New Year, New You?

People wish one another a Happy and Prosperous New Year every year as we cross over from 31 December into 1 January. It is the time of the year where there are great festivities as it is just after Christmas and then following it the Lunar New Year. It is also a special time of the year because whatever you have been doing for the year, you have worked hard and deserve a good closure especially with a handsome bonus. Whatever it is, do not forget your acquaintance. Here's Auld Lang Syne.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rId95N2teUc

However, in recent times, things have become difficult and more complex. Because things are more costly or venues more difficult to get, some companies actually host their D and D way ahead of Christmas and as early as July or August but at this time of the year you are still struggling with work and you are robbed of the festive spirit or mood. Why don't they keep it closer to Christmas but change the venues to possibly cheaper ones or those that you can secure? All you need is a little creativity. 

The worst thing for a new year is that even before it's curtains for the old year, you knew well before the new one is a tough one to negotiate. Worse, some say it is the end of the world in 2012! The Mayans' calendar may have ended the cycle but the Mayans were wrong or perhaps it is not the Mayan's fault but that of those who claimed that was what the Mayans meant that the world will end on 23 December 2012. The world will not end in 2012 even though it looks quite like it if you piece together all that has been happening. 

Giant tsunamis, super earthquakes, great floods, nuclear disasters, diseases, financial crises, wars, moral decadence, broken ice bergs, global warming have come or are coming our way. What's happening to the world around us? Europe is crumbling and this is just the beginning as their default risks are increasing. The USA is not out of the woods yet even as the election year looms large. Japan will face more woes and are considering to target foreign workers to boost their economy - a rare occurrence. China will go slower and go soft. Pray they do not falter with any social-economic divide. Greater income inequality is the order of the day and politics become less certain. They have an Arab Spring that seemed to have turned to winter and thousands in China protested land seizures. The last thing you need is a China in any kind of trouble as the world has become over reliant on them. 

Then come the politics of picking new leaders in several countries from Myanmar to Taiwan, most prominent being the succession from Dear Leader to the Great Successor from Kim Jong Il (two) to Kim Jong three. If the USA, Europe and Japan are facing difficult times, how will the rest cope? We must hope for China to defy gravity. I can't help you with all these but I think we can re-engineer ourselves to meet whatever challenges that lie ahead or at least make you better, suffer less and enjoy more.

Stress


It is common to hear "I am very stressed" wherever you go. When you do not hear it, you can see it - in the faces of people say in the train. This was during a good year and you'll be thinking that you were in North Korea where Dear Leader has died and folks in the train are in mourning. How will things look in our trains during a bad year and after it has broken down several times? Can we ever learn how to relax? If you go to the beach or visit another country and you expect things to be quick then you would have missed the point. Life is like your golf swing speed, it has to be a natural swing speed and you can't force it otherwise, the timing goes off and you lose you balance. It is strange that people always put so much strain and stress on themselves. Some stress may be necessary to propel your backside out of your chair but too much of it?

Diet

Let's face it. We all eat too much even for those who are conservative. Except for the exceptionally well-heeled, where there may be no recession, there should be parties all year round to celebrate. This is a good thing but watch it. Not just the quantity. Focus on quality and eating right ones but it is difficult. You feed a fish with smaller live feeder fish and they may not go back to pellets. What the fish!

Sleep 

Sleep is your weapon even as some of us regard it as a waste of time. It is a form of recuperation, much needed rest and when your body got rid of toxins not and repairs tissues. There is no other way where your rest is complete. Please see a previous article: http://gforce-guru.blogspot.com/search/label/Sleep.

Prisoners Of Own Device

Whether we like it or not, we are prisoners of our own device. In the old days, transmission of communication takes a few days as we have to draft a message for your manager to vet then dispatch and then for the reverse to happen at the other end. The good point is for some people who needed more supervision they got to learn more whilst today's people may have used too much in sms, twitter and short cuts. Fortunately, they have spell-check in your computer which I never used as it makes your brain stop thinking. 


Some friends asked me if they should get a Blackberry. My answer: It depends if you are going to be the master or the slave. Today, they got their Blackberry and they have since become slaves. It does not mean you are doing less if you are not a slave. It is the same as TV, the Internet and Online Games. More of these, means less sleep. No wonder they say ignorance is bliss. Remember that we are living in a time compressed world. It's about give and take. It's like fixing table legs. Tightened on one side and the other side becomes a problem and the table gets wobbly.

Exercise

It takes great discipline and commitment to do your workouts. If only we could do our required exercises no matter how small like the way we take to food or how we plunge onto a sofa. God gave us two ends, the head and the butt. What we become depends on which end we use most. Move about even in the office do not just sit down. When your chair fit your butt perfectly, you are in trouble because you have been sitting too long the chair took to your shape. May be creepers may grow on you or spiders will spin web and you become part of the world wide web.

