We've heard it all a million times. "New year, new you!" Don't get me wrong, the idea is great. I love the thought of starting a brand new year with tons of unwritten pages to fill with memories, laughs, and life lessons that I can look back on at the end of the year and smile about. More than the potential of a new great year, I love getting the chance to set new goals. Every year it's something different. "This year, I'm going to spend less time on my electronics." "This year, I'm going to be a better friend." This one never gets old. Deep down... it's still kinda my goal every year even if I don't say it; "This year, I'm finally going to get fit." Maybe if you're like me, you get really excited about all of your new resolutions and you feel motivated by seeing just how far you can carry out what you started. Have you noticed a re-occurring pattern? Each New Year's Day we decide what we are going to change about ourselves. That my friend, is the very heart of the problem. We are changing ourselves. When we set out to change our flaws, we will fail every time. That is why our resolutions never reach a finish line. I'm purposing a new idea... a revolution, if you will. What would 2017 look like if we didn't try to change ourselves, but better ourselves? I'm calling it "The New year without a resolution."

Now hear me out before you start getting all huffy and puffy thinking that I don't want you to be happy by reaching your goals. I totally do. The issue at hand is the concept of "a new you." I don't want a new you. I want to see and know the you, you've always been. How many times at the start of each new year do you look in the mirror and pick out something about the way you look on the outside and decide to change that? Maybe this will be the year you finally conquer your battle with skin care. Could this be the year that those pesky, lingering pounds you've been trying to fight off, finally come off? I've been there. I've had these very goals. The reason I've failed time and time again? Because I told myself that I was going to change myself. I wanted to be a new me. Change implies starting all over from the beginning of your journey to start again. The problem with change is our way of trying to erase all of the lessons we learned along the way, just because the outcome isn't what we wanted. Those life lessons learned on our separate journeys make up who we are. When we lose sight of that, we lose sight of the goal altogether. I'll put it to you this way. Let's say I wanted to lose 50 pounds in 2017. Change tells me to forget that before I lost 50 pounds off of my body, that I was once 50 pounds heavier. Change defeats me and makes me exhausted. Changing myself doesn't work for me. You know what does? Bettering myself.

While change says start from the beginning, bettering says start where you are. You don't have to go back to the drawing boards to come up with a brand new plan to be who you want to be, just start. Make gradual changes at a time, because all of the small changes add up... over time. This is the key. Give you dreams time. Give the person you want to be time. It's possible to become the person you want to be, yes it is, but this stuff takes time. Your mind, body, and soul deserve the time it takes to adjust to the changes you want to see in yourself, and if you persist, they will all align and work together to get you to where you want to be. If you're reading this, chances are I may not know you personally, but that doesn't mean I can't cheer you on from afar. I BELIEVE IN YOU! If no one else does, maybe not even yourself, I do. Join me in 2017 and stop the movement of changing who we are, but bettering who we are. I have an awesome feeling about the year ahead... and I can't wait to hear about how much "better" this year will be for you because you decided to embrace who you already are, and make improvements when needed. Happy New Year! 2017... LET'S GO!