How To Make 2017 Your Best Year Yet

With only a few days left to the end of 2016, we’ve finally reached that point of time where we either waddle around in a pool of content that a new year is finally coming, or waddle around in a pool of misery that the year passed by way too fast.

Whether your 2016 went exactly how you wanted it to, or even if it didn’t, every single experience throughout these 366 days (let’s not forget that 2016 was a leap year, eh?) was worth something, even a little bit. So, to usher in the new year, here are five steps to make sure that you’re powering through into 2017 with good energy and good energy only...

Step 1: Take some time to reflect on the ups and downs!

It’s almost impossible to get through an entire year with things going exactly the way your heart desires. Rainy days come while you wait for the sunny ones, and that’s okay – in fact that’s going to help you grow. There’s no harm in sitting down and looking back on some of the most memorable moments you’ve had throughout your year, both memorably good and memorably bad.

Sit down, take some time off and reflect on what you’ve learnt from each experience and how much you’ve gained from it. Reflect on how you could have handled some situations better and how you could have avoided mistakes if a similar scenario is to knock on your door again. Reflect on the person that you’ve become, the person that you want to be and the person that you don’t. Every year is a fresh slate, so why not take on this new chapter with lessons that you want to carry through, while throwing away habits that you don’t want to bring along with you?

Step 2: Clarify your goals!

Most of us start our year with a list of resolutions or a list of targets that we want to achieve. Well, how many of them did we follow through with? Or more so, how many of them did we feel were important enough for us to put in effort to follow through with?

Goals that you set up for yourself should be of high importance to you and the quality of your life. As you greet a new year, take it as a chance to greet a fresh new block of sufficient time to start working towards great things that matter to you. Get yourself a planner (in this modern day, there are tons of planner apps for your devices so you have no excuses!), list down all the things you want to achieve professionally or personally, and start deciding on deadlines on when you want to achieve them by!

Step 3: Relive moments!

There simply is no feel in ending a new year without some sort of sentimental or nostalgic waves hitting you. Look through pictures and videos that you’ve taken, watch your favourite movie of the year or that one episode of that show that you remember going days thinking about or listen to the songs you feel you’ve played most. Think about how every family gathering, holiday or party went, and count your blessings that you’ve ended your year with even one thing that’s worth looking back on.

Step 4: Do something you haven't gotten around to do yet – you have a day left!

Maybe you’ve always wanted to take a drive to a neighbouring state or to the highlands for a quick getaway? Maybe you’ve always wanted to take someone you love to eat at a nice little cafe or restaurant? Or maybe you just haven’t slept in till noon like what you’ve wanted to do in a long time? Well... do it!

After 366 days of being able to push things back to tomorrow, next week or next month, are you sure you want to push it into a next year?

Step 5: Relax!

Set some time aside to clear your head and take a breather. Don’t end your year stressed or upset – don’t you want a new year to be bigger and greater than the last? Then make sure that you rise up to the occasion and make yourself bigger and greater than all the little setbacks resting in the back of your mind. Spend some quality time with your family, significant other or friends. You could even just sit down in your favourite spot with your favourite drink and ease the tension that you’ve always found hard to let go of.

It’s funny how regardless of how many times we go through the routine of preparing for a new year, it makes you feel a different sense of anxiousness and excitement each time. People grow and change every day – one year makes a whole lot of difference to how you have grown as a person and that’s something that should always be embraced and recognised as you reach those last few days of December.

2016 has been an interesting year for many of us not just in Malaysia but all around the world. Let’s make 2017 just as memorable – for the right reasons, of course. Have a happy new year, everyone!