1. Say no.
It took me a long time to learn how to say no, but the thing, is you can’t please everyone, forever. Pick up some balls, reject once, and the rest will follow. Rule of thumb is: never say yes when you’re saying no to yourself. BUT if someone proposes with a diamond ring gold bar, just say yes first then sort him out later 😉
2. Speak up.
No one will know your existence if you keep quiet all day. Nobody will go up to a piece of furniture and offer it chocolate cakes or opportunities. Stop being that chair in the office and start rattling.
3. Stop making new year resolutions.
Make multiple 100-day plans instead. Remember, the goals have to be concise like, “eat six times a day,” rather than, “I want to look like a pig.”
4. Appreciate.
It is not in our Asian upbringing to constantly express love verbally, especially to our parents. However, do know that you’re truly blessed if people even bother nagging at you.
People say I love you all the time – when they say, “take an umbrella, it’s raining,” or “hurry back,” or even “watch out, you’ll break your neck.” There are hundreds of ways of wording it – you just have to listen for it, my dear.
– The Curious Savage (John Patrick)
5. Belittle yourself.
You’re not that great. Really. I once thought I could be superman and jump over a stretched rubber band placed at shoulder height (aka zero point) in office, and I ended up cracking my toes. The pain prolonged till now.
6. Never be a slave to anyone.
Not your bestest of friends. (To begin with, a friend should never make you feel that way.) Not even your own boss. Real people actually die from overworking these days. Not worth it.
7. Let go.
Letting go is like repeating point 1 for a thousand times till it has no effect on you. Pretty tough, but achievable. It is necessary in life because people change all the time, including myself.
8. Black and whites are not cool.
Rules and the whole junk of proving this and that is bullshit. I know while mandatory, too much of them gives no free play and sucks humanity TO DEATH.
9. Take chances.
You’ll never know what’s in-store for you next. If you want to do it, go. Spare some considerations for consequences though, then do it with all your heart. YOLO!
10. Don’t procrastinate.
Because I procrastinated to pump my bike tyres, I landed in an accident. Because I procrastinated to install iTunes on my new laptop, I lost my phone without the latest backup files. (Btw, it’s better to setup auto backup in iCloud.) STOP FUCKING PROCRASTINATING.
11. Enjoy boredom.
Motivation and passion cannot keep you going on forever, boredom will. This is similar to the 100-day plan thing (point 3). Using the same example, indulge in the process of binge eating everyday instead of focusing on looking like a pig. Trust me, you’ll get there.
12. Cold showers are good.
Better immunity, higher metabolism, more energy, lots of benefits blah. It think my morning sinus improved after cold showering for a few months.
13. Eat. A lot.
No better way to treat your body and soul. Well, at least for me!
