Christmas has come and gone, with all its merriment and decadence. By January, many of us carry that bloated feeling of having indulged in one too many – be it drink, food or late nights. After being able to let go and enjoy ourselves without the usual structure of our lives during the Christmas break, January can be a bit of a shock to the system. It’s back to work, back to the school run, and back to trying to get ourselves on track, both physically and mentally.
On top of that, it’s the time of the dreaded New Year’s resolution. What will you promise to do this year? And will you stick to it? Or will resist making any resolutions at all because it’s just too much pressure?
The practice of making New Year’s resolutions has been around for a long time. In fact, the ancient Babylonians were the first people to do so, around 4,000 years ago. However, they weren’t worrying about losing some weight or finally pursuing their dream of setting up an interior design business – they were more concerned about their crops. They prayed to the Gods and promised to be better people and to look after their crops carefully, hoping that by doing so they would be blessed with a good harvest later in the year. After all, their lives depended on it. It does somewhat put our potential resolutions into perspective.