Resep Awet Muda

1. Banyak senyum
Orang yang banyak senyum biasanya hidup lebih hepi. Percaya atau tidak, senyum itu adalah obat untuk mengurangi stress. Kita bisa lebih 'nrimo' atas keadaan yang terjadi pada diri kita, dan bahkan bisa membangun tekad untuk menghadapi masalah yang perlu dipecahkan. Senyum juga membuat kepribadian kita tampak lebih menarik

2. Sering bahagia
Sering-seringlah merasa bahagia. Bahagia itu bukan kondisi, tapi sebetulnya adalah perasaan. Nggak berarti kita harus ketawa terus. Tapi maksudnya adalah supaya kita merasa tercukupi dan puas dengan keadaan kita yang sekarang ini. Istilah kerennya, gratitude. Merasa bersyukur atas hal-hal positif yang terjadi dalam diri kita, akan membuat kita tetap tampil awet muda.

3. Jaga makan
Tambah usia berarti tambah risiko untuk kena penyakit seperti darah tinggi, kolesterol, atau diabetes. Tambah usia berarti kita harus kontrol jenis makanan, supaya kita bisa mencegah penyakit-penyakit yang nantinya bisa membunuh kita. Jauhi makanan berlemak, goreng-gorengan, dan soda. Konsumsi anti-oksidan, misalnya blueberry, brokoli, dan tomat. Banyak makan makanan berserat untuk menjaga kesehatan pencernaan kita.

4. Hidup sesimpel mungkin
Hidup sederhana bukan berarti mengasingkan teknologi. Justru teknologi akan mempermudah hidup kita dengan hal-hal yang praktis. Contohnya mencuci pakaian. Apakah anda lebih memilih untuk pergi ke sungai terdekat sambil membawa papan bilas dan menghabiskan waktu berjam-jam untuk nyuci pakaian di sana? Atau cukup sisihkan waktu 20 menit untuk mencuci baju menggunakan mesin cuci? Gunakan teknologi untuk membuat hidup anda semudah mungkin, supaya anda punya banyak waktu untuk melakukan hal-hal yang menyenangkan dengan keluarga!

5. Berpikir positif
Orang yang berpikir positif selalu tampak lebih muda dari usianya. Mereka menjauhi stress yang tidak perlu dan tidak menambah kerutan di mata mereka. Pikiran positif punya dampak sepuluh kali lebih hebat daripada pikiran negatif. Sering-seringlah membaca artikel-artikel pembangunan diri (self-help) supaya anda terus mengasah pikiran anda ke jalur yang positif.

6. Cukup tidur
Pada saat kita tidur, otak menjadi rileks dan melepaskan toksin-toksin ke jalur pembuangan yang tepat. Kita "memberi makan" sel-sel otak kita dalam tidur. Kadar glukosa dan fungsi endokrin dipertahankan dalam level yang semestinya dan ini mencegah kita untuk rawan penyakit seperti diabetes, hipertensi, dan obesitas. Tidur 8 jam sehari adalah syarat mutlak untuk selalu awet muda.

7. Stimulasi otak
Otak kita ini terus berkembang dari hari ke hari. Orang yang terus menerus menstimulasi kehidupannya melalui kegiatan asah otak, seperti hobi, pekerjaan, dan pelajaran biasanya akan mengurangi kecenderungan terkena penyakit Alzheimer sebesar 35-40%. Game itu bagus untuk tetap jadi awet muda!

The Balloon Story

Once upon a time, there was a balloon seller selling balloons. Sometimes there are a lot of children crowding him, buying his balloon one by one. Sometimes nobody buys his balloon for a period of time. In this slow time, he release one balloon to the sky, to attract children to buy his balloons. When that happen, the children will crowd him again, buying his balloons to make them happy.

He does this every day.

One day, as he pumps the helium to his balloons, he felt a tug on his right side jacket. Apparently there was a little boy, trying to grab his attention.

"Yes kid, how can I help you?" asked the balloon seller.

"If you let go the black balloon, will it fly?" asked the boy.

The balloon seller look wisely at the child. And then he smiles. "Yes kid, the black balloon will fly. You see, it's not the color of the balloon, but the content inside that will make it fly to the sky".

***

It's our character inside that make us who we are.

Karma

If you plant an apple tree, you'll harvest apples.
If you plant a banana tree, you'll get bananas.
If you plant corn seed, you'll definitely will have corns.

You reap what you sow.
You will eventually have to face up to the consequences of your actions.

So...

If you plant kindness, you'll get kindness in return.
If you become evil and do wicked things, well... there will be karma.

Karma is principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual (cause) influence the future of that individual (effect).

Do good deeds. Not because you're afraid of the consequences. But because it's the right thing to do. Karma has a funny thing to show that you'll be "rewarded" of your good deeds, whether you realize it or not.

May you have a good day today!

Limited Resources

Not everything is unlimited.

There are few things that are unlimited. Time, for example. Time itself as a concept is unlimited. There's always going to be time in the future. But our time, is limited. One day each of us going to be 'expired', just like milk. When and where, we don't know. But one thing for sure, our time is definitely not unlimited.

Everyone has 24 hours in a day. If we break down our day, that could be :
* 8 hours sleeping
* 8 hours working (or in school, if you're a student)
* 8 hours non-sleeping nor working/schooling = errands, homework, chores, fun, family, relax, etc.

