I recently helped produce this video as part of a health campaign. To date it remains exclusively on Youtube. It’s a new approach we’re trying out – using new media channels instead of paying a bomb for traditional media airtime. Let me know what you think.
I don’t smoke myself – but many of us are passive smokers, inhaling smoke from other people and that is harmful too. When I was in China earlier this month, I had respiratory problems due to factory smoke outside and people smoking indoors. I can handle spit-covered pavements and smelly toilets, but my nasal lining was worn out from the pollution and I’m still coughing out phlegm up to today. It makes you appreciate the air quality in Singapore (provided the neighbours don’t burn anything).
In 2008, I resolve to:
- Seize the day. ‘Carpe Diem’ will be the overarching approach to everything I do this year and beyond. Too often I have regretted not doing things more than doing things and making mistakes. At least with mistakes, we gain experience and grow. When we don’t even try out new things which we’re probably capable of handling, we never know if we could’ve moved on to a higher plane and improved our lives. In 2008, I will kiss stagnation goodbye.
- Improve my overall fitness. I did more brisk walking in 2007, but put off serious exercise too often. It was partly due to the fact that I fell ill often in 2007 and was not supposed to engage in vigorous activities too soon after recovering. Then I’d catch another bug and my exercise plans would be delayed again. In 2008, I intend to take better care of my health and break this vicious cycle. This will involve changing my lifestyle quite a bit – namely, improving my work-life balance so I can get off my butt, stop staring at the screen and spend more time at the gym and improving my golf. Maybe this year I’ll finally get my handicap. I intend to sleep and wake up earlier so I’ll have more time to exercise in the morning.
- Spend more time with God again. This isn’t the least important resolution but I put it at the end because it’s a good way to wrap up my plans. In 2007, I turned down all offers to help out at church courses like Alpha and Christianity Explored, because I could not promise that I’d be able to tear myself away from work in the evenings. It would’ve been worse to say yes, then not show up most of the time. However, in the eternal scheme of things, that is not how it should be. I must set boundaries for myself and address any guilt triggers which make me feel obliged to overcompensate with time or effort.
These are more like ‘big picture’ resolutions. Of course, I have plans to do geeky things like restore my Mac, recover all the lost files in my 1TB external hard drive, get a MacBook Pro (not the costly Air), get an iPhone (if it doesn’t break the law), upload an album and become an iTunes artiste, go to SXSW 2008, collaborate with entrepreneur-type friends, speak at more events and revamp this blog. Apart from that, other aspects of my life may be drastically changed this year. But that’s all part of my plan to seize the day.