What are your New Year Resolutions?

This is such a terrible ritual, this making of promises to yourself that you may never keep! In fact, so often we make them not even knowing how or when or where to start, but I guess while having good intentions isn’t enough, it’s better than having bad intentions!

Here is my list of (im)possible dreams for 2018, increasingly philosophical as I get older but I hope some are achievable. Apologies for throwing in the personal ones but I am only human!

1. I will stop doing things I know are wrong, wherever possible, and try to stop others doing the same. For example, buying fruit and vegetables with plastic coverings, and minimizing all packaging and polystyrene or plastic containers, from my purchases wherever possible.
2. Stop all household and office staff from using hoses to wash cars, water plants, clean areas, it is incredibly wasteful.
3. Start recycling of paper, glass, plastics, organics, etc. wherever and wherever possible. Encourage everyone to do the same. Use experts like Waste 4 Change and Eco Bali to maximize impact and efficiency. It can be done so must be done.
4. Stop sending business emails and WA messages for an hour every day and send them to friends around the world instead. At least ONE a day!
5. Make sure in my stupid schedule that there’s always time for the family. Not just “hi and bye” but a real conversation, a meaningful exchange.
6. Stop talking about helping the poor and disadvantaged and actually do something. Adopt a charity or a home and make it a part of life not an optional extra.
7. Increase my fitness and health-consciousness. Do 50% more exercise every week and cut down on harmful foods and drinks (except for wine of course which isn’t harmful as you know!)
8. Finish my book! No not reading, writing, I’ve got another 10 chapters to go. (Impossible Dream I)
9. Get my golf handicap down to single figures! (Impossible Dream II)
10. Make sure one weekend a month is out of the city and in touch with nature. We all need “green”!

There, that wasn’t too bad, was it? I never mentioned traffic, flooding, corruption, inefficiency, poor regulations, injustice, intolerance or discrimination once. No point really since ending all of those will require a lot of other people’s New Year Resolutions to be made – and kept! (Impossible Dream III)

Have a great year and remember: failing to plan is planning to fail, so make your 2018 plans now! (And keep them).

Alistair Speirs

Alistair has been in the publishing, advertising and PR business for 25 years. He started NOW! Magazines as the region’s preferred community magazine.