If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say “New Year, New Me!” in January, I’d buy myself a plane ticket to Europe.

While this reboot mindset is a great place to start, it won’t do you much good if you solely rely on wiping the slate clean at the start of each year.

Now, I am a firm believer in goal setting. I think that you can honestly achieve anything if you are willing to set aside your personal agenda to work towards that goal. But I also believe there is a difference between setting a goal and wiping your slate clean with the turn of the calendar.

You don’t have to have a blank slate to have personal growth. In fact, I think we learn the best and grow the most from the experiences that are tough to wipe away.

Speaking for myself – and hopefully many of you – there was a lot to be learned from 2017. From all the bumps and turns in the road regarding friendships, family, school, and our world, I found out so much about myself.

When the end of December came rolling around, I was fired up, ready to leave the past in the past.

Then I got to thinking… Why leave the past behind? It’s not going anywhere, after all.

I think it’s important to go into every situation with an open mind and a go-getter mentality. And regardless of all the crummy things that may have happened in the past, it’s important to start the year off on the right foot, just not with New Year’s resolutions.

Real goals are present every day; they don’t simply start on New Years. Tying your aspirations for personal growth to a specific day once a year will result in backtrack, not achievement, of your goal.

Revisit your list of priorities. We can become so easily lost in the midst of friends, homework, and hobbies, and often forget personal time to reboot.

When you spend the time figuring out what is meaningful to you and what will help you become the best version of yourself, it all becomes pretty simple from then on out.

Another thing you can do this year is aim to leave your comfort zone more often. This can be a range of different things.

Maybe you could try signing up for a club or course you wouldn’t have originally considered, maybe you could listen to a new type of music, maybe you could pick up a new hobby, or maybe you could make a new group of friends.

Getting out of your comfort zone can include a wide range of things.

Don’t ignore the past; what’s happened has happened, and you can’t depend on a new year to somehow create the new you. My point is, try something new this year. Make a list of your goals and focus on personal growth.

As Hannah Montana once said, “Life’s what you make it, so let’s make it rock.”