New Year’s resolutions have become like the last chocolates after Christmas.

“Another After Eight?”

“No thanks. I’ve already had too many.”

“Are you sure? One more won’t hurt.”

“Go on, then. But just one. Or maybe two.”

I wasn’t going to set any targets or ambitions for 2019, but then I saw a short video on Facebook. Love it or loath it, social media does have a habit - like local newspapers, actually - of bringing some humanity and humility amid the world’s horror stories. How this particular video came to be on my timeline, I’m not sure, because it was posted by BBC Yorkshire. But I’m glad it did.

It featured a young lad of 10 years old, called Jay Burke, who happens to have Down syndrome.

He was visiting Tesco with his dad, David, when he spotted an unmanned till, and decided to check out the family shopping himself.

The video has been viewed more than seven million times, and I expect everyone who has seen it said “Bless him” as they saw how much fun Jay was having.

But there’s more to the story.

When the store manager spotted him, rather than shooing him away from the till and alerting security, as some jobsworths would do, he opened it up so Jay could do it for real.

I don’t know how many millions of pounds Tesco spend on PR and advertising, but if they give half of it to that manager instead, they will still be in his debt. He’s a hero.

And then there’s what Jay’s father had to say about it.

First it was something lovely - “Life [with Jay] is a joy” - and then something quite profound.

“He really does bring out the best in people.”

I don’t think I had thought about it in those terms before.

We rarely get to see the positive effect people have on others, but Jay’s father has been granted a ringside seat, and has realised what a gift his son has been given to make such an impression on everyone he meets. Jay’s other gift, of course, is having a wise father.

So, inspired by both, I decided to make a New Year’s resolution after all, which is to try to spend more time in the company of people who bring the best out of me (and other people), and waste less time on the other kind (turn the news on; there are plenty on there).

And then I got to thinking about Jay, and decided on a second resolution, which is to do what he did in Tesco and take more pleasure from simple things.

I already do this quite a lot.

The smell of Pay-Doh, old wooden rulers bought from car boot sales, and nicely designed spoons are a few of my favourite things. I also make mental lists of my favourite trees. And why not?

And as if to endorse all this, on the day I made my resolutions Billy Connolly was in the news, philosophising about the ups and downs of his life.

Billy is obviously a great comedian and - even better - has produced some delightful TV travelogs in his time.

But what I like best about him is he is the king of simple pleasures - a man who is immensely wealthy, yet clearly gets more joy from dancing naked in a field than money could ever buy. I have never met Billy Connolly, but I’m sure he is another one of those people who brings out the best in the people he meets.

By December 31 I aim to be as much like Jay Burke and Billy Connolly as possible.