What do New Year’s resolutions look like in 2021?

In the hangover from Christmas, January has long been a month of self-flagellation. Resolutions are made, aspirations are set and we all embark, consciously or not, on a mission of self-improvement, assisted by the endless marketing campaigns urging us to lose weight, work harder, read more, quit our bad habits and become a better person.

It is a rather puritanical tradition that can make one of the coldest and greyest months even bleaker. But New Year’s resolutions have been around for over 4,000 years since the ancient Babylonians made them as promises to the gods to stay in their favour. The religious connotations were carried into 46 B.C when Julius Caesar rejigged the calendar to establish January 1st as the beginning of the year. January was named after Janus, the two-faced god who symbolically looked both forward and backward. The Romans offered sacrifices and New Year’s resolutions to the deity. Nowadays, the resolutions have less to do with religion and more a pursuit of the old saying “new year, new me”.

According to Statistica, the top 2020 New Year’s resolutions in the UK were; improving and increasing fitness, losing weight, improving diet, saving money and taking up new habits. This year, you would be forgiven for finding it hard to muster the motivation to improve yourself; indulgences and bad habits may well be our only distractions from the ongoing nightmare of Covid-19. YouGov recorded the number of people in the UK intending to set resolutions has dropped from 27% to 19% from last year. Sensing this is a new year like no other, the ploys of capitalism to sell new products using the unique propensity for change January brings have adapted to fit this strange reality.

Dry Jan has become… a liver holiday

Japanese doctor and liver specialist, Dr Shinichi Asabe, has co-written a book called The Japanese Guide To Healthy Drinking. The doctor argues that instead of taking elongated drinking breaks (e.g. Dry Jan or Sober October) it is best to build in liver holidays into your week to ensure you aren’t drinking every day. According to The Daily Mail, the book recommends at least two “liver resting days” per week. The book also encourages eating cheese before drinking (to line the stomach with fat and protein) and consuming sake (the amino acids in the fermented wine might boost the immune system and regulate energy levels).

Veganuary has become…Regenuary

Over the weekend, a Facebook account called The Ethical Butcher went viral for posting a video discouraging veganism during January. The video asked people to embark on regenuary instead, an initiative which is “ all about eating foods that are local, seasonal and farmed using regenerative methods,” according to an Instagram post. The video was viewed over one million times. Veganuary, on the other hand, attracts thousands of people and brands to follow an animal derivative free diet every year. The two takes on January split opinion on social media with arguments for both sides: the vegans cited the evidence that reducing meat consumption is good for health and the planet, whilst the carnivores mocked the initiative for starting on the month that the UK has its lowest crop of local produce and noted the unethical supply chain of ‘vegan’ food products like avocados. The two concepts, however, do not have to exist in polarisation, the best New Year’s resolution would surely be an amalgamation of the two.

Hitting the gym has become…eye yoga

According to The Sunday Times, the hottest 2021 wellness trend is eye yoga. The new fitness craze appeals to the Zoom-fatigued, blue light overdosed eyes we all know well by using tiny movements to stretch, move and massage the eyes and their surrounding muscles, helping to release tension. The newspaper also tips GlideFit (workouts on a floating fitness mat in a pool), digital ski coaching and infrared sauna blankets as the wellness industry’s new obsessions.

Taking up new hobbies has become…spending more time with family 

A YouGov survey found the biggest change in resolutions this year is people aiming to spend more time with family and less time on social media. In a year that has forced many of us to socialise predominantly through social media and all but cancelled Christmas, it is no surprise that many are looking to put down their phones and spend more time face to face with their families. Sadly, it looks like this resolution will be hard to put in action for a few more months.