We can almost see it, the 2017, the new year is about to arrive. It carries a big suitcase, and it is loaded with hopes, opportunities, challenges, adventures, goals, dreams and more. And I believe we all wonder the same questions… What thing in that suitcase has my name on it? What will the future hold? The answer is simple: The 2017 will bring us what is best for us and all those things that we are ready to receive. Are your arms open? Is your heart open? Are you ready to accept the new opportunities of this new year?

Every new year comes with new opportunities and challenges for every one of us. They come in different shapes, colors and sizes. They come in different ways and in different times, and we all receive at least one opportunity to improve our lives, to discover our true self, to develop our character, to become the best version of ourselves, to grow, to evolve. Those are purposes of these opportunities and challenges.

I said that this 2017 will bring us what is best for us and what we are willing to receive. What I mean with this is that God and life are always ready to give us what is best for us, that is to say, all the new opportunities that will push ourselves forward. The problem is that we are not always willing to receive the gift of a new challenge. The reason could be because of fear, doubts, uncertainty, maybe because we prefer to stay in our comfort zone or because the gift is not to our liking. So, we refuse to accept the new opportunities, letting them go, losing our chance to improve, develop, grow and evolve.

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’…” – Alfred Tennyson

The new year can bring positive and “negative” things. With positive I mean a new job, a new relationship, an increase in your salary, a new trip, any kind of material possession, the achievement of a goal, a dream come true, a new home, another child, or any other positive thing that could happen to us. And with “negative” I mean those kinds of things that are opposite to the ones we call positive. For example, the loss of a job, more debts, the end of a relationship, the loss of any material possession, failure in any aspect of our lives.

What do we all want in this new year? We want more of the positive things and less of the negative ones. But what if the negative things have also a meaning? What if they happen for a reason that we do not yet comprehend? Well, the truth is that they also have a special meaning. The key is to discover its purpose, it could be for example, to make us learn a new lesson, or improve ourselves, to give us the chance to have better things, or simply because they want us to develop the greatness that is within us.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor E. Frankl

Always remember, that it is not what happens outside of us, that is to say, our external circumstances what really matters, but how we respond to those circumstances is what matters the most. Regardless of what happens to us, at any given moment we have the opportunity to decide how we are going to feel and how are we going to respond to what is happening. Therefore, face this new year with courage and optimism, be ready to receive the new gifts of this 2017. When a new opportunity, whether positive or not so positive knocks at your door, take it, and give your best to create the outcomes you expect. Always remember that no matter what happens, you are the creator of your own destiny!

Let’s say goodbye to this wonderful 2016 that is about to end with happiness and gratitude, because no matter what happened, we survived and nobody can take from us the lessons we learned, the wonderful moments, and all the things we got from it. Let’s keep the good memories, the important lessons, and take them with us in this new year. Leave behind what doesn’t serve you, and with hope, courage and enthusiasm receive this 2017 with your arms open. Be ready to face any challenge, do not surrender in the face of adversity, transform the negative into positive, use any circumstance in your favor, and never lose the opportunity to create the life you imagine!

A new year is coming, and this 2017 brings 365 new opportunities, and if we are ready to take them they will help us become the person we are meant to become so we can create the life we yearn, the one we deserve and the one we are capable of living.  Happy New Year!