Author and philosopher G.K. Chesterton has said the object of a new year is not that we should have a new year, but rather that we should have a new soul.

In a way, I think he’s right. There’s so much more to a new year than just making New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and get more exercise, earn more money or even to be nicer to others.

There’s something about getting to start a new year that brings us an inner hope that maybe this time we will get it right, that maybe this year we will become more the kind of person we imagine we are on our best days.