For most, January is often a time of reflection and resolution and I am always happy to jump aboard the (inevitable) pain train. For the past couple of years, January started with statements like, “2014 2015 2016 is going to be MY year!” or “2014 2015 2016 is the year I REALLY figure my life out!” as well as hopes for the coming year that usually included a deep desire to feel more fulfilled, wishing I could accomplish more (even if I wasn’t quite sure what that was) and hoping this would be the year that it would all turn around for me.

In the week leading up to 2017, I listened to one of my favorite podcasts, The Joy Junkie with Amy E. Smith, and something clicked. Her How to Make Shit Happen in 2017 episode made me realize that it takes more than a good ‘ol wish and a prayer to achieve real change. I recognized that my previous ‘resolutions’ (as stated above) were blanket statements with no clear outline as to what they meant, no measurable ways of deciding whether or not I had achieved them and no clear timeline as to when I wanted to complete them by – all things that are necessary for success and lasting change. This year, my resolutions look similar (um, because who doesn’t want to have their best year EVER?) but I have clearly defined what that means to me and I have outlined specific things I can do to achieve them.

The biggest point I took away from the episode was that while most of us are all gung-ho about setting resolutions for the New Year, we hardly ever take a look back to congratulate ourselves on what we DID accomplish in the prior year. 2016 was a tough year for me – words like ‘challenging’ and ‘lonely’ come to mind. But after stopping and taking a minute to look back, I remembered I did a lot of cool shit and I did grow along the way. And that, my friends, shocked the hell out of me. What I thought had been ‘another year wasted’, truly wasn’t. Though it was tough and my life didn’t do a 180, I did make progress. I did move forward. But most importantly, I kept going.

For your viewing pleasure (in no particular order), here are some of my funn-est/proudest/happiest moments of 2016:

i took a couple of pretty cool vacations!

I chopped eight inches off my hair! #shorthairdontcare

I saw BeyoncÉ in concert…

…and cole swindell and florida georgia line and kenny chesney!

I started going back to church.

For the first time in three years, I put up a Christmas tree…

…and sent a photo christmas card 🙂

So, yes. 2016 was good (even despite the bad). But 2017 and I are ready to show ’em who’s boss. And the best part is…it is all right on time.