Gareth O'Callaghan: Maybe the new year doesn't need a 'new you'

Fitness new-year resolutions don’t work because deep down we already knew they wouldn’t, but these sorts of resolutions are usually declared after some unexpected binge that leaves us feeling disgusted with ourselves. Picture: Thinkstock/PA

I reached a conclusion some years ago that new year’s resolutions are a waste of time, mostly because it’s both cruel and unfair how we inflict January on ourselves every year, in a way that is neither beneficial nor healthy.

A long gym session on a cold January morning — thanks to the kindness of someone who bought you a gift of membership — strikes me as being much like a wet winter’s day’s pilgrimage barefoot on Lough Derg.