3 Things To Do Before 40

Holabels mga titos and titas! As we approach half of our lives, the term midlife crisis comes into mind, and in reality it does hit a lot of people. If you are in your mid 20's and 30's you probably wouldn't understand this, but when you are 50% through with life, one day you will just wake up exhausted and anxious. Which makes me wonder... WHY????!!!!

When I was writing this, all I could think of that could trigger this is our collected experiences. Living will put us through emotionally triggering situations that trigger us to act, these experiences shape us to who we are today. But not all experiences make you a better person, remember that! I recall a clip I saw of the movie Triangle of Sadness when they were all stranded in an island, Paula (Vicki Berlin, the captain) was too full of herself even if there is no yacht anymore, she insisted to lead the stranded passengers, Abigail (Dolly De Leon, the cleaning lady) then put her in her place, knowing she knows better how to deal with the situation, usurping leadership since they are no longer inside the yacht and everyone depends on her ability to survive in the wild. What does this mean? A lot actually! It talks about inequality, being too proud, not being sensitive to the situation, not understanding where you stand, the list goes on... (You can probably think of more.. haha!)

I will not advocate shutting these voices in your head... I am no therapist and have no knowledge on counselling (except in HR hahaha!) But I do find these 3 things beneficial as we transition in life.

Focus on your health

Over and over again we keep hearing "Health is wealth." , but it is true, you can do more if you live longer and are able to do things without any restrictions. Two things you need to know about getting your health back on track, movement and diet. You need to have both! Building muscle is not all about heavy lifting, it is also about eating the right food! A healthy diet with no movement will not lower your cholesterol level. (I work out three to four times a week, sometimes six, for one hour or two, I have a lot of time in my hands haha! LOL! If you are strapped for time, an hour a day for four times a week is not bad.) Get a fitness coach to help you get your form right and execute the exercises properly, don't depend on just videos on YouTube, go to a gym and train! Sounds costly? Don't wait for an injury, that's way more expensive!

Everytime you hit the gym, it actually helps clear your mind, your body is filled with happy hormones that make you feel good about yourself, it gives you this natural high. It's also nice because it allows you to meet people, it expands your network and gives you opportunity to expand your views on living. (Pwede din love, merong ganun eh.)

Rediscover your passion

As we get older, we tend to forget the things we love to do when we were younger. I have always loved cooking, and writing was something I enjoyed as a kid, I never was trained formally in both fields though, but it is something I enjoy revisiting every now and then. My knack for writing did land me a job in HR, ( I wrote beautiful termination letters LOL) and training (my GLGs were passed down from trainer to trainer haha!).

I slowly dabbled into video and social media, thinking I am creative enough to capture videos and stitch them together, it's hard pala haha! But I'm a work in progress so I guess that's fine. I don't want to force things, I believe it will naturally come out, practice is key.

So I suggest dear readers, to pick up your old passion projects and try to rediscover your old you.

Forgive your past

I refuse to be defined by my past, though it is inevitable, I believe your actions today should tell your present story, and that is far more important than telling others how broken you are in the past. A portion of you will always be identified with what you have done in the past, but it shouldn't define who you are today, and this takes a lot of effort to do. You will be known for a lot of things in your life, some will benefit you, some won't, some things you have done will be praised, some won't. Some people will tell you to forget these things, but I think it's impossible because people in your past know, so I guess this is where you need to be more forgiving to yourself (be it about your bad relationship with people or money or your health etc.) and apologize to the people you have hurt along the way. I remember this Lene Marlin music video, there is a portion of that video that says "The future will not remember, the past does not forget." Now that I am grown up, I know better how to define that...the past needs to be forgiven, period. Note: We can only reinvent ourselves when we are ready to tell a new story.

Do you guys agree? Let me know your thoughts!

Love,

Tito Gary xxx