A New Year & a New Beginning- Start with a New Year Resolution

Hi Friends,

Do you want to start 2011 on the right note? If "Yes",  here is a suggestion: write down your New Year Resolutions before the year starts and set some targets for yourself to achieve for the year. You are the Captain of "YOUR SHIP". You need to have a "Map" so that you can pilot your ship as you sail along the passage called "Life".

Do not listen to "nay-sayers". Just because they could not achieve their goals does not mean you can't achieve yours. Prove them wrong. 

Your resolutions have to be specific and also have a deadline by which you hope to achieve it. It does not have to be specific to 2011. You can have a 5 Year Plan that starts from 2011.

Here are some suggestions:

1) Weight Management -Lose 5 kg by end of 2011 and reach my ideal weight of 72 KG.

2) Save & Invest- Save S$10,000 by cutting off unnecessary expenses and invest the money in high dividend paying stocks. Do your research before you invest.

3)Long Term Plan- e.g. Retire by 2015 with enough money in the bank. Retirement Fund- S$5 million Dollars or S$10million or more.

4) Health Management- Exercise regularly- at least 3x a week.Run the Marathon (42KM) by 2013.

5) Be a better person- Kind, Loving, Caring, Understanding, Manage your Anger, be a better father/husband/wife/son/daughter/ teacher/student /boss/employee/etc.

6) Do more charity work. Help World Vision (http://www.worldvision.org.sg/st_sponsorchild.php ) or Habitat for Humanity (http://www.habitat.org/asiapacific/)

7) Reduce Drinking and Smoking- to improve health.and save money

8) Eat Healthy Food and Cook at Home more often.

9) Be a Happy Person and Smile more often even when things are not going the way you want them to- this will reduces stress and improves your health

How to make sure you succeed with your "New Resolution Goals"?

1) Write it down. You will remember better. Have notebook so that you can compare your resolutions from year to the next. Some resolutions are "work-in-progress".

2) Paste it in places you will see regularly. Keep a copy in your wallet.

3) Look at everyday before you go to bed. At least for 7 days continuously.Constantly review it on a monthly basis to monitor you progress.

4) Tell your friends (some of things you would like to share and get them to help you reach your goals).

5) Stay focused on your goals and you will achieve it.

Remember - Thoughts leads to Feeling leads to Actions leads to Results.You need to take Massive Action by which I mean a paradigm shift in your thinking and "JUST DO IT!" as NIKE tag line states.

I have achieved a number of New Year Resolutions. I have a notebook where I write down my resolutions and goals I want to achieve. For example, at the start of 2010, I weighed 79kg. Now, I weigh 75kg. That was the weight I was targeting for 2010. If you have a problem with achieving your New Year Resolutions than just focus on one or two resolutions. Get one thing done before you move on to another goal. "Success breeds Success". Before you know it you will have achieved more than one goal for that year. 

Stay positive and stay focused! Good Luck! Don't Worry Be Happy!

Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

God Bless! Remember to SMILE!

Cheers,

Mark Fernandez

More Jokes! Ha! Ha!Ha!

Have fun! Laugh your heart out! Relax! Enjoy! Share this with your friends.

-----

One day, a man came home and was greeted by his wife dressed in a very

sexy
nightie. "Tie me up," she purred, "and you can do anything you want."

So he tied her up and went golfing.

**************************************************

A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran into the
house. She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Honey,
pack your bags. I won the lottery!"

The husband said, "Oh my God! What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain
stuff?" "Doesn't matter," she said. "Just get out."

**************************************************

Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the
other is a husband.

**************************************************

A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver's license.

First, of course, he had to take an eye sight test. The optician showed
him
a card with the letters:

'C Z W I X N O S T A C Z.'

"Can you read this?" the optician asked.

"Read it?" the Polish guy replied, "I know the guy."

**************************************************

Mother Superior called all the nuns together and said to them,

"I must tell you all something. We have a case of gonorrhea in the
convent."

"Thank God," said an elderly nun at the back. "I'm so tired of
chardonnay."

**************************************************

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.

Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.

"Careful," he said, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my GOD!

You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We
need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER?
They're
going to STICK! Careful . CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to
me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have
you
LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to
salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I
don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like
when I'm driving."
***************************************************

 

Asia's Biggest Loser- Part 2

Hi All,

Just a word of caution to what I wrote in my earlier article in Asia Biggest Loser. While losing weight is great, doing what Deveraj has done can be dangerous to your health. While I am proud of his determination and discipline, you must remember, he did for a competition. If you lose so much of weight in such a short time it will affect your body. If you saw his pictures, there are very bad stretch marks and skin hanging as a result of rapid weight loss.

It is possible to do what Deveraj did but is it worth the risk? You should do it little at a time. Restricting water intake is a bad idea.It will affect your kidneys. You must drink water - at least 2 to 3 litres a day. Experts advise that it is OK to lose about 3-5kg a month. Over time you will have reach your ideal weight.Remember losing weight is not a sprint. It is a marathon.

Everything in moderation is a great advise to follow whether it is for eating, drinking, exercising, shopping, etc.

