I am one for resolutions. Every year, I make resolutions. I like making them because it encourages me to think. Yes, just think of what I’d like to do better or different in the new year, never mind that I forget some and ignore others. Still, I enjoy the thinking and the listing, and hopefully, the doing. 

For 2019, I made a 3-in-1 resolution, much like the 3-in-1 drinks on the market.  I want to stay happy, be healthier and kinder. If I can be all three, 80 per cent of the year, I will be more than satisfied. Just like the 3-in-1 drink that is suitably nice and satisfying.

Staying happy

Being happy is achievable but staying happy is a little less easy. I am generally a happy person. I laugh easily over silly and fun things.  I am happy when I see, and happier still, when I eat chocolates and cakes. My husband says I am low maintenance as I can enjoy a locally manufactured Cadbury chocolate as much as a piece of exorbitantly priced Godiva chocolate (I am not a connoisseur) or be as happy at a McDonalds as I would be at the Mandarin KL.  Plus, I don’t really have expensive likes.

That said, I can feel quite desolate with waves of gloom overwhelming me for no good reason.  I tend to allow myself to get upset because of something someone said or didn’t say, an unreasonable or disappointing behaviour, especially from the people I love and care for ( they are the worst culprits), or an event outside my immediate control. At times, watching the daily news, the sufferings of many, makes me miserable. Songs and photos have a way of giving my tummy a strange little churn. I also get melancholy listening to Tamil songs from my childhood as it’s a part of my growing up years that seems so distant, almost surreal that I sometimes wonder if I imagined or dreamt them or really lived them.

In the past, I have either wallowed or given myself a good talking to.  Wallowing has had a bad rap because feeling utterly miserable or teary is not all bad as it has helped put things in perspective for me.  Once I have compared my state of affairs with the many less fortunate people in the world, I sober up quite quickly.

I know I will feel sad and upset again, and I can’t see myself avoiding these emotions or situations.  I won’t be able to control how I feel but the plan is to realise that they are but only fleeting emotions or situations, and not read too much into them because I know I will be happy soon enough. Give it a little time. A little wallow or a little cry doesn’t hurt.

Being healthier

Trying to be healthier is a work-in-progress for me. My biggest problem has and will always be eating way too many chocolates. I recently ate 69 out of the 70 chocolates (yes, I counted them) in the Celebrations chocolate collection tub. I even ate Bounty, which I don’t like.  My husband had just one very small Bounty and only because I had offered it to him when I peeled off the cellophane, opening the tub. I fall off, get on, and fall off again the chocolate wagon. I make resolutions that I fail to keep so this time around the plan is to focus on what I am more likely to attain.  Sigh.

I have always enjoyed aerobics or some jumping around (as I call it), most mornings. In the new year, I will make a conscious effort to increase my muscle strength by incorporating weights in my exercise routine. I will also up my protein intake by eating more fish and chicken. And, generally try to follow a sensible diet of less sugar and more everything else. This is not particularly easy for me as I always prefer sweet over savoury, but I shall persevere.

Being kinder

I think I am a kind person. The plan is to be kinder. My husband tells me I should start by being kinder to him.  So I have been reminded not to get upset with him for never putting things back where he takes them. Seriously, I want to be more conscious of the less fortunate and less able.

I want to be more tolerant and more sensitive to other people’s needs. I buy food and small presents for the guards who work at my condo, and for my cleaners. I give money to charity. The aim is to give more as well as to actually do something meaningful for a good cause. The latter is where I have done rather poorly. I have been less than generous with my time, and I hope to change that by being more involved. I have drawn up a plan, which I believe will help me make a positive difference in the new year.

I like my 3-in-1 resolution. I have set my targets at a very micro-level in the hope that I will achieve some of it. It’s good to know what I want and good to have a plan, however simple. The next step is intermittent reminders to galvanise the plan.

Best wishes and Happy 2019.