by Gundula Welti
08 Apr 2020
« What cannot be avoided, should be embraced »
– Shakespeare
A friend tells me that her boss just gave her notice of her imminent redundancy. At nearly 50 she is worried about not being able to find a new job, and about having to deal with the consequences of being unemployed.
That said, she knows that her redundancy is inevitable, and that it is just the start of a more substantial wave of redundancies in the organization. So she does as Shakespeare suggests: she identifies an opportunity to negotiate a good redundancy package and to use it to start something new.
After the initial shock and anger about losing her job, now all she can see is possibility. The ‘disaster’ has become a springboard to finally do the thing she has wanted to do for so long. Far from being depressed, she is all bubbly and enthusiastic. She took Shakespeare at his word and totally embraced the change she could not avoid.
When I see how she has handled the situation, I’m impressed. There is a lot I can learn from such a woman.
And you? When ‘disaster’ strikes, do you try to duck it, or can you give it a hug, a la Shakespeare?
by Gundula Welti
07 Apr 2020
The village idiot thinks he’s a grain of wheat. He receives psychiatric treatment and is allowed to leave as he’s been cured.
An hour later, he comes back in total panic.
“You know you’re not a grain of wheat!” cry the psychiatrists.
To which the idiot replies: “I know that! But the hens don’t!”
Isn’t that something that happens time and time again in life?
Julien has finally started his diet but his friends say that he won’t be able to go without sweet things.
Marie decides to become self-employed but everyone around her tells her that she needs the security of a job in a big company.
Pierre has finally decided to leave his wife but his friends insist that they make a great couple.
Our lives are full of hens like these who haven’t noticed that we’ve changed and tell us that we are and always will be a grain of wheat.
What about you? What have you changed about yourself during the holidays that the hens around you still haven’t noticed?
by Gundula Welti
05 Apr 2020
A Facebook post catches my eye. Fabrice is describing his new way of going for forest walks with his children. He’s had enough of feeling annoyed about packaging, plastic bottles and bits of paper littering the forest so he decides that, instead of grumbling and complaining about other people, he will take action.
A quick Internet search yields two litter grabbers. Now the new game he plays with his children is walking in the forest and picking up everything they find on the trails and in the undergrowth. The result? They’ve come home with 200 L of rubbish and the satisfaction of having achieved something.
Fabrice’s post has 7 shares and 20 comments, and has served as the launch pad for his own wave of change. He has used it to tell people where to find litter grabbers and organise meet ups for rubbish walks.
Fed up to the back teeth of others not taking any action? Well, what kind of fun activity can you do at your level?
by Gundula Welti
05 Apr 2020
“When I was doing my military service,” an ex-Chasseur Alpin told me, “one person in our group always took too long to change.
We had to change several times a day from fatigues into sportswear into full dress uniform.
Every time we were late, we had to do 10 press-ups at every assembly for 2 weeks.
We quickly realised that his problem was ours too and that in fact this was the reasoning behind the collective punishment.
We therefore helped our comrade to get dressed in time. This brought the group closer together and we longer had to do press-ups!”
People say that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. But who says that the group can’t strengthen it?
Who do you need to help to “change quicker” in your group to make the group as a whole successful?
