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We all know it, 2016 was a little lacklustre. Ok, it sucked. There have been memes, videos, comedic skits, news reports, and more on the subject of the losses, tragedies, and political headaches (I’m putting this lightly) that made up our 2016 year…but that doesn’t mean we should head into 2017 thinking it’s going to be more of the same. While I’m a firm believer that a person can (and should) make resolutions for themselves throughout the year, and not just on that “magical” January 1st day, I am also a hopeful person, which means that I’m hoping the world, ourselves included, can use the countdown as a kind of reset on our mental states so that we can head into whatever is coming with a positive, “we got this” kind of attitude.  Hard? Definitely. Impossible? No way.  So, in the hopes of helping you to head into the rest of 2017 with some of the positivity that may have been starting to hide itself under the covers these past few months, here are our thoughts on how to start the New Year right.

And, to help us do that, we’re turning to some more professional people who might have better insight on the topic:

1. Forbes (believe it or not, they’ve got some good things to say!): A neat article all about how to check our thoughts before they can wreck us; having a handle on what we think, how we think, and why, can give us the skills we need to develop some positive thinking skills that are always much needed as a grad student.
2. CBC News: Probably putting into words better than we could about how to actually make New Year’s resolutions and stick with them; note that right from the get-go they advise us to accept failure (we’re human, it’s going to happen, just don’t let it stop you).
3. Youtube: Ok, this one is really a dose of cuteness overload with a pretty good message about resolutions on Jan 1st. Is the little girl reading from cards her parents wrote? Probably, but that doesn’t make what she has to say any less relevant. Some mental floss and wisdom in one.

A while back, one of my own resolutions (not made at New Year’s) was to embrace who I was, and from that I learned how important it is for everybody to do the same. So, whether you decide to make resolutions or not, whether you actually follow the above links to learn some mental health skills, or whether you completely decide to just keep plugging away as you’ve been plugging away, that’s ok.

If you don’t mind though, Gradlife has gone ahead and made some resolutions for you on your behalf. Here are our hopes for you in the coming months:

We hope you find joy in the small things, that you take care of yourselves first, and remember to appreciate the obstacles you’ll encounter for the lessons they can become. We hope you appreciate who you are everyday and know that even if you don’t set any resolutions this January, you’ll still accomplish things this year that are resolution and celebration worthy.

We hope, most of all, that you don’t undervalue the strengths that you have, and that you’re able to carry these strengths with you to have a wonderful 2017. Happy New Year, and welcome back!