Happy New Year! Welcome to 2015. We don’t
know what this year has in store for us, apart
from the General Election in May - and no doubt
endless party political broadcasts and leafl ets through
the door before then.

Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions? I tend
not to any more - I seldom seem to keep them, so I save
myself the heartache of setting myself up for failure!
Having said that, my New Year’s Resolution last year
was to join Twitter, and I did that, and as I’m still on it as
I type this column I guess that’s been a fairly successful
one.

Although really we shouldn’t have to wait until New Year
to make positive changes in our lives - we can do that
any day.

So what is it about the New Year that makes us focus
our minds on change?

I think we perhaps see it as a kind of re-birth - I’m
minded here of the cartoons of Old Father Time being
replaced by a baby. Time for a clean slate, to start again
and leave the past behind us.

Doubtless there will be scores of people saying
‘New Year, New Career’, or starting house hunting,
joining weight-loss programmes or taking out gym
memberships.

After over-indulging at Christmas and New Year parties,
heading to the gym seems like a good idea to get in
shape again. Just remember that buying the gym
membership isn’t the solution - you actually need to go
there regularly to see the benefi ts, otherwise it’s just
your bank balance that gets slimmer!

As I’ve probably mentioned before, I’m a fan of walking.
I walk everywhere I can, even in the rain, it’s a great way
of keeping fi t, and best of all it’s free.

They say that a journey of a thousand miles starts with
a single step, so if you’re looking for a way to start
exercising this year, why not head outside for a walk
and enjoy our beautiful Northamptonshire countryside?

Thanks for reading, please visit my blog and Northants Telegraph column too. Many thanks, Hx

www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/helen-bach
www.helenbachuk.blogspot.co.uk