I have mixed feelings going into the next year.

I mean, it’s going to be awful. We know that. (At least we’re prepared? As much as we can be, anyway.) I really don’t think any of us are going to get through the next few years entirely unscathed.

But I’m not entirely without hope. I still have moments of optimism. The feeling of motivation that hit me in November hasn’t gone away, even when I had to take the last couple of weeks off to focus on the holidays. And, while I’ve always had goals and plans, especially going into a new year, something feels different this time. Really, my long-term goals haven’t changed much, but they’re clearer to me now than they’ve ever been, and I’ve got a stronger sense of what I have to do to accomplish them.

And so, for 2017, my goal is to maintain that focus.