Happy New Year 2021

Took me few days to write what I wanted to do in 2021. That is because, New Year Resolution seems outdated and overused. Like, everyone write their goals, shared them with the world, and only spectacularly forgotten after 1 month.

So, this year, I am not writing New Year Resolution. I am writing Post New Year Resolution. No, in fact, lets drop the word “resolution”. I am writing New Year To Do. It is something that I will start doing in 2021, be consistent with it, with a wish that it will improve my quality of life by the time New Year Eve 2022.

Lets start…..

First of all, to possess less. In the last 13 months, I have 3 family member that is close to my heart passed away. After the cremation and sorrow, we were were left with so much possession that nobody knows what, or where. This itself become so much burden that eventually we decided to call someone and just dispose everything under 100.000.

How to possess less? First of all, before buying something, ask if I really need it? Is there something that I owned can fulfill the same function? If not, do I really, really need it? For long term? Should I just borrow or rent?

And then, of all of the stuff that I own, is there things that can be sold or thrown away? Things that we keep “for old time sake” which sit in big box in the corner, never seen the light?

Second, the health of the mind. It is undeniable that the year 2020 throws everyone’s mind of of whack. I once said that, either you die from COVID or you go crazy. The first one is easier to recognize, but the second one, the health of mind, is harder to observe, simply because it can manifest into anything, like binge eating, only shopping, anger, lack of focus, etc. It can even manifest into health of the body, just like what happened to me few months ago.

Meditation and prayer is the answer to the health of the mind. I restarted my meditation 2 months ago by subscribing to Headspace. Later, my practice expanded from morning meditation to mindful walk, and work focus. I feel calmer, and able to focus more in the middle of chaotic situation at work, and at home.

I did mention prayer for the health of the mind. This is something that I would like to add in my daily practice. The goal of prayer is to recognize God, higher being, or whatever concept that you believe, to accept that this higher being has bigger plan on things that you can’t change, and put your effort to what you can change. Like what I learned from Scuba Diving, don’t fight against the current. Go with the current, and move up or down instead. It will still result in great Scuba Diving.

Finally is the health of the body. It is not a secret that many people gain a lot of weight during the pandemic and working from home, myself included. With limited space to move around, and well-stocked fridge within two steps, it is easy to over eat.

Health of the body started from what you eat, and how you eat. I had managed to clean up a bit on food before the pandemic, and did regular 24 hour fasting. However, the pandemic, the packed time to take care of a sick family, and kid studying turns all of this upside down. So, it is time to clean up and eat better

After fixing what I eat, the next one is to move the body. When the kid study from home, it is actually better for me to slot in morning run. No need to wake up so early to prepare the kid and commute to school. Of course, once the food is fixed, I should have more energy to do more run, or any other exercise.

Well, that’s all for 2021. Wish everyone a Happy 2021 ahead. Stay healthy, and stay safe.