Recycle Resolution 2025

Newsletter of SDGA (Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association) Vol 4 December 2019

For the 2024 year end's blog post I shall be recycling a very relevant article I contributed to the Lilin Review Newsletter of the sarawak Dayak Graduates Association Vol. 4 December 2019 Edition. The subject is still relevant and I believe most of the resolution we make every year are the ones we made previous years.

You better watch out and you better not cry, he knows if you have been naughty or nice. So, if he is coming to town, he will grant something nice if you were well behaved. For those who are in the Christmas spirit and familiar with the song lyrics I am talking about Santa Claus and not your Yang Berhormat representative. Anyway, on a scale of one to ten how well behaved have you been in 2019? Did the 2019 resolutions you make work out for you? 

 I must thank Mr. Gary Ningkan for inducing me to write for this edition of Lilin Review after a few years break from rambling in my Nadai Nama Nama blog. I needed no convincing to make me jump to torment you, the readers, with my thoughts. The scope given to me was wide, and I did inform Gary that he may need to edit my words as I could go on babbling like a runaway drone. I chose the popular (or unpopular) subject of New Year Resolutions for this edition as I believe all of us will ponder towards this year end. Not that it is a fun thing to make resolutions, as it tends to remind us the many goals we did not manage to achieve. However, this conversation on resolutions tends to dominate the topic of any annual gatherings with our family and friends, as 2020 crawls into your life. You may shrug it off and say,’ what’s another year, I don’t need one’. That my friend is a resolution not to make a resolution, yet. 

Take it from a veteran of resolutions generator let me relate the adventures of formulating ‘not so great’ resolution. First let me share about that impossible resolution that is not going to work. Being someone who loves beer I should not go around telling everyone that ‘I want to give up drinking beer next year’. This may be achievable if you are working in one of our neighbouring country where they do not sell beer or any form of alcohol. 

 Try to say that to your closest Rumah Asap regular buddies while in Sarawak, I am sure they will immediately fall into an uncontrolled fit of laughter and decide to give you one, two or three jugs - anyway. At one point in my career, I did attempt to reduce drinking tuak due to health reasons. That was just before I got appointed as the District Officer of Sebauh District. That was a disaster of a resolution. I knew Santa Claus will put me in the ‘very bad boy’ list that year. I could have appealed to him to put me in the ‘very good drinker’ list and still receive some presents. Yes, resolution making is not easy but go ahead if you decide that it’s something worthwhile to do. No pressure. It just means you need to readjust or realign your regular day to day routine to achieve that desired goal. 

Depending on how high it is of course and the amount of sacrifice or hard work you are willing to make. No, you do not have to plan about becoming the next Pandelela and go on to win that Olympic medal. It’s all good, she’s got that one covered for you. Go for something lower and within your grasp (and you better not think of something else!). In management we call this low hanging fruits. Maybe a selfie with Pandelela would work? Put it this way. Many a times you discover that your friends seemed to have picked up those poco poco dance steps, sang a few award-winning songs flawlessly or being fluent in some foreign languages. And so, being the kiasu you are, you would want to be like them if not better. So now that you have identified that goal, you need to make a few intelligent action plans (thus turned into resolutions) that will help you get there. 

We should never deny that there is that drive in you that constantly pushes you to become better. Use that inner force to make you dance Gangnam style or sing like Rickie El by committing your time to take dance lessons or hole yourself up in some K11 Karaoke Lounge. Then there are some seemingly straightforward resolutions simple to attain but with the twist and turns of the Mission Impossible script. I have seen some of my friends who have kept on trying and trying especially in the area of weight loss goals but still getting nowhere. My observation is that they have set their sights too high, specially with so many only self help YouTube videos showing incredibly fit athletes who will claim you can lose one kilogram a week. Yeah right. 

When you are in the land of Laksa Sarawak, Kolok Mee or Kampua Mee you better have some back up plans in charting out body shape related resolutionss. The roadmap itself will be filled with mine fields and booby traps. Not all of us are blessed with the same metabolism rate and so whatever food you put in sometimes will reflect on your outer appearance. The more you put in, well the more you grow, horizontally that is. Then again, if weight management is something you would like to consider for 2020, by all the means, do it but always think about what lies ahead. Do know there is that Pre Christmas event coming up later, before the actual party. And wait, you discover that New Year Eve comes next before that New Year Celebration. Just as you are about to recover from the hangover of welcoming 2020 the firecrackers of Chinese New Year start a few days earlier and McDonald’s prosperity burger ads keep popping up in your Grab Food app with 50% discounts if you order three. Okay you say, no more yamseng yamseng after this, but Chap Goh Mei beckons. All these involves makan-makan and a bit of ngirup (or more). So, you skip implementing that diet plan and decide to kick it off by March. With the months ahead of Hari Raya and Gawai celebrations, the March to April would grant you the cushion to shed the extra kilos. But someone is celebrating their birthdays, engagements and weddings not to forget reunions which requires your presence. And out of the blue you realise that Rainforest Music Festival, Pesta Kuching, Borneo Cultural Festival, Jazz Festival, Octoberfest and many more ho chiak events are put into your schedule. Before you know it, Christmas Eve is around the corner again. And agonisingly you are constantly refitting your wardrobe with bigger trousers. It is time for another New Year 2021 resolution! Yes, indeed that seems to be the scenario in our part of the world. 

Fret not as this is not necessary the case if you stick to your game plan the moment you decide todo it. All of us want to be a better version of ourselves every day, each week and month. That includes 51 year old me! Why do it every year you may ask? That timeline would provide a measuring stick of our achievements especially on how far (ahead or gostan) we have gone. New Years are a good excuse to push that reset button if we did not fulfil our resolutions. It is that moment in which we pick ourselves up and try again. For those embarking on their New Resolutions journey, I wish you all well. You better not be naughty so that Santa Claus will grant an improved version of you next Christmas. Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year to all. May the force be with you this 2020!