Resilience in Peru

I have just arrived on 3400 meters, on the top of the Mirador san Christobal, amidst the old Inca-land in the southern Andes in Peru. After a little climb of about 2 hours I am sitting here together with Robin – our youngest son, enjoying the majestic scenery. We are surrounded by 6000-meter mountains. On our right the abyss drops down for almost 1000 meter, and all the way down there the brown ‘Rio Apurimac’, a wild river, is winding its way through the untouched and wild nature. Lots of little green terraces are scattered about the mountain slopes. And here and there we spot some little primitive huts. The Quecho-Indians live here together with their sheep and lamas.

Robin and I are here for 8 days to discover Peru and to support the amazing hospital, the Diospi Suyana, in Curahuasie, as I have been conducting a ‘Healthy Leadership’ training for some of the employees of the Hospital for the last couple of days. Like so often during journeys like this one, I find that I am learning and discovering as much as the participants of the training!

Ten years ago, Dr. Klaus John wrote, during a xpand-seminar in Germany, a visionary strategic plan for an excellent hospital with the highest possible standards, to serve the poorest of Peru. In 2004 constructions started, and in 2006 the hospital opened its doors. Dr. Christina and Dr. Klaus John are leading this immense project since the start. And to me they are a textbook example of people with a high ‘resilience-factor’ in regard to ‘solution-orientation’.

They never see themselves as a victim, and they have shown, during all the difficult setbacks that they have faced (try to build and run a major hospital in a remote area like the Andes, solely on generosity of others), to be able to pick things up and get going. They have, so often, shown great decisiveness and courage. Christina and Klaus have two very different characters, but concerning the ‘resilience-factor’ in regard to ‘solution-orientation’ they are both extremely strong.

How can you develop your ‘resilience-factor’ in regard to ‘solution-orientation’? Here some ideas to get you started:

Define 3 projects that are really important to you for the next year (2013), concerning the following three areas: 1- career/education, 2- family, 3- friends/hobbies. This way you are making transparent choices for projects that really matter to you, which will enable you to realize them better. Next: define for all 9 projects 3 clear and measurable goals. In short, you are setting priorities, training your own assertiveness, and taking responsibility by a more active attitude. And because of the goals that you have defined you are able to work on them more concretely, with more motivation and more ‘solution-minded. Don’t forget: doing so it is important that you are loosing the ‘victim-mentality’.

The time between Christmas and the New Year is a great time to already give 2013 some more direction and content!

I whish everyone an inspirational and great new year,

Paul Donders