It is January 2021, and the new year is here, a year that will hopefully bring lots of new opportunities and experiences for everyone. 2020 had been a difficult year for all of us and so I’m sure that everyone wishes to make 2021 as good of a year as possible; one way to do this is for people to make new year’s resolutions.

A new year’s resolution is a goal that people set for themselves to achieve in the new year – it aims to make them a healthier, happier, and better person. Due to the circumstances of yet another lockdown that has been put into place this year, people need that drive to get out of bed and complete their new year’s resolution, motivating them to improve their lives. To find out more about how a new year’s resolution can help people in lockdown, I spoke to a friend who had set multiple resolutions that she will try and achieve in the new year.

One of her resolutions was to try and eat healthier and limit herself to one thing with chocolate a day. She says, “it would be stupid for me to cut chocolate out of my diet altogether – that’s something I could never achieve! However, I will aim to keep to this goal so that my diet is less chocolate and more vegetables, so I will be happier and healthier”. I asked her how she thinks she will be able to achieve this resolution and she says “I will get rid of the temptations. Instead of having multiple chocolate bars lying around the house and just waiting to be eaten, my shopping list will consist of hardly any chocolate, so I don’t get tempted!”

Another resolution that I asked my friend about, was her resolution to start doing exercise every day (this could be an online workout, going out for a walk or a run etc.). She told me that “I had become too lazy at home, as I was no longer able to go to the gym anymore (due to them being closed because of covid-19) and so I took advantage of this and used it as my excuse as to why I was simply sitting around the house all day. However, I realised I needed to make a change to this and get my fitness levels back.” I asked her how she was getting on with this resolution so far and she responded with “the exercises that I’m doing are not only making me healthier, but they are also making me happier. They have really helped my mental health and made sure I don’t waste my days lounging around in bed.”

To summarise, I found it interesting how simply creating a goal of a new year’s resolution can change your life for the better and help make your 2021 much better than 2020.