New Year’s Eve has come and gone.

Holiday decorations are being socked away and everywhere you look people are getting ready to buckle down for the year ahead. They’re making decisions, promises to themselves and others that 2017 will somehow be better than 2016. And maybe it will be. Or maybe it’ll be worse.

There’s no way of knowing what time has in store for any of us. No matter where you are in the world, the only thing that’s certain is that this New Year will be full of challenge. It’ll have its fair share of heartache and grief, personal and global challenges, things we’ll all have to overcome. But there will be happy moments, too. And no matter how small, these are the things that make everything seem worthwhile.

But it’s hard for people to remember this, to be hopeful in the wake of such a pessimistic year. We’re angry and we’re upset, and all together we’re just plain tired. We don’t feel we have the energy for another year; we’re skeptical of those who do. And for as long as there have been New Years, there have been people who are cynical of New Year’s resolutions. It seems like a recipe for a stagnant 2017, and that’s why I’m trying so desperately to reach all of you now. You have to keep trying.

You have to make a New Year’s resolution.

Even if you’re certain you’ll fail, even if you’re certain it’s pointless. Make a resolution. Take advantage of the time of year, of the atmosphere and the age old tradition. Make 2017 the year you tried. A life without goals isn’t a life worth living, and even if you fail you’ll be so much better off just for trying. You have to test yourself in order to grow, and nothing worth having was ever easy to get.

So set a resolution, big or small. Make it your goal to smile more, to read a book. Make it your aim to look after your physical or mental well-being. Try to cook something new or learn a second language. Take walks, get organized, donate — literally anything you can think of. Just pick something!

Because maybe by January 31 or even the day after reading this article you’ll have already failed. You’ll have given up, changed course and moved on. But that’s okay. Life gets in the way sometimes and we have to put our goals on hold. But, damn it, you know what? You tried. You tested yourself. You started something and, odds are, you felt good.

So hold onto it. You’re allowed to give up and you can always take breaks. Just because it was your New Year’s resolution doesn’t mean it’s your life for the next 365 days. You can come back to it in waves. Attack it when you can and retreat when you need to. This is your resolution, your goal. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for it. Do it for you, try for you. Make 2017 your year.

Make a New Year’s resolution.