives a you know what's it's, right? And she probably didn't really until I, you know, when I was younger, okay, fine, it's embarrassing.

Lynne 14:20

But you know, good job on not swearing there, Patty.

Patti 14:25

Validation. Patricia. Um, but but like what do you Lynn? Like when you're thinking about your New Year's resolution and why you don't like them, is there a perfectionist thing? Is it all or nothing?

Lynne 14:39

Yes, Patty, I think so. That's such a good question. Um I think it is it like what makes a resolution different than a goal? There's a different feeling when you don't achieve a goal versus achieve a goal. A resolution is like I am resolved to do this. Uh and I think it's just something about that that, yeah, maybe it is the perfection. Um maybe it's just the I always break it, like I don't ever succeed at it that makes me not want to do it.

Dan 15:12

Right. So one of my favorite questions from like, I don't know, probably 20 years ago, if somebody asked me this question, what would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail? And it's about encouraging people to try something that's a bit of a stretch. And if you knew this was gonna succeed, what would that uh attempt look like? And in my book Punk, I reframed that question and said, What would you do if you knew it would fail? Like, would you write that book even if you knew nobody would buy it? Would you record that song? Would you take that a try, even if you know, hey, this isn't gonna work out the way I I wanted it to? I'm gonna try it anyway. What's what's in that category of actions, of goals, of resolutions, even? Um, because I do like that framing of, you know, some things are worth trying even when the odds of success are are low or or zero even. You know, how does that change our relationship to things like resolutions?

Patti 16:03

I'm wondering if we're future podcasts we could ponder the question is there something Dan's not good at?

Dan 16:09

Um yes, I'll I'm I'm gonna answer that one right now. There's definitely a thing I'm good at. Uh it's music. Um, my my wife, my wife who loves me very much, says, Dan, you're good at a lot of things, but but music is not your your skill set. So my musical education was uh sorely um uh neglected, uh, which is why I like punk so much, because you don't have to be good at music to be into punk.

Patti 16:34

I love it. So so Dan, just following up with that, and then I'm wondering because I'm taking that in too, right? And I do, I loved your question, Lynn, about is a resolution different than a goal? And in my head it is. And right, and because I approach it differently, a resolution feels like a declaration, or as a goal feels like something I'm working toward. And Dan, when you were just describing what who cares if I fail, right? And that's that's I think like a question we should ask ourselves. Who cares if I fail? Right? I feel it stuff all the time. Who cares? Who cares? I'm learning stuff, I'm meeting people. So is it about the resolution or is it about the pressure for perfection going back to that and how we are all like set up to fail when we don't change our mindset about what a resolution is and instead put it toward a I have a goal this year too. And maybe it's an experience versus an achievement. Like Lynn, is your thinking would that change? Because it would change for me, I think.

Lynne 17:33

100% it would change, and that I love that. I'm gonna change the way I think about setting goals or heading into a new year, and maybe just banish the word resolution from my vocabulary. Yeah, thanks, Patty.

Dan 17:50

So, what words might we use instead of resolution? That's that's an interesting question to to for everybody to think about. What might you call this thing other than a resolution?

Patti 18:01

One thing I do in September, and this started back in like kindergarten, I don't know. And I would think about because I was so nervous about the school year and would I have friends and and all that stuff. And so I would start every school year and I still do every September. What will I know in June? Which up here in Massachusetts is the end of the school year that I don't know today. And then I started, you know, as I got older and and started working and going into positions, I probably had no reason to be there. I don't know why I was hired. I missed the day at school when I was supposed to know what I was doing. It became this whole thing if I am this person with this role and this responsibility, what do I believe are the new values I should have? What do I believe the new beliefs? And everybody tells you, as you're a woman, oh, you know, fake it till you make it. That never worked for me, right? It felt like imposter syndrome. Instead, it was act as if. So I started asking the questions around what would that future patty need to believe and value? And I would set those as goals, literally just act as if I was already that future patty. So it wasn't a goal I was working toward, it was a belief system and an identity change that I had. And I'm wondering if the resolution or what we should call it is something more along those lines, right? Around, and I don't have a word for it. And so I'll say 15,000 instead. Um, but like, what could that be? And what do you all think of that? And Dan, like, does that resonate when you think about how you view resolutions, a different or future version of yourself that you take on that identity?

Dan 19:40

Yeah, oh, I love that. We'll keep using the word resolutions now for a moment, but these these things um that shape the way we act and also who we are. And it's it's a little bit of both. So yeah, I think why haven't we come up with a better word than resolution? Uh, maybe because we haven't asked the question, what is a better word than resolution?

unknown 19:59

Um

Dan 20:00

But Patty, I also want to pull a thread on something you said earlier. It wouldn't be an episode of listening for the questions if we didn't talk about gender inequity, right? So what I'm wondering here is are New Year's resolutions equally accessible to everyone? And really, are they equally burdensome to everyone? Do some of us find these less burdensome and more accessible than others? Like, do women feel more pressure to make resolutions or like certain kinds of resolutions than than men? That's kind of my eternal question in this uh podcast is what is the the role of gender and gender equity and other types of equity in the in the topic?

