my key resolution for 2013: FRUGALITY

It's 2013.

New year, new resolutions. Better yet, new REVOLUTIONS.

I bet a bajillion bloggers are posting about their 2013 resolutions. And why not, writing helps a person remember and execute what s/he has written down. So I might as well join the bandwagon. :)

I shall start my resolutions with, THIS YEAR...

1. I shall write EVERY SINGLE DAY in my blog. Though I don't have much loyal readers, actually I really don't have any, I will still write in here in the hopes that I might inspire a wandering and bored-to-death internet surfer to adhere to my plan of starting a NEW YEAR REVOLUTION.

2. I WILL CHANGE MY LIFE BY RESOLVING TO CHANGE THE WORLD. I will be basing my actions on the book written by Michael Norton, 365 Ways to Change the World. I bought this paperback in 2010 and as I was cleaning out my shelf I spotted this and decided to finally execute it. I shall start changing the world by doing 365 actions in the year, one certain activity per day.

3. I will be more focused on what I do, be it in my work, studies, or extra-curricular activities. Finish things that I have begun. Stay focused and not stray or deviate from the task at hand. Often times, I find myself lost and distracted while doing a project or activity that requires great concentration. So this has to stop. How? By being CONSCIOUS of what I'm doing. By engaging my attention at the present undertaking.

4. I shall be more HARD-WORKING and INDUSTRIOUS, acknowledging my duties and responsibilities as a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a friend, a worker in the Lord's vineyard, a leader, a server, an activist. We all have a lot of roles to fill and fulfill. I will let people judge me by my output, by my own works. And not because I brag of my achievements, no. I shall let my work speak for myself.

5. I SHALL BE FRUGAL. Frugality is defined as the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent, or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time, or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance. In behavioral science, frugality has been defined as the tendency to acquire goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourceful use of already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal. (taken verbatim from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frugality)

image from
http://farm4.static.flickr.com
/3577/3692149756_ca17fc8325_m.jpg

Wikipedia also gave tips on how to be frugal:

Strategies for frugality
Common strategies of frugality include the reduction of waste, curbing costly habits, suppressing instant gratification by means of fiscal self-restraint, seeking efficiency, avoiding traps, defying expensive social norms, embracing cost-free options, using barter, and staying well-informed about local circumstances and both market and product/service realities. Frugality may contribute to health by leading people to avoid products that are both expensive and unhealthy when used to excess.Frugal living is mainly practiced by those who aim to cut expenses, have more money, and get the most they possibly can from their money.

Not to be confused with cheap, being stingy or a miser, frugality, in my own definition, is the efficient and creative use of resources. Maximizing what you already have and finding ways on how to make it work or look brand new. It is also the discernment between things you need versus things you like. I think this image will convey what I mean:

image taken from http://www.punchdebtintheface.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/define-necessity-starving-african-children-vs-north-american-greed-shopping.jpeg

image taken from http://eatwithjoy.files.wordpress.com/2012/
02/define-necessity.jpg

We are blinded by what we WANT that we tend to acquire things more than what we need. My graduate studies professor told us in his lecture that the earth can satisfy what man needs but not what man wants.





Perhaps if we just try to make our lives simple by being frugal, then the earth will be able to give us much of its treasured resources in great abundance and that everyone will be able to have access to it. The earth is not biased to the poor nor to the rich. It is there to provide for everyone.

image from http://sonnetsstudios.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/frugality.jpg

And so as I draw this entry to a close, I hope and pray to God that I will be able to adhere to my New Year's Revolution until the end of 2013. And hoping some more, I wish this entry could inspire someone to include FRUGALITY in their resolutions.

AHOY 2013! Full speed ahead!