As the year draws to a close and as a new one dawns upon us, it’s a good time to reflect on how 2010 turned out.

2010—a year of the Tiger has certainly been a year of aggressive change. There have been many breakups and breaking news all over the country and around the world.

Overall, it seems that 2010 was marked by a feeling of hopefulness and optimism that haven’t been seen or felt in a long time. This feeling is quite uncanny because it is so unfamiliar, and yet it is certainly wonderful.

2010 was certainly a year of change. With the May 2010 elections, the democratic process brought about a change in government. The Arroyo administration has finally come to a close and a new administration headed by Pres. Noynoy Aquino has begun. At the start of the election year, it seemed that Sen. Manny Villar could possibly be the winner, but through grassroots campaigning and support, Aquino won the election with a landslide victory over his closest rival.

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Here is a list of the top ten resolutions for 2010:

1.  Go on a diet. Ah, the ubiquitous resolution for virtually everyone, specially in the aftermath of the festivities and parties during the Christmas season. The key to remember is that we should not just concentrate on losing weight, but we should also prioritize having a healthier body. Once we become more conscious of putting the right food inside our body, and living a healthier lifestyle, we’d just be surprised at the weight loss – and the improved appearance – that will go with it.

2. Be more of a blessing to others. Have you ever heard of the parable of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea? The River Jordan is a fresh water river because it continuously flows out to the sea, while the Dead Sea is desolate and unhealthy because it stores up all the water that comes into it. Lesson: the more we give, the happier we become.

3. Learn a new hobby. Learning a new hobby will help you develop hidden talents, and numerous other benefits await you depending on what particular hobby you choose. Plus, studies show that you can beat age-related degenerating diseases such as Alzheimers and dementia by keeping your mind active. Choose a hobby according to your interests, and scour the internet for possible ideas and inspirations.

4. Take better care of your appearance. With all the fables and stories we grew up with, we were somehow programmed to believe that being conscious about our appearance is equivalent to vanity – an unforgivable sin. However, we could look at taking care of our appearance from a different perspective: as a way to respect our bodies, and to show respect to others as well. Also, studies show that appearance has a sizeable impact on success (whether we like it or not). The thing is, beauty doesn’t involve trying to look like another person. We should just focus on letting our true, unique beauty shine through.

5. Save more money. If nothing else, the recession showed us that we will pay, literally, for all our mindless consumerism. Learning to save more in the bank would start first with the realization that joy doesn’t necessarily have a high pricetag; that most of the time true pleasure can be derived from something as simple as a shared joke with the family. Make it a family project to save more and invest smarter, and the benefits – both monetary and otherwise – would surely abound.

6. Break a bad habit. Or two.  The good news is, habits are not impossible to break; we would just really need to exert conscious effort towards putting a stop to it. And for good reason: bad habits, when done in the long term, could cause serious ailments that could have been easily prevented. Some of the top habits to break include smoking, drinking too much alcohol, and practicing poor hygiene. Look around the internet for tips on how to break these bad habits.

7. Be more environment-friendly. Right now we’re living in an eco-revolution, where it’s becoming the trend to be more conscious about preserving the environment. Some steps to becoming environment-friendly include taking your own bags when shopping (so you wouldn’t need to have the items placed in plastic shopping bags – just don’t forget the receipt); not drinking from straws; recycling as much as possible; and starting your own compost pit at home.

8. Be more organized. Taking the time to be organized will bring numerous benefits, such as not having to spend too much time looking for important files or papers, making the best use of your time, and avoiding the hassles and pressures of having to rush for something.

9. Never be late for anything ever again. This resolution works in conjunction with  another important improvement area: learning to practice time management. Some steps to effectively manage your time include keeping daily, weekly and monthly checklist of things you need to accomplish; breaking down big projects into more manageable tasks; and learning how to prioritize, delegate and say “no”.

10 . Smile more. Enough said.

They may not necessarily be mine, though a lot of them may apply.

A lot of them, too–I have been doing from day to day for years now, though I succeed, I stumble, I gain (friends, weight, lessons and all), I fall, I pick up the pieces and I move on. I guess it will be this way again in 2010, beginning on 01-01-10, what nice numbers!

YOU–what are your top New Year’s Resolutions?

1. I as a Filipino voter, resolve to cherish my one vote and make best use of it.

There are many lazy people who claim that one vote ceases to make a difference. If everyone in the country thinks that way, there will be no future for the country. I have only one vote, and I ought to make use of that one vote. It is better to think that I spend that one vote added to deserving candidates. That is also one vote less to corruption and indifference.

2. I will refuse to be bribed by garbage politicians who will just use their position to generate illegal wealth for their own interests.

I need money. Everyone needs money to survive. But this year, I will refuse to take in bribes, no matter how many digits that bribe contains, because my one vote is priceless. My vote is something that helps shape a nation, and I will not allow politicians to intimidate me. I will also discourage other people who will receive bribes. I’d rather stay where I am financially than take the bribe, improve my lifestyle and succumb to the downfall of the government in the future. Plus, I will have a good night’s sleep knowing that I have not done anything drastic enough to contribute to the country’s future ruin.

3. I will be proactive and stand for what is right and lawful, even if other people around me will do otherwise.

There are no rewards to doing good in a political world where corruption seems to be the norm and ill shady deeds are rewards. But I refuse to lower my standards just to accommodate what I see around me.

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