The older you get, the fewer new year resolutions do you need to make. In your 20s and 30s it is easy to make a list: give up smoking, wake up early, read Tolstoy, apologise to the classmate whose nose you broke in an argument, eat less red meat and so on.

These are, of course, all worthy and wonderful resolutions. But I gave up smoking years ago, don’t eat red meat now and wake up early anyway. Maturity is that time in your life when you can make no more new year resolutions. Not because you are perfect and have no bad habits, but because you’d like to keep the remaining bad habits, thank you very much.

But now I have been presented with something to give up. Eating popcorn. I can no longer afford to........

© The Hindu