Decades have passed since my father made the decision to send me along with my older sister back inside to finish the second grade of elementary school.
Due to the occupation of my father, who was a naval officer for about thirty years, we lived temporarily in a small city on the border with Brazil in the Colombian Amazon, a city where education did not have the quality that my sister and I required.
So in 1982 I was sent to study in my father's hometown. Before reaching my final destination, I visited my maternal grandmother for a few days, a woman of humble origin who lived in a modest house in the south of Bogotá and who treated me with a sweetness that I still long for today.
The weeks before the start of classes were unforgettable for me. I still remember the aroma of cinnamon hot chocolate, my grandmother patiently listening to the words of a child, the harmony that her company brought to my life in a moment of change that meant moving away from my parents and my younger brother, whom I missed exceedingly.
It was in that journey and context that I first heard the word "crisis." She was seven years old. I still remember watching the seven o'clock news when I heard a report that spoke about the crisis the country was in. The national economy was at a critical moment, the armed conflict in my upbringing country was escalating and I would begin to find out about this and many other crises to come in the subsequent years through the media. - What is crisis, grandmother? - I asked how does a seven year old boy who is really interested in getting an answer. With a bright smile and staring at me with big green eyes he said: - Something that should not worry you, a big word.
Mi abuela, una mujer que había logrado la crianza de mi madre y mi tío con un sueldo que apenas daba para comer y quien seguramente había tenido que vivir en carne propia varias crisis personales, me regaló una respuesta que aún llevo grabada en mi mente. Confieso que hoy sigo sin entender claramente lo qué significa la dichosa palabra. Puedo ser testigo de situaciones que en algún momento catalogué como crisis: mi separación, la quiebra de mi antiguo negocio con las consecuencias que tuvo en mi economía, no tener trabajo y ser un padre joven con tres bocas que alimentar.
An adult word, another of many words such as stress, impossibility, limit, of those that do not occupy children and unfold the thinking of adults, which serve only to pave the imagination and to explain to us those situations that exceed our understanding and compel to break the shell of reason.
The crisis is a lens: "a way of seeing the world".
An opportunity to observe
Given the amount of travel my consulting job entails, I constantly meet people at airports or on planes. Some of the most interesting people I have met have been companions on a flight and recently I coincided on a trip with the director of a renowned Mexican bank. Two businesswomen went in the seats next to mine and talked about traffic in Mexico City, a city where I lived for about 11 years and where I have great friends and beautiful memories. They commented and laughed at the way of driving in the city, the distances, the traffic jams and the constant sound of the horn everywhere. I understood what they were talking about and I couldn't help but smile as I bent down to put away my computer and listened to the conversation.I smiled as I reminded myself of despair in the middle of traffic when the ride to the office, which really had to take about fifteen minutes, sometimes turned into a journey of about two hours. I thought to myself that living in a city like the Federal District and complaining about traffic is similar to being in a restaurant and complaining to the waiter for bringing exactly what was ordered. Anyone who chooses to live there must know that along with the many wonders and environments that the city offers, there is also a complicated situation in terms of roads.I thought to myself that living in a city like the Federal District and complaining about traffic is similar to being in a restaurant and complaining to the waiter for bringing exactly what was ordered. Anyone who chooses to live there must know that along with the many wonders and environments that the city offers, there is also a complicated situation in terms of roads.I thought to myself that living in a city like the Federal District and complaining about traffic is similar to being in a restaurant and complaining to the waiter for bringing exactly what was ordered. Anyone who chooses to live there must know that along with the many wonders and environments that the city offers, there is also a complicated situation in terms of roadways.
I turned around and included myself in the conversation. For a while we continue talking about traffic, pollution, vitality and incessant activity in the DF. When we started talking about our activities and learned about the occupation of one of my flight companions, I could not resist the temptation to ask the opinion of a banker on the subject of fashion: the world economic crisis. I knew I was touching sensitive veins, but a while ago I decided to be more open with myself and ask frankly when I need it or feel like I should say something honestly. The first to react to the change of subject was my other companion. With energy and a joking tone, he said: - Don't ask him about that, especially in times of crisis like these! - My first interlocutor, however, looked up and thoughtfully commented:- Today the crisis means lack of money. Businesses do not have liquidity and that makes it difficult for them to stay afloat. For me, now that I think about it better, the word crisis means that I have an opportunity to be more efficient in my expenses and offer new and better services to my clients. It is the opportunity, at a time when conditions change, to look in more detail at what I have traditionally not observed closely - an opportunity to observe!take a closer look at what I traditionally don't take a close look at - an opportunity to look!take a closer look at what I traditionally don't take a close look at - an opportunity to look!
Many people cannot see the opportunities that appear in difficult times. For many others, a change in the expected course of events may spell the end. For others, on the contrary, a crisis means an opportunity for learning. The truth is that many of the cases, after a while, most people find a way to move forward even in really complex situations.
I am not saying with this that, for example, a major loss is a moment of joy, that lack of money is a cause for celebration, or that the economic situation of the world is a cause for rejoicing. What I affirm is that crises are a call from reality that invites us to observe ourselves, to reissue ourselves, to reinvent ourselves. The difficulty can be assumed as a tragedy or as a learning moment. Calling it "crisis" is itself a choice, we can interpret difficult moments as an unbreakable barrier or simply as a stop that crosses the road helping us to slow down for a moment to observe us carefully.
Self determination
"The one that is born for pot does not go beyond the hall."