Lynne 20:36

Huh. Well, I mean, we could do some deep dive research into that some other time, and I'm I would be fascinated to see what we came up with. I mean, I think I know we don't answer questions, but Dan probably the short answer is yes, right? There probably are cultural differences in resolutions as well as gender differences. I mean, different cultures have different New Years, for one thing. Um, I'm just I'm wondering, like, what's the question we should be asking about gender differences and this concept of New Year's resolutions? I I don't know what the question is. I I don't I don't think it has anything to do with New Year's.

Patti 21:14

I I think it is that that um new me thing. And you know, going back to an earlier question, one of you asked, which is, and who is the resolution for anyway? So, Dan, when I think about New Year's resolutions and Lynn, this might resonate with you because we're both women. I have heard countless my mother, my aunts, my friends, me as I got older, my New Year's resolution, I'm gonna stop eating blah. I'm going to lose blah. I'm gonna go to the gym, blah, right? And it was always that. It was never about I'm gonna be stronger, but it was trying to live up to someone else's ideal of what I should look like. And that was my resolution that would be broken by probably that second week in January, where I was paying the membership and that was not right, I wasn't cashing that in. Dan, did you grow up as a man? Thank you, you know, for representing, but did you grow up as a man with that same kind of, I'm just gonna say it superficial kind of thing where like there are commercials about it, right, Lynn? Like, like like beating into us the diet pill commercials, the gym commercials, the clothing commercials, all that. Did you face that pressure as a man to align a New Year's resolution with how you look and are perceived by the rest of the world based on your physical appearance?

Dan 22:35

Yeah, what a great question, Patty. And I have no recollection of ever feeling that my New Year's resolution should be somehow related to my appearance. That's I have zero recollection in my 52, 53 years of you know life on this planet. That's that's never been a thing that I've been aware of.

Lynne 22:54

That's why I want to go back, Patty, to the question you asked a couple of minutes ago. I wrote it down because I thought this this question, I feel like, is the question of our episode. What will I know or believe or value at the end of the year that I don't know? Nothing about appearance in that. I just love that question. And the end of the year can be December, it can be when your birthday comes, it can be June, it can be where whenever the hell you want it to be. But it's that question: what will I know or believe or value at the end of the year that I don't know? I love that question, Patty.

Dan 23:35

And that is a brilliant, perfect question. What if we ask New Year's questions instead of making resolutions? And this feels very on-brand for this podcast.

Patti 23:43

It changes everything. And look, let let's just take, for example, the superficial, completely unobtainable view of what we should look like as women. And Dan, I'm so happy that you answered that question, honestly, when I asked you. So instead of um, my resolution is to stop eating like crap, start working out, and therefore I'm going to be a size, whatever my size desired size is. Instead, what about? I wonder what it would be like to eat for my body type in this point in time and to find out how that feels inside of me. Is it fueling my brain? And I'm of a certain age now, right? You know, my looks are, they've always kind of been for me. But it's more like, how am I feeling? Am I performing optimally? Am I able to kind of, you know, get up off the ground, that kind of stuff, right? And so, like, it's it's like one is an external validation requirement that many women I know, I know Lynn, you're the same as me, don't actually care, even though the pressure is out there, right? And then it wasn't always like that for me. Whereas the other, when it comes to a curiosity that you want to learn more about, is an internal kind of thing. And I love that. I love, love, love that. And all of a sudden, the the stuff you know becomes different, the stuff you question becomes different, but it's so much more of an adventure instead of a mandate that feels makes me honestly feel bad about myself. And why do resolutions make us feel bad about ourselves? Because we're not leading with curiosity.

Lynne 25:18

Yes. So I love this idea, Dan, that we have a New Year's question and the New Year's starts whenever. And that also I think addresses your question about different cultures. Having a New Year's question all of a sudden makes it accessible to everybody because we can all ask a question. We can all be curious about something that's important to us.

Dan 25:39

I love that. I think I'm gonna shift any resolutions that I was already planning uh up until this point. I did write a couple of them down. I'm gonna see if I can phrase them in the form of a question for the year ahead, and I think that's gonna be a much more interesting approach to the end of the year and the start of the new year.

