The images that surface when I am thinking about this sixth resilience
factor are images of people like: Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson
Mandela, Pope Franciscus the 1., Toon Hermans, Anky van Gunsven and my own
father. All of them, people that are (or were) displaying: 1: a strong and
healthy self-awareness without any narcissistic traits. 2: a passion for their
profession/calling and for life as a whole. 3: Sense of purpose, in the form of
a personal intrinsic mission.
Exactly these 3 elements make the sixth resilience factor: 1.
Self-awareness, 2. Passion, and Sense of purpose. The big question than is:
‘how can you develop these’? Aren’t they just something that comes (or doesn’t
comes) over you? Over the past 35 years I have had the privilege to experience
many, many people during coaching that have really been able to develop this
resilience factor though.
Before we take a look at some training-ideas let’s take a quick look at
some of the advantages that resilient people have in regard to these 3
elements.
Self-awareness
- Resilient people are convinced that they can make a meaningful
contribution to their surroundings by doing their job well.
- Resilient people believe in their own capacities and therefor gain the
confidence of others easier. This has a positive impact on their chances for
good opportunities and success.
- Resilient people rarely drop into the role of the ‘victim’. They
rather perceive themselves as developers and realizers of new possibilities.
Passion
- Resilient people let passion be a driving force in their lives. They
are constantly working towards realizing their passions. And, by doing so,
experience their uniqueness and calling in this world.
Sense of purpose
- Resilient people are truly convinced that life is meaningful and that
they are able to make meaningful contributions to their surroundings - Aaron
Antonovski.
Training-ideas:
1- Discover how you are making a meaningful contributions to the success
of your colleagues, your clients and of the organizations that you are working
for. Being aware of this effect that you have, and really having this effect,
often already gives your own work a lot of meaning.
2- Discover your own passion and dreams, and really start working
towards realizing them. Develop a strategic plan for the next 3 years and
implement a way of measuring how you are growing towards realizing your dreams
and passion.
3- Take your time to explain your dreams to someone that you really
trust. Explain to him/her why these dreams are so important to you, how you are
trying to realize them, and how you hope that others will support you.
One last tip in regard to this resilience factor: find people that have
developed this factor really well, and let them inspire you! This is even
possible by reading their work, or by listening to their ideas (for example via
www.ted.com). Furthermore it very much remains
a truth: the people that you are dealing/living with on a daily basis have a
really strong impact on you. So, make sure that you are surrounded with many
positive and passionate people!
Book tip: ‘Man’s search for meaning’ by Prof. Dr. Viktor E. Frankl. In
this magnificent book he describes how he survived various concentration-camps
and simultaneously didn’t lose sight of the meaning of life.
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