As a kid, New Years was almost equivalent to Christmas for me. I am a dreamer at my very core and setting new goals in hopes for becoming something new was magic. I would look to celebrities or other people who I thought were wonderful and I would idealize what I thought their life must be like. I set goals to do the things they did so I could be the person they were.

Like most people I would start the year out strong in keeping with my goals, but after weeks (and sometimes days), I quickly fell behind and felt hopeless at ever accomplishing what I set out to do.

A few years ago, the slogan “New Year, New Me” became popular and while at first I really loved it, I’ve realized it is quite honestly garbage. We need to nix this “new year, new me” mentality, because we are great exactly as we are.

Are there things we can improve on? Certainly. But that is no reason to completely reinvent ourselves.

Instead of focusing on ways you want to change this New Year, maybe first take a minute to think about your strengths. Grab a journal and write down everything you did well over the last year. What were your big accomplishments? What positive qualities were you able to use or strengthen? When were moments that you were proud of who you were?

Now before you dig into a plan for how you want to improve, remember to use your strengths to help you get where you want to go! Were you really determined in getting As in your classes? Use that same determination to improve your exercise habits and become determined to exercise for at least 20 minutes a day. Were you really good at keeping your work calendar organized so you could stay on top of things? Channel that same organizational strength into keeping your kitchen organized.

You already have many of the strengths and qualities you need in order to accomplish the goals you have set for yourself. So don’t let that go to waste! Keep nourishing those qualities so they become stronger and stronger!

Please remember as we go through this new year that you already are so wonderful! While there are areas you may want to improve in, don’t forget about all the parts of you that are so great and needed in this world.