Nairobi, March 19 -- The group of leaders Frank Kretzschmar and I invited sat in our usual circle to share personal stories on our latest theme: "Pattern interruption - moments of change of direction in my life". We asked them to reflect on what caused them to do things differently from then on. Which events provoked them to reflect, and so to change to another level, another direction, another style, of thinking and acting?

When considering changing direction, we shared, that self-awareness and self-distancing help: "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves," said Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl. It is about our growth and our effectiveness.

Many give up shortly before the goal is reached...