Cheers,
Mark

The Biggest Loser Asia

"Where there is a will, there is a way!" V.Deveraj showed us how. He won "The Biggest Loser Asia" Season 2. The 24 year old contestant is 1.81m tall and used to weigh 144kg when he first joined the competition. He lost a total of 67kg and won US100,000 (S$130,000). He worked out from 9am to 9pm for everyday for the last 3 months. That's what you call will power, determination and discipline.

He is a "Big Winner". It takes a lot of courage to join such a competition because there are a lot of people out there who will make fun of people like Deveraj. Most of us know that we should not put on too much of weight as it is not good for your health and you may not feel good about it. But sometimes, due to health issues or eating binge and lack of exercise, the weight just creeps up. This is especially so when you get older as your metabolic rate slows down.

With will power, determination and discipline, we all can reduce our weight if we need to. This can be your New Year Resolution.

Three Prong Approach to Weight Loss:
1) Have a Plan- Lose 10 KG
2) Have a Healthy Diet
3) Exercise (2 to 5 x a week for about half an hour or more). See Doctor before you start your exercise. What exercises?-Brisk walk, slow jog, swimming or cycling are some options.

Stay Focused and you will succeed. Remember, this is not a sprint, this is a marathon.Deveraj took 3 months only because he was in a competition.. But in reality, he will have to continue working out for the rest of his life to prevent the weight from ballooning again.

See today's Straits Times (15th December 2010-Life! section) or Starhub Channel 522-DIVA Universal Channel (see program details).

With the holiday season here watch what you eat and drink!

Happy Holidays!

Cheers,
Mark

Perils of Technology!

Hi All,

The New York Times recently reported the dangers of how technology is affecting youngsters- "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction" (full article-http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html?_r=1 ). We know that technology has its benefits but it also has it downside. When we travel on the MRT, we see numerous people on the hand phone playing games or talking to someone on their handphone. They even ignore the needs of other passengers and most of the time are too busy to move out if there are people getting in and out of the train. Like teenagers, adults are also not spared from the perils of technology with one recent article highlighting how a women has lost her husband to of all things an "iphone". The husband is on his iphone checking out his Facebook account all the time and using other social media sites because everything is in the palm of his hands. 

It is OK to use technology as it has made a lot of things convenient. We have come to a point where technology is an integral part of our lives. We can communicate via handphones with each other instantaneously or keep tab on our kids, organize ourselves with the use of the computer. But we should not let technology rule our lives to the point where we become slaves. Man/Woman in my opinion are meant to interact with each other more face to face rather than through the use of technology. But because we rely so much on technology, we have lost touch with our emotions and reality and have become more "robot-like". We have less time for our loved ones because we are on the computer, handphone or iPad. Family members meet less often than compared to before. We depend phone-calls and emails to keep in touch with one another.This shouldn't be the case.

What is more worrying is the kids whose lives are ruled by technology. They are on their handphones, laptops, iPads, etc. They are hooked to Facebook and Video Games. This is turning them into techno-freaks with serious social problems. They tend to lose focus and are distracted by vagaries of technology. They also become violent as result of these violent video games. They are also more likely to join gangs to live out their fantasies. 

The computer has been a great help in teaching students in schools. At the same time, plagiarism has become a problem with students copying wholesale from the Internet passing off what they copied as their own or getting a ghost writer to write their project work and essays.Gone are the days where one took pride in producing original work. 

Technology is creating a real social problem among teenagers. Cyber bullying through social media sites such as Facebook is now common. There have been a number if cases on teenage students committing suicide as a result.

How to Manage Children and their use of Handphones & Computers?

1) Limit the use of the computer and handphone. Have parental control over use of computers and the sites they are able to visit especially if kids are still in primary and secondary school. Teenagers are known to clock up phones bills that amount $200 over dollars or when they don't even earn a single cent. My friends have had to confiscate the child's mobiles phone and make them pay back by working part time jobs or doing household chores. 

2) Get the children to take up some sports or hobby that takes them away from the computer. They will have a more balanced life.

3) Like the teenagers, many adults can't live without their hand phone. So, adults should to be good role models themselves for their children.

4) Connect with you children more often. Family dinners at home is preferred to eating out where there is less distractions. Family members can have decent conversation. It helps to bring a family closer. If you find cooking a chore, then order in pizza or KFC ( though these are not the best options health wise if you plan to do family dinners frequently).

5) As a last resort, bring them to a Social Counselor. They are experts and they may be able to advice parents on how to deal with the children. And parents should not live in denial. It is better to treat the symptoms so that the child can live a normal life than worry about social stigma of see a counselor. Your kids' life is more important, so pay more attention to them before its too late.

6) I am a big believer in teaching kids about doing charity work from a young age. Maybe, these tech savvy children can teach elders and less fortunate children on how to use computers.This way, these kids can learn more about the importance of thinking about others more than themselves for a change.

7) Teach children the importance of integrity and honesty. It is not only the job of teachers. Parents have to play their part.

I am not saying technology is bad. Use technology well to improve your lives and work and your kids lives but be careful not to become its slave. 

The holiday season is here. So, should you buy the latest gadget for your children as gifts? That's the million dollar question which only you can answer.

Regards,

Mark