When the New Year rolls around, it is a common tradition for many people to make a resolution on how they want to change for the upcoming year and what they are going to do to make their lives better. However, there have been many instances in my past where I have made resolutions and they have not worked out.

This seems to be the case for many different people, not just me. The problem is that we believe just because the year changes that we suddenly will. The saying "new year, new me" has led to people making resolutions that are not possible. For example, someone may make a resolution to reach their ideal weight even though in the year before they were not making any attempts to change their eating habits. If your goal is too extreme, then you are going to lose the motivation to complete it around the second or third month. I even have some friends that give up their resolutions hours after making it.

My New Year's resolution is to not let fear get in the way of me living my life. In the past, I have been an overly cautious person, and while it has definitely kept me out of trouble, I feel like it has also limited myself in the things that I am willing to try and the places that I am willing to go. I have always seen new things as scary, but instead of looking at it this way, I plan on taking the leap and doing what I want to do no matter what.

One of the ways that I plan on doing that is by going out of the country. Over the summer, I am going to Cancun, Mexico with my best friend and then for New Years I am going to New York City to see the ball drop, which is something I have always wanted to do but was never able to do because my parents didn't want to go with me. While these are both new experiences, they are experiences that I would not want to trade for anything.

So how do you create a resolution that will work for 2017? Take some time to really evaluate yourself. Think of things that you want to change and then pick a small goal that you can make that will make progress towards that larger goal.

The beginning of the year has always been seen as a chance to change who you are and your characteristics but why not do that at any point in the year? It's not going to be any easier to change yourself for the better right now than it would at the beginning of next year, so why do we treat it as such?

Whether you decide to take on a resolution or not, bettering yourself is something that all of us do in the long run whether we realize it or not. All of us have changed and matured over time, and we will continue to do so regardless of if there are resolutions made at the beginning of 2017. Happy New Years!