2007 Resolutions

Well!

It's 2007 officially. We are slowly getting into the swing of things. People are starting to reappear from end of year leave, like mites climbing out of the woodwork. People are starting to get back into work mode, staying longer, and the partying is slowly being strangled out of us by the mundane realities n routines of life.

Oh, please don't mind my cynicism btw.

Ok. I do not normally make NY resolutions because I do not keep them. I tend to make character/behaviour changes throughout the year instead. I have decided though that this uear it will be different. This year - I will make some resolutions. If I am not dead serious about it, I wont make it a resolution. So whatever I put down here...is stuff I am determined to follow through on.

These are the major components of my life to improve over 2007, in no particular order, followed by a slight elaboration below.

1) Health
2) Finances
3) Self
4) Career
5) Family
6) Friends
7) Girlfriend
8) Character

1) Health

2006 was a year where I started to take care of my health, realizing that neglecting it by smoking.drinking.sleepinglate for the last 10 years was a serious hazard to my health. I started to drink juice everyday, eat some fruits, avoid animal fats, ignore KFC skin, etc. I used my company's corporate benefits to join Fitness First rather cheaply and started to test my limits on the treadmill.

Thats all well and good. But the problem is I still have too much supper, still drink n smoke too much, and tend to not prioritize gym enough. So this year I must take it a step further. Diet - must improve. Eat right, not too much fats, more fruits n vegies, less supper, less oily, thick, heavy stuff. Exercise - start charting my progress on the treadmill and see if I can push myself. Start lifting some weights to ensure I dont degenerate into Daddy Long Legs without the length. And most of all, I must sleep more. Sleep earlier!

2) Finance.

Last year I tried to keep records of how I spent my $, kept a budget, kept track of what I did with my $. I also educated myself on the various investments available to me. But I never did control my spending that tightly, and I never actually invested in anything. I make relatively OK for my age, but I spend too much. After one whole year of work, I calculated: I saved 20% altogether of what I made the whole year. Thats terrible. Let me repeat. Thats terrible. Way off target. I suppose the many trips to Singapore, the expensive wines I like, the car maintenance, the buying of a new computer all factor in. But still. This year I must track diligently every cent spent, keep all receipts, apply for claims for all company related expenses (of which I did NONE last year), keep to the budget, and start learning enough to actually make some investments.
Most of all..I must save 40% of my monthly take home pay.

3) Self.

A hectic schedule and lifestyle, especially with work, caused me to occasionally forget to indulge in myself, reward myself, and take time off for reflection and healing and basically recharging. I ran until I was dry and fell into a well of unhappiness. This year, I will remember not to work myself into the ground. Must take time for myself, to read, to play guitar, go for walks, listen to music, etc. Must remember myself, and learn to relax.

4) Career.

In 2006 I really went for it at work. I applied 75% of myself. And, fortunately for me, this did pay dividends. I earned some trust, praise, recognition etc from the powers that be. And I am glad. I know I said I must put time aside for self. But the way I see it, I am 24 now. I am young. This window where I have energy, opportunities, and a future full of opportunities and potential is limited. So, I want to really go all out, to learn, to soak it all up, and build a solid foundation so I earn the right to slow down later when I have a mate to share my life with (and yes, spend all the carefully saved money sigh). The 75% must become 85%. And instead of lackadaisically sitting back and letting my managers drive my career...I will sit up and proactively take the driver's reins. A man without a career is nothing. I refuse to be a failure professionally. Failure is not an option. Succeed is the only path. A man cannot survive on love alone. Once the career is stable, everything else will fall into place. So..don't slack off, young man.

5) Family. I have been taking my family for granted. When I come home stressed as hell and tired, from work, I go into my room straightaway and shut my door. I bark at my mum and feel extremely bad upset guilty about it later. I do not spend time with them. I tend to be at work way too often. OR thinking bout work to enjoy the times when I'm with them. I also tend to trivialize their problems coz compared to my work stuff, theirs seem minor. Well. No more. I must learn to love my family more, take them out, spend time with them, and include them in my life more.

6) Friends. I have been blessed with good friends. 2006, I neglected a lot of them, and did not let them know what I thought of them. I did not take them for granted. I just stopped letting them know how much they meant to me. In 2007...I will make sure they know how much they mean to me.

7) Special Relationships. Sigh...and so a 7 year relationship turned out this way. Love... its an entry for another day. I still believe in it. I shall still be open to it. And when it comes, I will treasure it and recognise it. But in the meantime...I won't chase it anymore. I have been too badly burnt. Just focus on other aspects of my life, and meet friends when possible, and we'll see what happens.

8) Character. I need to grow up. I need to become more mature. No more immature behaviour. No more doing or saying things with very stupid objectives, that are thinly veiled and very embrassingly obvious. Its time to stop grumbling about this n that and just do what I gotta do. No more lying cheating snivelling. No more this n that. Its time to act my age.

OK. Those are my 2007 resolutions. This time nxt year I shall sit back and relook at all of these.

Health - Target: Hopefully I will feel and look better.
Finances - Hopefully I save 40% of take home pay per month. Plus I have some passive income from investments.
Self - I feel spiritually fulfilled. I have time for myself. I don't look back and feel dry n empty.
Career - I will be regarded as a sure fire star in my company. Or I will have moved on to a better position with another company. And looking ahead, the path sure looks bright.
Family - I want them to feel included in my life, and appreciated. I want to see that in their eyes.
Friends - They must feel in their hearts Alex is one of their best friends indeed.
Special Rship - Don't hunt for it. Don't push for it. Sit back. Live my life. Don't be pushy. If a girl is interested, then go for it.
Character - See how I feel about myself and how I handled things and whether I did it with integrity. Am I ashamed?

OK thats it folks.

It's late. Sleeping early is my new resol. So...gnite and take care!