Patti 25:56

So you know you two have been waiting for this. Dan brought up gender equity as he does, and guess what? I'm gonna bring up AI. AI. Oh my gosh. Oh, and next year we are, I'm sorry, this year, excuse me, we are having so many questions about AI. I'm going to demand it. So many because of the role that it's now playing in our lives. So there is, um I'm starting to train, um, I'm starting to train Google Gemini right now because I use chat so much that I'm training Gemini. And I put in a question for Gemini around what should my New Year's resolutions be? Or what if I had to pick one New Year's resolution, what would it be? And it's questions, it gave me questions in order to help me. Isn't that interesting? And I thought, wow, right? That is decision interruption. Pretty soon after that, that I saw that I don't know if you saw it, but that chat GPT commercial, which is brilliant, by the way. Excellent job to those marketers and and ad agencies that came up with it. And it's essentially a guy that wants to learn how to do pull-ups by the end of the year. And so it gives him, it acts as his almost human coach, starts from where he is, gives him this program, right? So he doesn't have to hire an expensive coach. You know, he's doing these held accountable, it's very clear. And again, it's based in his life, but it's these broken down kinds of steps. And so I don't remember what the resolution was, but it ended up breaking it up into steps for me. January, you're gonna focus on this. It's a foundation, February, right? So it was just such an interesting thing. And so I guess my question is if we're, you know, one of the things, Lynn, I love that you're honest. I'm not sharing my resolution with you, right?

Lynne 27:42

I'm not the beginning of the show.

Patti 27:43

I do have you're transformed now, right? But but right. And so, like, when it comes to AI, what it did for me was decision interruption. It made me rethink. Like, I would have asked those questions to myself in September when I do the what will I learn, but not in in January. So, what are your, and I'll I'll do a little thing, maybe put it in my my um my post with this around like how many people went to AI for New Year's resolution help. Would you trust AI to help you with your New Year's resolution formation? Like, is there a role for this tech that's becoming so personal and our our second little best friend?

Lynne 28:22

So I did I did ask. Um, I I call Claude Maud. So I asked my Maud, um, what questions I should be asking about New Year's resolutions? And I guess because I have trained her to know me enough, one of the things she said was, she asked a question. She said, I'm curious, which I was like, really? Are you? Um I'm curious, are you approaching this new year differently than you might have in previous years, given your journey from constant forward motion towards learning how to rest?

Dan 28:54

Wow. Right? That's amazing. I I love that these AIs are moving into a question mode rather than an answer mode. Uh last year we did a little exercise where we were exploring the question: how do we avoid being harmed by AI hallucinations? You know, where AI is just making stuff up and putting out things with great confidence that are actually not based in fact. And one of the techniques we came up with was what if we asked AI for questions instead of asking AI for answers? So that seemed like a good way to avoid being harmed by AI hallucinations. And I love that you both have have mentioned that and the AIs are coming back to you with good questions and prompts to get you thinking and interrupting those decisions rather than just coming and just telling you, well, your resolution should be this.

Patti 29:41

I can't not say this though, right? So there is a reason AI wants you to wants to ask you questions and have you, because we're ultimately training it, right? And everyone in the AI will tell you AI is never going to be as worse as it is right now because it's constantly learning. So for AI, it's those decisions. And so just keep in mind the questions Lynn and I got as follow-ups for a decision interruption is simply the algorithms training themselves to understand what they need to do to interact with humans. And also, I do need to make a disclaimer. So many are starting to use AI for mental health help. Do not do that. That is not what we're talking about. It is not a trained therapist. Had to say that PSA, but it's so critically important. And so, what I really like is, you know, I'm hearing you, Lynn, and I'm going, but AI can be helpful to help us be more in touch and be more human, right? To help ask those questions. So is AI something that each of you, and and Dan, I love that you said instead of asking for answers, give us prompts, give me questions, poke holes in how I am thinking, which I ask AI to do all of the time, right? Act as if you are, I don't know, Steve Jobs and you are looking at my idea. Poke, you know, poke, poke holes in that. Um, is that do we see AI taking a bigger role in our lives when it comes to creating change in our lives, right? Creating the new curiosity factors that we should have.

Dan 31:14

Yeah, that's a terrific question. As much as I would love to spend some time answering it, I think we're gonna call it there. So that is our time for today. Listeners, thank you for joining us on this first episode of season two. And before we close out our final episode, we want to leave you with a few final questions to ponder and to think about. Uh, first, what if you asked a New Year's question instead of setting a New Year's resolution?

Lynne 31:37

And then ask yourself why that question and whose values does it reflect, and who might help you with it, or who would be helped by it, and who might you ask it with?

Dan 31:49

So thanks for joining us at the start of season two. Be sure to tune in next episode when we actually will be asking questions about misinformation and disinformation.

Lynne 31:58

Finally, for reels, for all our all our eagle-eared, it's a term I just made up, uh, listeners who first heard us publicize that we'd be asking questions about mis and disinformation all the way back on our building and rebuilding episode. It's finally here.

Patti 32:17

And what are those questions we should be asking when we talk about misinformation and disinformation?

Lynne 32:23

Today's episode was sponsored by Fresh Starts. Fresh Starts when any day can be January 1st.

Dan 32:30

Our music was composed by Jake Cupernall.

Lynne 32:33

Our cover art was created by Matt. Catch you next time.