You have colleagues and employees. You have that flakey friend. You have a sibling who is a mess. You have a parent who is critical or meddlesome. And this isn’t even getting to the random strangers you have to deal with on your complicated commute or at the coffeeshop you go to.

These people are exhausting. They’re frustrating. But you put up with them because you’re nice, because you don’t want to say anything, because it’s just one little interaction, because finding a new place for coffee or hiring a new person or having that tough conversation would be…well, tough.

Here’s the problem though: We only have a finite amount of patience. So by indulging and indulging, absorbing and absorbing, we’re wasting a very precious resource…one that parenting demands a lot of. So why are we giving all our patience away to people who are not our children?!?

As we head out into a new year, we should challenge ourselves with a resolution: This year, I am reserving the bulk of my patience, my benefit of the doubt, for the people I owe it to most. The people you pay money to to deliver a service? They go to the back of the line! Your neighbor? Back of the line. The person you know from growing up with poor boundaries? Back of the line.

But resolutions are one thing. Following through is another.

That’s where the Daily Stoic New Year, New You Challenge comes in. It’s 21 days of actionable challenges—sent one per day—rooted in the timeless wisdom of Stoic philosophy, designed to help you:

• Set boundaries
• Conquer insecurities
• Be more generous
• Stop procrastinating
• Appreciate the world around you
• Become the person your family—and you—deserve.

This year, don’t just hope to get better. Challenge yourself to do it. Make 2025 the year you protect what’s precious, rise to the hard things, and embrace the best version of yourself.

Head over to dailystoic.com/challenge and sign up for the Daily Stoic New Year, New You Challenge today. We start January 1, 2025.