It was not easy for me to understand to what extent I determine my life through my choices, even at times it continues to be difficult. Latino culture is rife with interpretations of "destiny." It is enough to watch a soap opera in which the characters suddenly see each other and fall in love, where a series of tragedies and joys are presented without the participation of themselves. In the end, everything is resolved thanks to the magic of fate.
Our culture has a hint of soap opera. We grew up with the perhaps romantic vision that human beings walk through life and suddenly emotions stick to us like a caddy latches onto clothes, that life in general happens because it is so destined by the divinity or at the other extreme everything is completely random. "This is how we had to live", is a famous saying.
On the contrary, today I think that everything that is happening around me is a decision, this includes my family, my parents, the country where I was born and even the end of my days. Stop believing in destinies, in straight lines of events drawn with unknown instruments. I firmly believe that it is the ability to choose that can give meaning to the life of every human being, that events and people coincide generating an infinite ocean of possibilities.
I decided to move away from my previous vision after discovering the works of Dr. Will Schutz, especially his best seller Joy which I highly recommend. When I took my first workshop on The Human Element, one of the questions I asked myself was: What if everything was my choice? As I came into contact with Schutz's ideas about self-determination, I realized several things. On the one hand it is easier to think that what happens around me is the product of chance or the actions of others, whom I blame or thank for what I get in life. In a way, it was easy for me to blame my employer for my financial situation, the government for the few or many possibilities that the country offered me or my parents for "having made me who I am." However,I also realized that from that point of view of the world, if I wanted to change something in my life, I needed to wait for my boss, my parents, my government, my friends, the economic situation and everything in general to change. I think that my possibilities are expanded from a position in which I can see myself as the protagonist and not as the victim or beneficiary of the circumstances.
I do not intend to make those who read this writing think like me. Someone could refute me saying: I did not choose that accident I had! Or also: I did not decide that the world economy was in crisis! Being consistent with my intention, to simply share my ideas, I have to accept that this position may also be valid. But even when I have not chosen a situation and x, I always have the possibility of choosing how to react to it.
In moments like those we are currently experiencing, it seems urgent to review the view we have of ourselves, our organizations and our region; evolve to a more responsible vision of ourselves and our environment.
The great myth
When we imagine happiness, we tend to take our thoughts to heavenly places where there is no death, where everything we want appears out of nowhere, without effort. An idealized reality, a fairy tale with which many profit, and profit well. Recently a series of videos and books came out for sale, very popular by the way, that sell the idea that to obtain anything, you only need to think about it with passion so that it appears almost magically as if you wish the genius of lamp. Such an idea is to me a poor interpretation of a principle thousands of years older. Despite the seduction that this fantasy represents, I think the matter is less magical and simpler.
I confess that I am also seduced by the idea of receiving millions of dollars just concentrating my thoughts on getting them. But I know that if I want something to happen in my life I cannot leave it to chance, I need to study it, analyze it and act accordingly. Hope alone doesn't change anything unless I take care of things happening.
Yes, I think that by focusing my mind on something I will understand it and do it better, but in order for reality to change in my favor, it is necessary to act in accordance with my thinking. If something in my life doesn't satisfy me today, it doesn't matter how many psychology or self-help books I can read, how many experts I go to if I don't take actions consistent with it. Regardless of how many consultants it hires, an organization cannot change if it does not take action under the change it seeks.
Every decision implies action, vision without action is nothing more than a dream.
The economic crisis
This situation that begins in the United States is not the result of chance, it is the result of erroneous decisions that began with the rise in the cost of property in that country and the little observation by lenders when granting loans. The bank, to back its loans, created some instruments in the form of bonds, backed by the mortgages of thousands and thousands of people who bought homes, bonds that in turn were sold to other financial entities. When the prices of these properties trended downward, the slump began: People were paying devalued properties and mortgage payments to banks were reduced. The owners of the bonds that the banks sold to be able to make more loans in the good times began to sell them to the highest bidder,at prices well below the initial cost, losing their value and causing chaos.
Financial institutions have panicked, consumer confidence has led to recession, loans have been canceled, the situation has gone out of proportion. The uncertainty of people and organizations about current events turns into fear. Fear and mistrust are highly contagious emotions, fear took over the situation, despair and mistrust made their August, spreading like fire.
The global financial situation invites us to face it with a great deal of creativity, self-determination, responsibility and forceful actions. The situation exists, it is real, it will not disappear simply by imagining that it is not.
It is time to stop, observe ourselves, people and organizations we need to ask ourselves powerful questions:
How to act? Definitely not panic:
1. Accept: Accepting and resigning are not the same thing. Accepting is the possibility of acting, observing reality in order to understand the real panorama, resignation is the moment before death. You can always choose.
2. Share: Get well informed, look for reliable sources. Give your employees, your family information, stay close. In difficult times is when we need the people closest to us the most and a push for help.
3. Observe and reflect: Observe yourself and your reactions, panic will not lead to anything good. Be cautious in the decisions you make with money. Do you or your organization really need what you want to buy? How can you make your money more efficient? How can you offer better services to your clients to maintain them? How can you secure your job?
4. Save: And decide well where to put your money. Surely under the Buddha or the mattress is not a good place.
5. Consume responsibly: Reduce your expenses, eliminate those that are unnecessary.
Crisis is only a word, a lens to see the world. People and organizations must explore new possibilities, act, not be panicked, take off the lens of the crisis and the suit of victims, ask ourselves what we can do today for our families, for our organizations and our countries.