Knowing that our day is limited, we need to prioritize things we do based on the importance. Make a list. The quicker you finished your tasks, the sooner you have free time to do whatever you want.

You also need to put a strategy into this. Are there things that you can do in the same time? Multi tasking is not really a bad thing if you can manage to finish 2-3 things at once. For instance, I'm preparing today's lunch. I like to eat noodle, so today I plan to eat my homemade peanut noodle. But in doing this, I will also cook my balsamic noodles to prep for my lunch for the next 2 days in the office. By preparing the noodles at the same time, the result is I'm making 3 meals at once. Save my time and energy!

Another resources that also is limited is energy. Again, the energy itself is unlimited. But our energy, is definitely limited. If it's not, then why we need coffee everyday? Some of my friends drinking energy drinks to keep them energized. This is another proof that our energy is a limited resources.

Since I'm not consuming coffee or energy drink, I must conserve my energy. If I know I'm going to have a long day in the office, let's say working 9 hours that day, I behave in a way that my energy is not all released at the same time. Keep the energy and replenish by snacks and lunch during the break time.

One tips that I do, is to control my excitement level. Everyone that knows me in the past can tell that I'm an excitable person. I rejoice in small things and get happy easily. But this could lead to my downfall too, having no energy left by the end of the day because I already exhaust it. So I learn to control my "outburst". Don't be too excited, but instead be calm and control my feelings, because I still have "a long way to go".

By understanding this limited resources concept, we gain knowledge that there are times and place to do things we need to do, and things we want to do. We find balance between obligations and rewards. We focus on quality instead of quantity.

Our time and our energy are limited, so use it wisely.

Good Habits

Today me and my husband went to our favorite restaurant, Pho Green Papaya. Just the two of us. A lunch date!

While enjoying our lunch (I have the Pho Seafood and Lloyd had the Lemongrass Chicken), we talked. We were reminiscing on the good times and the trial times. One time,the conversation turns into a future topic: retirement.

We evaluated where our finances takes us today, and we were so glad we started investing early. We happy that we begun our retirement funds journey long time ago. We both agreed that it was a wise decision to set aside some of our paycheck and sacrifice the lifestyle we desired. Dave Ramsey once said,"Live like no one else so later on you can live like no one else." And it's true.

We remembered some of our friends that hesitant to invest their funds. Some of them said,"It's not the right timing. Market already over saturated. I'm waiting for the crash." Well... it's true that in 2008 and 2009 market was crushed down and recession hit. However, since 2009 until now, 2017, market has been up 45%! While he was waiting, he's missing 45% growth already in his would-be-portfolio. An opportunity missed!

Some other friends shared with us that they cannot afford to set aside even just 1% of their income. My husband wisely said,"Anybody should be able to decrease their lifestyle 1% lower. If not, they need to revisit their budget."  I know it's hard already to live in today's economy, but it will be harder to grow your wealth if you don't start investing at all. Inflation will take 3 to 4% away in the future, so you should grow your money in a place that can give you at least 5% or higher.

I figure that we are not arrive in our today's destination in one night. There are daily habits that we developed over the course of 12 years of our marriage.

And these good habits are:

1. Budget.
Budget are not rocket science. Basically budget is knowing how much in and how much out. Income minus expenses equals net profit (or loss). You must command where your money goes. You must behave them. Otherwise, you'll be a slave to your money. Your money doesn't dictate you, you control them. And budget is the best tool to "conquer" your money.

2. Save.
Don't live 100% of your income. The good rule of thumb is 50/15/5. 50% spend for necessity. 15% for retirement (investment). 5% for short-term emergency savings. The rest 30%? It's yours. Do what you want. If you want to save more you can. If you want to have fun, you still can. But the bottom line is, you have to save. If you want to win with money, you have to start saving. Take that short-term sacrifices to win a long-term success!

3. Invest.
Invest some of your money. Experts say 15%. At least. You can always do more if you want. Don't wait until "the market is right". Don't wait until your condition is perfect. There is never a perfect right moment anyway, so why don't start now. Watch your money grow. And always consult with an expert, a financial adviser. Especially if this is a new area to you. Read investment blogs or books or magazines. Sharpen your knowledge. When you investing your money, your future self will thank you that he/she doesn't have to work as hard later in the golden years because they younger you already "plant that money tree".

The simple 3 good habits have paid off, and we're just only in the beginning! I can't wait to see how our future finances look like in the next 10, 20, 30 years!!!

Complacency

Few days ago, one of my friend gave me this quote:

And it's true.

Success often perceived as the final destination. But that's the danger of being successful. One can become complacent. One can just give in of the savory aspect of success. To just enjoy it and forget to push forward.

This is why I often view my successes as just "the past". It was a nice memories, but that's it, it's history. If we want to continually be successful, we need to keep the momentum and keep it going.

Success often leads to complacency. According to the dictionary, complacency is:

com·pla·cen·cy

kəmˈplāsənsē/

noun

1. a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements.

   
   

   "the figures are better, but there are no grounds for complacency"

The danger of complacency:
1. We forget our goals.
2. We forget how important it is to keep running to the next finish line.
3. We are not aware of the next danger and succumb into the comfort zone.
4. We reduce our focus and take things for granted.
5. We're not going to arrive at the next success points on time, or maybe never at all.

It is okay to celebrate success. A victory needs to be savored. But don't stay there. Once the party is over, continue to focus on your work and reach out to the next milestones. Keep pushing forward!

Be successful, and don't be complacent.