“There’s not much point setting health goals in later life.”

IN FACT: Goals matter at every age. Research has found they give your life purpose, and that can add years to your life, regardless of how old you are when you set your first, or subsequent, goals.

TO MAKE IT WORK: Set SMART goals as behavioural scientists say you’re more likely to achieve them. It works like this: instead of a general goal of ‘do more exercise’, a SMART goal might be ‘I want to exercise more during spring, so my goal is to go for a walk every day at lunchtime.’ It’s Specific, you can Measure whether you’re reaching it, it’s Achievable and Realistic and, by including spring, it’s Time related.