Artwork by ~MarendigellSomehow I find it easier to achieve the gruelling KPIs of my work, then my yearly personal resolutions. It's as though I have taken myself for granted.
Fortunately for me, I am quite a goal-oriented person. Once I've set my mind on something, I will work towards gettting there. Maybe for personal goals, it will take me a while - but yeh, I will get there. :)
And here are my resolutions for 2008. Check back again with me at the end of the year - and we will do an audit of how far I would have come.
1. Exercise regularly.
I have been pretty sickly last year - and have been told by my numerous concerned friends that maybe I should get out into the sun more and move my lazy ass. Exercise helps improve blood circulation and sleep, boosts the immune system, and of course, keeps my ballooning weight in check.
I don't seem to have a choice if I want to reduce the number of days I have been on sick leave. So I resolve to take NO medical leave this year! <== Big Fat Hairy Resolution
On to the treadmill!
2. Lose 6 kg in 6 months.
This is an unfortunate consequence of not exercising at all whilst I was stuffing my face with food. I will write more about this in my next post - but for now, I need to cut off some fats at strategic parts of my body, gain and tone some muscles and stop looking pregnant. This practically means, Resolution (1) is necessary for the successful completion of Resolution (2).
Damn.
2. Lose 6 kg in 6 months.
This is an unfortunate consequence of not exercising at all whilst I was stuffing my face with food. I will write more about this in my next post - but for now, I need to cut off some fats at strategic parts of my body, gain and tone some muscles and stop looking pregnant. This practically means, Resolution (1) is necessary for the successful completion of Resolution (2).
Damn.
3. Blog regularly.
My blog seemed to be frozen in time in 2007. Yes, I admit I had other distractions - but that shouldn't be an excuse. I absolutely love writing. Blogging helps to keep that rhythm, and disciplines me to materalise my thoughts, opinions and emotions in words. It oils the writing engine and more often than not, reduces the down time - more commonly known as writers' block.
I want to be able to share like before and let my entries touch people in ways that I might not be able to do so in person. But most of all, I don't want to stop writing and lose sight of the one true passion of my life.
4. Make a will
Life is so fleeting - and totally unpredictable. I see people dying around me every day, and the fatalistic part of me sometimes wonder when will I be next to go. You would never know, would you?
So I was thinking, if I do expire one day, I want to leave behind a legacy to bless those whom I care about. When there's a will, there's a way.
How corny.
5. Develop the outline of my book.
That's pretty achievable, don't you think? I have to start somewhere you know - and writing that very first chapter seemed even harder than conquering Mount Everest. It seems that many writers are inflicted with this numbing disease called Writophobia - the fear of writing because one feels the finished work will never be good enough.
I figured if I start working on the outline of my book and list the topics/chapters that I would be writing on, the next step to writing that first chapter would be less daunting.
Or am I deluding myself?
6. Clear my debts.
Credit cards - the bane of all evil. I want to be debt free - or at least credit card debt free by end of 2008. Banks are legitimate loansharks. They seduce you to take their products, entice you to use them regularly (for everything and anything), and blind you with all sorts of promotions and member privileges. And suddenly, you are totally duped into using the money that you don't have in the first place.
Behind the scenes, they start to pile up the interests, which escalate every month to alarming levels. And before you know it, you are neck high in a pile of shit and gotta try to stay afloat and not to drown in the tsunami of bills.
So I am getting meself a mighty pair of scissors to cut away those plastics the moment I cleared the shit out of them. That's what me gonna do.
7. Start saving.
The lack of savings is an unfortunate consequence of servicing credit card debts. Which means Resolution (7) is dependent on the successful completion of Resolution (6). Don't you just hate it when your resolutions overlap like this?
I want to be able to put aside a significant amount of savings each month. I want to be less dependent on plastics and loans and have a healthy amount of cashflow. I want to fatten my bank account and be able to swim in wads and wads of bills.
Well I can dream, can't I?
So there we have it - seven simple resolutions for the new year. Nothing fanciful - but extremely significant to me. I am hesitant to have more than seven resolutions because as it is, it takes a hell lot of determination and discipline just to achieve one. I am being Ms Realistic here - so that I will not be driving myself insane just to tick a laundry list of resolutions off my checkbox.
Now - what are YOUR resolutions for 2008?
New Year's Resolution: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.” ~ James Agate
12 comments:
Hey what a coincidence. My resolutions are almost identical to yours, except I do not have no. 7 yet, but I foresee not for long. Economic crisis, who says it's not here! And the book outline one, that one I don't have it too. I want instead to get my JLPT2, and I have already formed a study group for it. Keep in touch!
1) I take very few sick days a year. I typically average less than 1. On the other hand, I take several weeks of family emergency days (paid to a max of 24 hours per year). I probably should call in sick more often.
