New Year. New You

The New Year will be just that – new. Like no other. So it’s the perfect time to action positive change and start afresh following a restraining and contemplative 2020.

This year has been a true shock to the system. A positively unique year through which we have been forced to re-evaluate the way we consider another person’s wellbeing, respecting each other like never before, collectively as a nation. It has changed the way we see life and the way we make our choices. Much more calculated and considered they are now, which we have made and continue to make both in a pre-meditated sense and a real-world one. Throughout our lockdowns, many of us have had the time to think and reflect like never before, and slow down and attain a new focus on the things that matter most. So, what are you going to change when the New Year comes about?

When it was made illegal to advertise tobacco on television in 1965, the conversation has been well-lit ever since, and in 2005 we finally saw a complete ban on all forms of tobacco advertising. It wasn’t until 2006, though, that the UK began initiating bans on all smoking within enclosed public spaces. With our ample opportunity for static reflection this year, particularly on our health, quitting smoking is as important as it was 15 years ago, if not more so.

Cancer is still a very real threat. Shown from studies carried out in 2015, smoking accounts for 51.5% of cancer deaths in men and 44.5% of cancer deaths in women.

Tips for kicking the habit: nicotine replacement therapy; identify and then train yourself to avoid the triggers; exercise more.

Obesity is still a big, big issue in our nation, and it’s getting bigger still. As of August last year, the Health Survey for England estimated that 28.7% of adults in England are obese and a further 35.6% are overweight but not obese. Throughout our lockdowns in the UK there is no doubt those rates have increased, with the catalysts of laziness and the new-found desire to order food online.

Planning out a diet doesn’t have to be depressing. There are some very tasty and nutritious meals you can make with chicken or fish, with vegetables, rice and various other tasty supplements. A sauce to drizzle over the top can go a long way. Everything in moderation, but be firm with yourself.

Join the gym. Attending the gym may take a very different form in the New Year, but that shouldn’t stop you integrating yourself back into society and getting a much-needed sweat on.

Home cooking has cooked up a serious flame throughout our lockdowns, a notable and encouraging flambé of newfound enthusiasm and passion for gastronomy, and it’s a 2020 habit which should go on being preserved.

Learn some new recipes and try your hand at some different cuisines. Perhaps try making sushi if you haven’t already!

Start a food blog. A YouTube channel would be great, but a written blog online with photos can be just as good. Also there are plenty of free blog sites to create an account with, including Blogger, Ghost and WordPress.

Reorganize and equip your kitchen so you can homecook more regularly. The pandemic has clearly changed us as a people, largely for the better, so it’s the perfect time for a spiritual reawakening. Yes, that’s right – a spiritual reawakening. S’nothing wrong with getting spiritual sometimes, and in this digital age of immediacy, in which the ever-growing governance of technology puts everything at our fingertips, encouraging us to, frankly, be lazy and void of thought as we sit down to another reality television show… it’s an idea to recognize as something more than a mere eccentricity.

Multiple studies have shown that yoga reduces stress, depression and anxiety. It’s probably why 37% of yoga enthusiasts have children who also enjoy practicing.

Reading fiction refreshes the mind, sweeps you away into another world, and wakes up your imagination to realize your dreams. Yes, really. We should all do it daily.

You can always be kinder and extend more respect to your fellow man or woman, and the rewards of doing so are infinite.

Also, it’s time to start socially integrating again (albeit at a free and peaceful pace). So here are some ideas for clubs you could join in 2021 (government regulations permitting).

Sport club. Sewing club. Book club. Fight class. Yoga class. Film club. Photography club. Art club. Dance club. Gardening club.