Food

The good food we have in hawker fare here will deteriorate in 5-10 years time as everything goes commercialized and once the older hawkers phased out, they will go bad unless something is done. If we eat out all the time, it is like over reliance on domestic workers to do things. Time to have more home cooked food? More vegetables and fruits. Prepare yourself for poorer quality of food which looks nice only in packaging but not in taste.   

Gratitude

It is easy to forget how to be or feel grateful. Most people will take things for granted. If only we can be thankful and be grateful for many things we have, we will immediately feel happier. So, be grateful and thankful for all things big and small and think of the many less fortunate people than you and to those of you who in your business and work have been earning so much - more than enough for you to live a most comfortable life in every sense of the word, do your bit for others in whatever way. It is an easing of burden. It would also be good if only more people wish others happiness and success then the world would be a better place. A lot of us are so much better than others and yet do not realise it.Wouldn't it be good to be in your shoes? Watch Nik Kershaw:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIBzbdo2LjU

At the other end of the spectre, because the problems you face is known to you, it always seems so big but when you mixed with more people, when you have a chance to see, hear and understand other people's problems you will soon realize that yours are pretty small stuffs. Friends don't always tell you their problems and that does not mean they have none. Go to the hospital, old folks home and the children's home and you will have a real sense and perspective of it all.


Golf


Play more golf. You have always said you haven't enough time. When you can't have a game then go to a range. Whatever it is, it is not true that you haven't got enough time. It is just that you have not given it priority. It is not just golf. Life is all about priority isn't it?

24 Hours

There is no such thing as "no time". It has always been there. Time immemorial. Life is about time and space. Everyone has 24 hours - not a minute more, not a minute less. The burning issue is what is your priority? There is a price to pay for everything.

Slow Down

There's a reason why tortoises live many years. Ha ha. Because they can't rush to their graves. There were friends who asked me if they should get a Blackberry. I replied that it depends on whether one would end up as master or slave. They have since got their Blackberry and they are all slaves. I believe some can't get to sleep before looking through the device and the reason is that they feel more peaceful after doing that but to me that means there is no peace. Peace is calm and rest and not dependent on habits.


Do not believe that longer hours at work means more productivity or being efficient. Naturally, when you have more work then you have to work longer but long hours everyday could mean you are not productive. Being efficient could mean you have been very efficient doing the wrong things.

Better to be effective. Give 100% during official hours without wavering, find the most effective ways to deal with problems or seek solutions, then rest. Your mental and physical powers cannot be sustained without rest. Don't fool yourself and believe otherwise. You will become more effective when you have rest and balance. I give you a simple task of watching TV for hours in a day and ask you which advertisements capture your imagination and is stored in your memory, you will probably only name a few. That's because you will remember the most effective ones as your mind suffers from overload. You will not be at your optimum.

The highly skilled practitioner of martial arts sees commotion in slow motion as his mind is calm. Just like your golf swing, a hurried and forceful swing may not yield desired results. Slow down. Let me give you an example. If you drive your car everyday, you may not notice many things unless you take a walk on the same stretch of streets then you realize what you have been missing - the people, things and buildings along the way. Imagine yourself playing soccer or hockey and you run around and all over non-stop. How do you conserve energy. I know many are good in energy saving mode. Rush is not an option. 

Do Something Different

Go some places you have never been, do something you have never done before or meet some one you have never met. Or at least haven't been, done or met for awhile. I swim but not in the cold waters of the morning lacking sunshine since a long time.

The cold morning waters of December sent a shot up my spine. A tingling sensation. When you swim slowly and focus on senses, you will feel a floating sensation surrounding you. Clear your mind as you absorb the soundscape beneath the water. You will feel alive. For those of you who still can't swim, watch the news and make sure our "ponding" does not grow. Why did Moses build an ark? No, no my friend Moses didn't build an ark! It was Noah. Noah with his family, escaped the flood and not the pond. In that sense, ponding is acceptable? No?

Well the sun is coming up soon. Otherwise nights will last forever. Listen to England Dan and John Ford Coley:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR45JW9buOo



Here comes the sun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6tV11acSRk

And I Love Her: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96YQdiMV-Jc

Even the birds. You know I love getting up in the morning when the sun first strikes the trees. All the morning birds that sing above  will bring back memories. IOIO the year is over lo.

Stay calm.

Stay cheerful and stay bright!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I

A Happy New Year to all friends and readers!

When it's too hot, take cover. Like the Bee Gees sang: Aiyoh! Aiyoh! Another bad year is coming they say. I'll survive. Join me in surviving. Learn from Gloria Gaynor: