Ahhh. It’s that time - the start of just another one of our year-long, self-renewal projects. Following New Years, everybody feels untouchable. We go around telling everyone, “Last year just didn’t do it for me. This is going to be my year.” But why wasn’t last year your year? Is it because you went through a crappy breakup? Did you not do as well in school as you had hoped for?

Let me ask you something. Since when did getting into one minor car crash stop anyone from driving ever again? When did losing a football game prevent a team from ever stepping on the field again?

It didn’t.

So, why should we go around claiming that 2018, 2019, or 2020 is going to be our year simply because we didn’t like a few circumstances life handed us during the previous one?

That’s what life is all about: the ups and downs.

If we go through life year after year claiming each and every one wasn’t good enough due to some hardship and adversity, then we are surely missing out.

Every year should be “our year.” We’re here, aren’t we?

Bad things happen. You make mistakes. We all do, don’t we? A new year should not come with the idea of fixing ourselves or shaming the experiences we perceive as unfortunate. Instead, we should prepare ourselves and set goals to indulge, appreciate, and LEARN from every experience 2018 has in store for us, and yes, that includes the good and the bad.

As one of my favorite comedians, Chris Delia, once stated in his intricate stand-up spew of comical intellect, “We all think we’re the 'Man on Fire'.” We all think we’re special, that every mistake or sh*tty experience we encounter the previous year should be forgotten and brushed under the rug just because we flip another page of our calendar. This isn’t how we should think. Now, don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with setting goals for ourselves and striving to be better. Yet, I hate seeing all over social media, “2017 was the worst year of my life” or “I f***ed up already, 2019 my year fosho.” No, just get up and move forward and remember that there is also absolutely nothing wrong with messing up every once and a while. Life would be too perfectly boring if we didn’t.

Every year is our year. So, Happy New Year. Let’s make 2018 the worst one yet.