1. You’ve been to hell and back in 2016 – and you’ve emerged stronger than ever.
2016 most definitely was not your year. You fumbled and flailed your way through twelve full months, but you came out the other side with a good grasp of what not to try again. And more importantly, you survived one of the most chaotic years of your life. That’s no small accomplishment.
2. You’re done putting up with bullshit.
You’re no longer interested in what others think of your choices – and you’re done letting other people’s opinions shape your decisions. In 2017, you’re prioritizing what you know is best for you – and if anyone has a problem with that, it’s their problem to deal with, not yours.
3. You’re realistically optimistic.
You don’t expect your whole life to change overnight. You also don’t expect to get to anywhere worth going without a few road bumps along the way. But the potential setbacks that lie ahead are no longer enough to deter you. You’re ready to tackle whichever obstacles rear their ugly heads.
4. You’re surrounded by people who believe in you.
You’ve begun choosing your company wisely – rather than surrounding yourself with pessimists and naysayers, you’ve found a community of people who share your passions and values. You’re invested in one another’s growth, and that investment is pushing you forward.
5. You’re seeking out opportunities for growth.
You’re actively researching courses you can take, books you can read and experiences you can have that will bring you closer to your long-term goals. You’re looking for ways to translate your daydreams into concrete realities and you’re taking those first important steps.
6. You’re no longer making decisions based on what other people want for you.
You’re done conceding to the opinions of people who do not share your values. You know what you want from your life and you’re ready to start living it on your own terms, not anybody else’s.
7. You regularly feel like the least talented person in the room.
You’re surrounding yourself with people who inspire you immeasurably – and therefore providing yourself with some kickass role models. In the words of Austin Kleon, ‘If you ever find that you’re the most talented person in the room, you need to find another room.’
8. You are nervous about what’s coming next.
If you’re never nervous, there’s a very good chance that you’re not doing anything important. Feeling nervous means you’re going for something that matters to you – something that has the potential to pay off for you big-time.
9. You have a plan and you’re hell-bent on following it.
Your daydreams have been upgraded to action plans. Even if you don’t have every detail precisely mapped out, you’re looking at the reality of what it will take to get yourself to where you want to go – and your goals are looking more and more achievable every day.
10. You’re ready for unexpected upsets.
You don’t expect everything to go off without a hitch. You know that there are going to be road blocks and hiccups along the road to success and you’re prepared to tackle each one. You know the coming year may not be easy, but you’re fairly sure it’s going to be worth it.
11. You’re feeling restless.
The things that used to inspire you now bore you and the challenges you once had to rise to feel commonplace. You’re outgrowing the life that you’ve been living, and you’re ready to tackle what’s next. Even if what’s up next is scary and uncertain.
12. Your current circumstances are no longer serving you.
Every decision you made in the past was, at some point, exactly what you wanted. But the wants you had in the past no longer apply to the person you are now. You’re ready to switch up the routines that have been working for you for a while now, because you’re acutely aware of the fact that you’re not living up to your full potential.
13. When you envision the future, it looks vastly different than the present.
You have ideas about where you want to be in five, ten or twenty years – but none of them line up to where you are now. You’re aware of the fact that your life needs overhauling – and you’re ready to get started on the overhaul.
14. The thought of things staying the way they are is scarier than the thought of them changing.
For a long time, you wanted to stay small and comfortable inside the life you’d created for yourself. And that’s okay! But lately, the pain of staying small is starting to outweigh the pain you know that it is going to take to grow. You’re willing to welcome a few small-scale changes for the worse, in order to accommodate for the large-scale changes for the better.
15. You feel like a completely different person than the one you were on January 1st, 2016.
When you look back to the beginning of this year, you barely recognize the person you were back then. You’ve grown immensely – without even realizing it – this year, and you have no intention to stop.
16. You’re excited about what’s coming next.
You no longer feel indifferent when you think about the future. You’re curious, delighted and maybe a little bit terrified. But you’re feeling something. And that’s a hell of a good sign.
17. You can’t imagine what your life might look like at the end of 2017.
You have hopes for 2017. You have plans for it. But at the end of the day, you cannot say with certainty where you’ll be standing at the end of the next year of your life.
Because you’re ready to take some important risks this year. And no matter what happens, you at least know it’s not going to be boring. 
