You redesigned your website… and your logo.

You wore all the right clothes, the client even complimented your taste.

You built a beautiful presentation. The pie chart on slide 17 was a work of art.

You used all the right buzzwords. The near-term impact of aligning communications at that level of granularity will offset any sunk cost incurred during the front end loading phase of the process.

You gave a truly inspiring speech to your employees. It was a stroke of genius to incorporate The Fault in Our Stars into your ending. Major Kleenex factor.

You marked off every box on your task list today.  √ OCD tendencies satisfied.

You journaled your thoughts for the day. Now your insecurities are documented.

So how come your hard work didn’t pay off?

Ask yourself a few simple questions:

“Did I solve any important problems today?”

“Did I add meaning to the world?”

“Did I do anything to make tomorrow better than today?”

Sometimes we get so occupied tending to foliage that we neglect the roots. You can paint dead leaves green, but they’ll still be dead.