What you can learn from Bini’s life coach
When Star Magic head Laurenti Dyogi envisioned forming globally competitive idol groups, he knew from the get-go that they needed more than the potential for success—they had to be mentally ready for it. That was where life coach Pia Acevedo came in.
Two years before the P-pop group Bini debuted, Acevedo was already working closely with the members through her life coaching organization One Core. She was there from the girls’ audition days, she says, and later facilitated group and one-on-one sessions that focused on mental clarity, creating safe spaces, and managing pressure.
It only gets louder
In high-profile careers like being a pop star, “kailangan matatag ang loob.”
“They were living together and we would see them once or twice a month. They were only teenagers—‘yong minds nila hindi pa buong-buo. That’s why we were very proactive with Bini, even before they were introduced,” Acevedo tells Lifestyle Inquirer at the recent launch of her new book, “Moment to Moment: Living Intentionally.”
She also held sessions with the families to help them understand what the girls were getting themselves into and how they could support them along the way.
“Importante rin ang mga nakapalibot sa kanila are well-informed about what fame can do. So they can help protect you from the possibility of losing your way,” says Acevedo, who has worked in a similar capacity with the boy band BGYO. Over the years, she has also built relationships with celebrities including Judy Ann Santos, Marvin Agustin, and Jodi Sta. Maria.
Bini is now one of the country’s biggest P-pop acts and has started making its mark on the international stage. Still, her sessions with the girls continue. After all, the outside noise only gets louder from here.
“I think it’s natural for us Filipinos to want to achieve success, but at the same time, stay true to ourselves,” she says. “Ilang taon kami naghintay bago sila nag-boom with ‘Pantropiko.’ They deserve every accolade and recognition they’re getting now. That’s something I’m blessed to be part of.”
Space to breathe
After years of working with Bini and many other celebrity clients, Acevedo has learned that people in showbiz need space to breathe. The need isn’t unique to celebrities, of course, but the nature of the industry means everything is amplified.
And when things become too overwhelming, she advises taking what she calls “micropauses.”
“Kailangan natin ng intentional micropauses kung saan wala kang ibang paglalaanan ng time at energy mo. You just listen to yourself—especially if you’re a celebrity kasi maraming bagay sa paligid na pwedeng maka-influence sa isip mo at sa pananaw mo sa sarili,” she says.
All she asks of her clients is 20 seconds of their time—before they step in front of the cameras, before they get up onstage. “Imagine literally counting down as you feel your breath supplying all the oxygen your body needs,” she says, adding that this simple exercise can benefit everyone.
“You can do it before a meeting or whatever task you need to accomplish,” she adds. “You don’t have to overthink it.”
She explains: “The value of the pause is that it allows a reset. Without it, you overfunction your nervous system to protect yourself from the world, even if the world isn’t really an enemy. When there’s chaos or stardom, they get overwhelmed by the energy.”
Teaching moments
Being intentional also matters when choosing what you read on social media and how you let it affect you. This is something she regularly discusses with Bini—how the negativity out there and people’s perceptions of you can ultimately affect your own perception of yourself.
“Be careful with what you read online—they’re not really you… You have the power to decide what you will let in and what you won’t,” she says. “That discipline takes time, it requires some learning and unlearning.”
But while they’re equipped to handle expectations and criticism, celebrities are human, too, and can only take so much before they snap. Acevedo, however, sees these moments not as mistakes but as teaching moments.
“Tinutulungan naman silang himayin [‘yong situation],” says Acevedo, who also stresses the importance of not letting one mistake become bigger than it really is. “Huwag lalahatin ang problema. The brain tends to make everything universal and to think it’s catastrophic kahit isang bagay lang ‘yan. But those things can’t define you.”
Instead, we should turn to the people who truly know us and let them keep us grounded. Fans and the public will always be important, and they help create energy around the work they do. But at the end of the day, Acevedo says, “you’re still a woman, a daughter, a mother.”
“’Yon ang inuuwi mo.”
