Make crisis work for a better life

Ten things to do next year

Beset by the economic slowdown and political instability, look on the bright side and take this opportuni¬ty to revitalise your life. Here are 10 things you should do next year.

1 Spend less on luxuries

Cutting expenses is the easiest way for overconsumers to reorganise their balance sheets, because sooner or later we shall all be affected more or less by the economic slowdown.

The point is that you must really know what luxuries are. You may have been deluded into thinking that some of them are necessities.

Think out just which are and which aren't

Identify the ones you hardly use even though you like them and feel compelled to buy them. Expensive things can often be replaced by cheaper ones with no big difference in quality.

2 Become a sporty type

Don't dine out so often in glitzy restaurants. Spend the time outdoors in a park blowing the cobwebs away by jogging.

Or join a fitness centre and strengthen your body and mind with cycling and yoga.

It will make you richer, slimmer and healthier. A bonus may well be the companionship of the other health freaks you meet.

3 Use public transport

The nosedive in the price of oil does not mean that drivers should splurge. Experts project another oil crisis in the next few years, so prepare.

Commuting on public transport is the best way to save money and at the same time help save the world. If you must, spend what you save on a new, environmentally friendly car.

4 Rethink your mobilephone bill

Many Thais are addicted to mobile phones, chatting on them whenever they are alone. They spend too much time at this, which means that they overspend.

Addicts should decide honestly whether this is reasonable. If not, they should go mobile only when neces¬sary.

Also they should reckon whether they overspend on mobile promo¬tions and alter their mobilephone package to fit their new, sensible life style.

5 Be DVDgoers

Moviegoers should curb the habit. Not seeing a film the week it comes out just means not being able to rave about it to your less fortunate friends.

Instead, go to the DVD shop and watch it at home. Many movies are available just a few weeks after they are launched.

Of course, action movies just aren't the same on the average livingroom screen.

6 Blasts from the past

If you get bored with routine - get¬ting up, driving, working, eating, watching TV and sleeping - find the time to revisit your past. It will fresh¬en up your life.

Go to places you have not visited for a long time or that allow you to do anything you have not done for a long time, such as a zoo or a primary school.

It'll bring good memories flood¬ing back to empower your life.

7 Organic vegetablegardening

Save money and save yourself from chemicals with this fascinating hobby for the times we live in.

It's more creative than shopping in an airconditioned hypermarket. Being close to nature will soothe your mind and let you wind down from the stressful routine, as well as ensuring that you have cheap vegetables with¬out chemical fertilisers and insecti¬cides on your table.

8.Go to bed early

What's wrong with going to bed early? You'll wake up fresh and feel¬ing that you have had enough rest, particularly between 11pm and 1am, to let your system repair itself.

The cycle of life will be back on track, your organs will function more efficiently, and those aches and pains will fade away.

What's more, you'll have time to do more because you can get up early.

9 Social work

Do not allow the economic slow¬down to make you tightfisted. Be generous by lending a hand to the underprivileged, who need help no matter what the economy is doing.

Donations can take the form of money, belongings or labour for orphans, the poor, the disabled and the aged.

Giving will provide more satisfac¬tion than you will ever find in the cap¬italist world.

10 Go to your inner self

Jitters about social, political and economic conditions can be smoothed away by reaching into your inner self, where you will find no suf¬fering.

It is not the way you escape from the disorder that matters but that you consider how your mind reacts to out¬side factors.

This is what Buddhists mean by vipassana, but it's a universal practice that transcends religious barriers.