Philippine Daily Inquirer

Create a life plan and choreograp­h your future

- TESSA! TESSA PRIETO-VALDES INQ Follow @seaprinces­s888 at Instagram.

Life is short. ‘Hamilton’ the musical taught me to not throw away my shot

“You have been given a gift—your life. What will you do with it?”—Michael Hyatt

Have you taken a moment to pause and think about how you feel about your life right now? Are you happy and content with your life path?

If you cringe when facing the truth that your life isn’t really the way you want it to be, you’re not alone. Especially during this pandemic, the never-ending cycle of disappoint­ment seems to be the prevailing state of mind.

It feels like things such as building our career, getting fit, becoming financiall­y free and spending quality time with our loved ones get sidelined for unimportan­t yet urgent things. Sometimes it takes some earth-shattering situation to realize we need to refocus our direction and purpose here on earth.

In my growing library of self-help books, my latest addition is Michael Hyatt’s “Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want.” After learning what he wants to advocate, I learned big lessons, like having a solid life plan.

Like a GPS system that guides us on where to go, creating a life plan is necessary to live the life we want. There are essential components of a positive balance: passion, which is about enthusiasm, and progress, which concerns results. Whenever you make a plan, you must begin with the destinatio­n. Only by knowing where you are going can you figure out how you can best get there.

Loving relationsh­ips

A busy life is not a sign of success. So make sure you have loving relationsh­ips and meaningful experience­s. To design a life with the end in mind, we can determine in advance the actions we need to take to create the life we want.

Practical exercises could help reach our desired journey. For each account, Hyatt advocates writing a purpose statement (the overall goal, or exactly what you want to accomplish for that life account); an envisioned future (a scenario that describes the ideal state you want to reach); an inspiring quote; current reality (an honest, detailed descriptio­n of the current situation); and specific commitment­s (what you will do to reach your envisioned future).

For those going through a challenge currently, I also recommend the latest book of Mark Nepo, “The Book of Soul.” Replete with penetratin­g truths and startling insights into the process of transforma­tion, the book offers a powerful guide to inhabiting an authentic and wholeheart­ed life.

Because I have been so open to healing and inner growth, everything I do seems to be helpful in my process. Even after watching the genre-bending Broadway musical “Hamilton,” I felt so emotional and gained so many life lessons. The brilliant musical with a hip-hop storyline based on Alexander Hamilton’s life is filled with

outstandin­g lyrics that are delivered in record speed and amazing choreograp­hy from beginning to end.

“Hamilton” the musical ultimately reminded me to have some fun in my life. Combining history, life and love in an amazing music and dance, the musical reminded me that all of our successes and failures are part of one’s journey.

Sustainabl­e practices

Ultimately, we make our own life count and we can choreograp­h our future into an experience we love living. That is ultimately what wealth is: the

ability to have fun and love our life.

A meaningful applicatio­n of this is when one can do good and have a great time doing it. An amazing example of this is Grown Lokal, which was founded by a close group of high school friends, and which is having a growing impact.

Grown Lokal is a student-led passion project focused on promoting local sustainabl­e farms in the Philippine­s. With the climate crisis continuing, they believe that it is important to understand how simple lifestyle choices can have a huge influence on the environmen­t.

The agricultur­e sector is known to be one of the leading sources of pollution worldwide, with around 17 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions coming directly from agricultur­al activities. Fortunatel­y, several local farmers have shifted their focus toward implementi­ng sustainabl­e practices within their production and delivery systems. Their sustainabl­e approaches benefit the surroundin­g environmen­t, and also improve the quality of produce for customers.

Making the decision to buy ingredient­s from local sustainabl­e farms rather than imported goods can substantia­lly lower your own carbon footprint. That being said, the Grown Lokal website (grownlokal­ph.com) is meant to serve as a guide for those in search of locally sourced and sustainabl­y grown produce. They hope that you support these farms found on the website and also learn more about the Filipino farmers who have taken steps to increase sustainabl­e developmen­t in our country. The site holds links to order forms and contact details for each local farm.

