Forty years of failed new year resolutions won’t stop me making a few more

As 2022 comes to an end, Will Gore tries to figure out how to be a better person in 2023

Getting fitter is a staple new year’s resolution for many (Getty Images)

Last year, I made the fairly niche new year’s resolution to play more badminton. It seemed a fairly safe bet, given that I had recently rediscovered my love for it, and had found a new, regular opponent.

And yet for one reason or another, things didn’t work out as I’d anticipated. My partner in racquet sport picked up an injury, then I had a particularly busy period at work, and we fell out of our nascent habit. I bought racquets for the kids and we’ve had occasional family outings to the sports centre; but it’s not quite the artful, fast-paced game I’d had in mind.

All in all then, yet another new year’s resolution has come and gone, my resolve dissipating as events intervened. It’s something of a pattern really.