You can dream all you want about how the upcoming year will be, but if you don't take action, 2017 very well might repeat itself. Try asking yourself questions like these to help spark your imagination and change your perspective this year.

1. What is your personal motto for 2018?

Draft a personal motto that's short enough to write on a sticky note, and then scatter multiple notes around your house, e.g., in the laundry room, on the bathroom mirror, or by the kitchen sink. The more you see this motto, the more likely you will be able to embody it.

2. What do you want to emphasize above everything else this year?

Do you want to grow stronger peer relationships, find success at work, indulge in self-care, devote more time to worship and prayer, spend more time with family, or focus on your physical health?

Take an hour each week to stop everything else and spend time on one of your focus areas. Make this your weekly routine for a few months, and then switch to another focus area, repeating this cycle until the end of the year.

3. If 2017 repeated itself over again during the coming year, would you be happy with it?

I'm not talking about the logistics of 2017 — I'm talking about the 2017 version of you. Would you be happy if you stayed the same person you were in 2017? Why or why not? What needs to change in your life in order for you to live this year differently?

4. Is there a person whose life, achievements, personality, strength, or attitude you wish to model yourself after this year?

Find a role model for yourself this year and find out how he or she became the person that they are today. Let them inspire you!

5. What one thing could you change about your life right now that would significantly improve it?

Is it changing your diet? Is it waking up earlier to watch the sun rise with your morning coffee? Is it taking time to reconnect with your family after your workday? Whatever it is, there's no better day than today to make a change in your life.

6. What are your personal, monetary, and relational goals for the coming year, and how can you achieve them?

Separate your goals into two categories: short-term goals; and BHAGS (huge goals that take months or years to accomplish). Write them down and leave them someplace where you will see them every day. Seeing your goals will inspire you to work towards them daily, and thus will increase your chances of achieving them.

7. Do you have a close friend or confidant who you can trust to support you as you better yourself this year?

Try to schedule a coffee or lunch date with this person, and use the opportunity to share your goals with them and ask them to support you in the coming year.

8. How dedicated are you to becoming the best version of yourself this year?

If you don't want to change, you never will.

9. What one thing can you do each day to help you become a better person inside and out?

Change doesn't happen overnight.

10. Who do you want to become this year?

2018 is a blank slate — make it your year.