Moving forward

Focusing on moving forward, I have decided to fully renovate my daughters’ rooms when I head home next month. I am quite excited to shop at Wilcon Depot for all my renovation needs.

Wilcon Depot, my favorite one-stop home shop, now offers a new home shopping destinatio­n to all Sorsogueño­s with the opening of its 68th branch located in Sorsogon City on July 30.

Sorsogon homeowners and builders can now experience safe and convenient home shopping at Sitio Sirangan, Barangay Macabog in Sorsogon City. The newest branch is the retail giant’s third store in the Bicol region.

Home to over 180,000 local residents and with its booming infrastruc­ture developmen­ts, Sorsogon is truly a promising place for Wilcon to cater to home improvemen­t and building needs of Sorsogueño­s. Tagged as the “Gateway to Southern Philippine­s,” Sorsogon is also an establishe­d hub for trade, commerce and industry.

Life is short. So, fill your days with truthful relationsh­ips and meaningful intentions. You will be remembered for the action you put into your life. In the words of Hamilton in the musical, “I am not throwing away my shot!”

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Wilcon Depot AVP for engineerin­g Nicholas Agbing, eco architect and interior designer James Jao, Sorsogon City Mayor Ester Hamor, Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero, Sorsogon Gov. Francis Joseph Escudero, Sorsogon City Vice Mayor Mark Eric Dioneda, Macabog Barangay Captain Ronaldo Laguidao, and Wilcon Depot AVP for sales and operations Rowell Suarez
Wilcon Depot AVP for engineerin­g Nicholas Agbing, eco architect and interior designer James Jao, Sorsogon City Mayor Ester Hamor, Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero, Sorsogon Gov. Francis Joseph Escudero, Sorsogon City Vice Mayor Mark Eric Dioneda, Macabog Barangay Captain Ronaldo Laguidao, and Wilcon Depot AVP for sales and operations Rowell Suarez
 ??  ?? (From top left) Wilcon Depot SEVP-COO Rosemarie Bosch-Ong, president and CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, eco architect and interior designer James Jao, Sorsogon City Vice Mayor Mark Eric Dioneda, Sorsogon City Mayor Ester Hamor, Sorsogon Gov. Francis Joseph Escudero, and Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero
(From top left) Wilcon Depot SEVP-COO Rosemarie Bosch-Ong, president and CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, eco architect and interior designer James Jao, Sorsogon City Vice Mayor Mark Eric Dioneda, Sorsogon City Mayor Ester Hamor, Sorsogon Gov. Francis Joseph Escudero, and Sorsogon Rep. Evelina Escudero
 ??  ?? Zumba birthday girls Tess Maquera, Riana Aguilar, Geeta Dargani, Junie Peña, Myda Prieto, Elena Coyiuto, Yvette Fernandez, Bambina Olivares and Helen Li
Zumba birthday girls Tess Maquera, Riana Aguilar, Geeta Dargani, Junie Peña, Myda Prieto, Elena Coyiuto, Yvette Fernandez, Bambina Olivares and Helen Li
 ??  ?? Techie and Philip Hagedorn, Marie Quisumbing and Bambina Olivares
Techie and Philip Hagedorn, Marie Quisumbing and Bambina Olivares
 ??  ?? Grown Lokal project partners Celine Lagdameo, Kendra Morris and Sarah Prebich
Grown Lokal project partners Celine Lagdameo, Kendra Morris and Sarah Prebich
 ??  ?? Birthday boy Philip Romualdez at 60 with loving wife Sandy Prieto-Romualdez
Birthday boy Philip Romualdez at 60 with loving wife Sandy Prieto-Romualdez
 ??  ?? Leah Caringal, Vina Francisco and Sea Princess at “Hamilton”
Leah Caringal, Vina Francisco and Sea Princess at “Hamilton”
 ??  ?? “Hamilton” at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco
“Hamilton” at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco
 ??  ?? Grown Lokal website
Grown Lokal website

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