Living in a non-Muslim country, the year commences with January and therefore we find ourselves in that time of the year when people are adopting new resolutions for the coming year.

A New Year’s resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western World but also found in the Eastern World, in which a person resolves to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behaviour, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their life at the start of a new year. So long as a person is looking at ways to better themselves and bring about positive changes in their life, than no matter when you doing it, it is welcomed and should be given its due importance.

Although statistics show that more than half of all resolutions fail, but this year, they don’t have to be yours. If you know what you want and you work hard at it, you can become part of the small group of people that successfully achieve their goals.

When it comes to resolutions the first most important thing is to pick the Right Resolution.

You’ll give yourself your best shot at success if you set a goal that’s doable — and meaningful too.

According to leading psychologists, one third of resolutioners don’t make it past the end of January.

A lot of these resolutions fail because they’re not the right resolutions. And a resolution may be wrong for one of three main reasons:

1. It’s a resolution created based on what someone else (or society) is telling you to change.
2. It’s too vague.
3. You don’t have a realistic plan for achieving your resolution.

Your goals should be smart — that’s an acronym coined in the journal Management Review for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It may work for management, but it can also work in setting your resolutions, too.
Specific. Your resolution should be absolutely clear.

Measurable. This may seem obvious if your goal is a fitness or weight loss related one, but it’s also important if you’re trying to cut back on something, too.

Achievable. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have big stretch goals. But trying to take too big a step too fast can leave you frustrated, or affect other areas of your life to the point that your resolution takes over your life — and both you and your friends and family fail.

Relevant. Is this a goal that really matters to you, and are you making it for the right reasons?

Time-bound. Like “achievable,” the timeline toward reaching your goal should be realistic, too.