Exercise is good. It should really be part of your daily routine, rather than something distinct and separate. Walk in stead of driving or taking the bus. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
2) Hmm ... while 6 kg would help me look thinner, I need to lose more than that if I want to get my boyish figure back. Good diet is also essential. To help me lose weight, I have signed up for Weight Watchers at work. Hopefully this will give me some motivation (not that peer pressure has ever affected me).
3) People blog for different reasons. I do it because I enjoy the micro-conversations I have. However, as a socializing tool, I find it can become a full time job. Maybe it would be easier if I didn't care to personally respond to comments and posts. Perhaps I need to post more ”Great post! Good ideas. Hope it works out”.
4) Why? Neither Sofia, nor I have wills yet. We probably should, but it is not a priority at the moment. Sofia and I are joint on everything, so the major problems would only arise should we be fortunate to both die together.
5) Do you have a story to tell? That is my main problem. I have sounds I like to make (perhaps a phrase here, a couple of paragraphs here), but nothing that goes from start to finish. I am part of a writing group at the moment (how long it will hold out, I don't know).
You might also want to check out 101 Reasons to Stop Writing. It has such heart warming demotivators as: PROCRASTINATION: The guilty knowledge that writing is the least interesting thing you could be doing right now.. Written by a guy on your side of the globe.
You may also want to check out Bookends which is a running a number of posts critiquing story pitches.
6) Yes. Each dollar you spend on interest, is a dollar less for personal spending.
7) There is a simple way and a hard way to save. The hard way is to make it extremely detailed and structured. The simple way is to just have a few broad categories. I like the approach taught at the Millionaire Mind Intensive (never pay to attend, they give it for free): 55% living expenses, 10% education, 20% long term savings / spending, 10% fun money (blow this every month), 5% charity. The exact percentages are adjustable.
Wow thanks Richard - for your wonderful insights as always.
I agree with your thoughts about blogging, and do feel obligated to to reply to posts and comments. But I guess I am enjoying it still - so no complains. If I can write full time and never have to worry about money, I may seriously consider doing so.
For exercise - yeah. I really need to make it part of a daily routine. I have been rotting for years and it's showing. Weight Watchers sounds good. I realise the older I get, the easier I succumb to temptation. I can't help myself because I love my food! :D
For the will, well, the reasons are personal - and quite frankly, illogical. Sometimes, some people just don't have a choice. Sorry I am being cryptic here. Don't even know why.
Love the links you listed here!I think I shall post it on my writers' forum. :)
The Millionaire Mind Intensive sounds really interesting - but like a diet and exercise routine - it takes a tremendous amount of discipline. I am trying - but probably not hard enough.
Well, that's why they are called resolutions. You need to be resolute in your pursuit to achieve them.
The general rule is that you put on about 10lbs (5kg) per decade over 30. So far, I have been exceeding those expectations. sigh.
The MMI is a 3 day weekend event. It is actually quite a lot of fun - and yes, they are trying hard to sell you stuff (especially other courses). The only course I was interested in taking was their "Train the Trainer" course - which teaches you how to sell and present the way they do. I picked up a lot of good tips from them while I was there (I am always analyzing what is going on) and from a mini-sample of the Train the Trainer spiel they gave.
What I liked about the course is how transparently they tended to move from motivation talk to sales pitch - it was very smooth. A good tip I picked up from them relates to answering questions: the typical speaker will move closer to the person whose question they are answering (this is the natural reaction, we get in close to whomever we are talking with). The right way to do it is to move away from the person so that we include more of the audience. To illustrate: you are speaking to a room, you should be centred in front. A person to your left asks a question. Instead of moving toward that person to answer them, you move to your right. By this action, you include more of the people in the room (all of the people on your right who would have been excluded by your instinctively moving to your left). But, at $3000 for the course, Sofia wasn't crazy to let me spend the money. Although, I do want Sofia to take the MMI so we can be on the same page now when we discuss finances - she keeps resisting.
Interesting...maybe you can give Sofia an incentive to attend this course with you. All convince her with outcomes she feels will be positive for her - cos maybe right now she probably doesn't see the value in it as yet. :)
Well, she sees it for what it is, a 3 day sales pitch for their products (which it is). But I also think they do give you content.
just blogging around...
nice blog anyway, :D
Thanks Ordinarian. Interesting name.. :)
i can help you with ur resolution number 1 and 2. more of number 2 actually. 6kg in 6 months is not so much a problem - how about 6kg in 3 months? :)
im in the weight management line. call me for consultation, how about that? :P
serenemai@gmail.com
are you expensive? :)
"1. So I resolve to take NO medical leave this year! <== Big Fat Hairy Resolution
On to the treadmill!"
I like your 1st resolution especially this no medical leave.
It's hard not to fall sick within a year especially when you are caught in the rain or when someone who is sick spread his/her sickness to you.
If you say
I am what i am: Resolution for 2008
Then why do you want to change?
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