The countdown began; everybody was waiting for the clock to hit 12:00 a.m. so they can celebrate a new, fresh year full of promises and hope. Yet, I had fixated my focus on my new year's resolution: That sweet self-promise to myself.

I do this almost every year since starting high school but I have never managed to achieve any of my new year's resolutions as they go downhill just like my hopes for the new year. I am definitely not a dramatic person but in the first months of a new year, or even the first hours (as it was last year with the Reina attack) there has always been something that made me lose hope in my own future as well as humanity. The year 2018 started as hopeful as I can get and moreover, I am confident that this year will be the year I achieve my new year's resolution.

My new year's resolution is probably the same as millions of people around the world: I will become a healthy person in 2018. I have marked this year as the first year of my adult life: I have a home, a car and a husband so all the "young life" shenanigans, ordering pizza in the middle of the night or staying up late even though I have engagements the next day are over. The year 2018 will meet the new Miraç. Or, I hope it will.

New year's resolutions are hard to fulfill. With the joy of the arrival of a new year, we tend to believe that everything is possible with a fresh new start but in fact nothing changes. You start getting up at 7:00 a.m. on Jan. 2 and the new year continues this way with little changes.

The idea of a new year's resolution dates back to the Babylonians who promise their gods to pay their debts and be a good person in the turn of every new year. Their traditions continued to be practiced by the Romans who made promises to Janus, the god that gave its name to the month of January.

Making a promise to yourself on the brick of a new year is certainly a tradition that humans have been practicing for thousands of years. However, can we make it?According to Marist Poll's annual survey published on infogram.com, in 2017, most popular new year's resolution was to be a better person and spend less money and save more, improve one's health and eat healthier. However, 56 percent are not likely to make a new year's resolution which is not very surprising. This is a survey conducted in the U.S. but it can be applied to the people around the world.

In short, the most popular new year's resolutions in the first hours of 2018 are destined to go down the drain in February.

The experienced wishers believe that the reason new year's resolutions fail is because people tend to set unrealistic goals. If you earn very little money and your new year's resolution is to save more money, that is quite unrealistic.

The key for successful new year's resolution is to be honest with yourself. For me, adopting a new lifestyle is very realistic and very necessary, given the fact that I have been maintaining an unhealthy lifestyle for at least the last decade. As I come closer to the threshold of life - for me, that is turning 30 - I realize that one has to take care of themselves more as they shoulders more responsibilities.

Realistic resolutions for the new year's is surely the best way to start but there are also other steps to follow if you want to achieve your goal.

After setting your goal, it is best to define it in detail. For instance, I want to adopt a healthy life but how? I definitely want to start eating healthy food as well as do regular exercise. If you are one of those people who hate to go to the gym, you can always find other ways to work on your muscles. Martial arts are perhaps the most entertaining them all. Pilates is also an option to make new muscles. However, it is also understandable if you do not have enough time to spare for these activities in the chaos of everyday life, thus walking is always a good idea.

Making promises to oneself might be the hardest thing as you are your own guardian and sometimes it is good to let others know so that they can help you on your journey to achieve your goal. Receiving support from your loved ones is much better than being your own support system. Let them know of ways they can help when the going gets tough, and if they truly care they will know the right things to say during the hard times.

I usually tend to think that these self-made promises are like a duty. When something becomes a duty you are not likely to enjoy it. So, I make my new year's resolution a fun journey. I started making healthy changes in my lifestyle a month back. I stopped eating sugar and cut down on carbs but not so much that it would effect my regular diet. I also started doing pilates as I hate going to the gym every other day. These small and effective changes in my lifestyle prepared me for the task ahead. Starting from today, I will completely adopt a healthy diet after cleaning out my fridge.

I visualize the outcome of my new year's resolution and it is actually pretty good, if I say so myself. I have made a commitment that would effect the rest of my life, help me to support and be there for those who love me. I do not know how this worked for the Babylonians but surely there are many tempting situations for us millennials to give up our new year's resolutions (given the fact that we do not make promises to gods). The year 2018 is going to be a good one - I hope.