Lose weight, get fit, drink less, eat more (vegetables and salads, not takeaway): all the classics would have been given a run as 2021 began, but not all of them would have survived the gradual dwindling of enthusiasm after those first fired-up couple of days.

So does that mean it was all a futile, redundant exercise? Not at all.

Resolutions are often given a bad wrap at this time of year.

Some people will point out the arbitrary nature of January 1, the high likelihood of resolutions failing and the fact that anyone is free to make a change to their life at any old time, rather than a last-minute drunken commitment as the clock ticks down to midnight on December 31.

They might also point out that resolutions lacking specificity - such as "be more healthy" - are easier to discard.

And they are all good points.

The problem, however, is that, barring some sudden shocking event or realisation, most people are unlikely to make a big change to their life or lifestyle on any old day of the year.

A lot of us are busy and distracted. We don't stop to reflect on our lives as the financial year ends, or winter turns to spring, but we do tend to do so during the enforced shutdown that is the period from late December to early January.

Yes, many of the resolutions - the vast majority, possibly - will be broken very soon, but that's not necessarily a reason not to make them in the first place.

Eating well for 10 days in a row at the start of the year, or going for a walk every morning for the first fortnight of January, is better than not doing either of those things.

Trying to fulfil a vague resolution such as "lose some weight" or "take time to slow down" is, again, better than not bothering at all because you don't want to be tied to a specific goal.

Australia needs more attempts at happier, healthier lives, not fewer attempts - no matter how airy-fairy and doomed to failure they might be.

As anyone who was ever encouraged into sport by their mother or father knows, the important part is simply having a go in the first place.

And as anyone who follows a sporting team knows, there's always next year.