Everyone celebrates the New Year in different ways, depending on cultural custom or family tradition. But a commonality in many of these rituals is the creation of New Year’s resolutions, also known as goals or changes of a usually extreme severity that each person is hoping to achieve in the upcoming year. Yet, everyone secretly knows that almost none of these dreams will survive the first month of 2017. In fact, some may have been extinguished already.

While it may seem fun to partake in this age-old tradition of making faulty promises to yourself and others, there are other, less pointless, ways to ring in the New Year.

1. Celebrating your life as it is right now.

Before rushing to scrutinize and fix the aspects of your life that you’ve deemed as issues, take time to fully absorb and understand your current situation- the good and the bad. Celebrate your life as a whole, and as individual aspects as well: the situations, the people, the ____; all of these things are significant in your life as it is today, and they should be celebrated as the beautiful puzzle pieces that they are.

2. Coming to a beautiful acceptance and love for your current self.

There is momentous hype around the notion of "New Year, New Me," but a more difficult, yet more realistic, theology is to begin the year with a means of self-love and acceptance. Rather than scrutinizing over which flaws and failures you wish to change, perhaps focus more on the things you like about yourself, physicality and/or character. Indulge yourself in understanding the beautiful being you are, then shift your focus more on growth as an individual rather than changing yourself to be more like your idols. You cannot erase who you are, and it's unhealthy to attempt to do so, but in a loving acceptance comes the desire to improve and grow.

A rose doesn’t wish for better brighter petals, or to become more like the sunflower; a rose’s only desire is to grow.

This year, focus on growing and becoming the best person you can be.

3. Choosing which dreams you truly wish to pursue for the next 365 days, and plan on how to achieve them.

If you make excess goals for the year, you’ll be less likely to achieve anything. Focus on one or two of your goals and thoroughly work through a plan on how to achieve them. Only after you complete these set goals should you work on additional aims. You will find yourself less stressed and more likely to accomplish the things you wish to.

Don't stress yourself over the New Year. Take a deep breath, embrace life's ups and downs and take on 2017 with a courageous smile.