As a new year has started, we are forced to look back on the previous one. Memories are shared between friends and family. The good and the bad all brought back to us, causing many to make resolutions. Some resolutions may be big, such as quitting smoking, others small like vowing to eat healthier. There’s always a trend among resolutions; usually they center on changing appearance of lifestyles. This trend needs to be broken. Yes, although resolutions like losing weight or quitting drinking can be beneficial to one’s health, it is time to change our mindset about these resolutions and start making ones that will better our souls and mental health. 2016 is the year to change for real.

Too often we make resolutions based solely on improving our physical appearances. This year is the year to change all that. 2016 should be the year where we focus on improving our thoughts. It is the year to drop any negativity which prevents us from accomplishing our goals. Instead of making promises to oneself about changing their sense of style, try making resolutions to feel more confident in your own clothes. For many, 2015 was a year of feeling less confident, especially for freshmen going into college. With a new environment, people felt lost during the first semester, desperately trying to fit in. This year, also marking the start of a new semester, should be the opportunity to get back to our true selves and feel comfortable with who we are.

The start of the new year is also marking an end to toxicity. Toxic friendships and one-sided relationships are both examples of those which people usually want to leave behind. But this should not be their focus. The point of the new year is to gain new insight. As you walk away from these bad relationships, do not just focus on finding a new one to replace it but rather focus on what you have taken away from the toxic ones. Use the memories and experiences to put towards changing yourself. If you were a pushover in a relationship, don’t go into the new year simply looking for a partner vastly different from the last one; instead vow to better yourself by putting an end to people stepping all over you. In order to change one’s life, one must start with themselves. Take away the negative thoughts and negative habits and replace it with actions that bring you joy.

So many times people think of resolutions in such a one-sided way of leaving things behind, just as they are leaving the previous year, but that isn’t what is important. It is important to view it as a fresh start, as a way to change to better yourself. Everyone should feel comfortable enough to take out any negativity that surrounds their lives and channel positive attitudes instead. The phrase “New Year, new me” is ruining the true meaning of the new year because so many people think they need to drastically alter their appearance or their friends or even their personalities. The true motto of the new year should be “New Year, new mindset” because it is only through good mental health and positive thoughts that we will see improvement in our daily lives. A better year depends solely on you, so make this one start off right.