normally talk about my personal
experience today I will say something
yes I have been the person summiting
Mount Everest and I could talk about how
I have climbed three times the face of
Mount Everest and I could talk about my
484 days lasting expedition to the South
Pole and this would be quite nice heroes
stories but maybe I had a glass of red
wine or two when I decided not to do
that so I’m sharing with you today a
very personal profound story and
experience about willpower so how I
gained it that’s the easy part but then
it gets more difficult how I lost it and
then how I regained it after this loss
but first of all let’s have a look what
willpower really is
willpower is a collective term for
mental strength that enables us to
overcoming the resistance so willpower
is nothing static it’s kind be
strengthened like a muscle that gets
trained so thus build power ready when
it gets challenged this is the good news
delivered to us by the scientists
scientists also ask us to pay attention
because willpower is not a Pepito mobile
machine willpower can deplete it’s
challenged too hard and too long
I did not know about all these I never
realized that I have trained my
willpower since I was a young teenage
girl and that it had become abnormal
strong when people ask me ever in where
do you get all this inner strength from
I just didn’t understand the question it
was just there when I needed it even for
my biggest goals between 2006 and 2008 I
showed a whole world what willpower
really is my expedition Antarctica
started in Switzerland and ate at 484
days later at the South Pole by only
using my own muscle power 25,000
kilometers on my bicycle 1200 kilometres
walking on my skis through 16 different
countries and four different continents
so the foundation of thank you the
foundation of my strong willpower was
based on three pillars I always could
rely on and actually everybody does we
feel happy when all these three pillars
are on solid ground so its business its
health and its relationship we feel
happy when we have a fulfilling job we
feel good when we are feeling healthy
and strong
and we feel happy when we are loved by
our friends and our family if one pillar
tilts okay it’s not nothing that is
really bad there are still two pillars
that are supporting us but if two pillar
tilts then it gets more difficult to
find the equilibrium and in my life what
happened
one pillar tilted one started to shake
and the third one crashed totally I
never talked about that
but I want to talk about it today and
there is only one reason if there is one
person in this room right now I can
encourage to regain a bit of willpower
then its verse to share my story with
all of you so what’s happened with my
pillars so professionally after the
South Pole expedition I was more
exhausted than I thought I would be I
did not know if I could build up the
strengths again in future for another
expedition and motivation so I had to
ask myself some unconvenient questions
for my business future so this pillar
started slightly to tilt one year later
my health pillar was falling apart I had
an accident or I was involved in an
accident and I suffered from a brain
concussion I had a headache for more
than one year so luckily I had a
wonderful man at this time I wanted to
spend the rest of my life with him so I
thought but on my 45th birthday he broke
up with me well we tried to give us a
second chance but things for me got
worse and worse and during of many
debates I feel like my legs went out
from under me I fall on the ground and
that wasn’t so strange for me I mean you
stand up and you restart her you just
have finished some seconds ago this
strange thing was that I couldn’t stand
up again my brain didn’t wanted to give
or to deliver the demand to my legs to
stand up and my legs didn’t want to
receive the demands from my brain
so I tried to talk but my brain didn’t
wanted to deliver the commands to my
mouth and my mouth didn’t want to
receive the demands from my brain so now
I’m here laying on the ground not being
able to stand up again not being able to
talk the strange thing was that it felt
like heaven
so my willpower was so depleted that
even all the sorrows had gone I had no
fear I had no nothing so my boyfriend he
called the ambulance he called the
doctor all came with the whole scenario
blue flashing lights and now they are
standing in my bedroom meanwhile my my
boyfriend had carried me on my bed and
they are discussing and they want to
bring me to the hospital and that was
the moment when the blocade released
because I didn’t want to go to the
hospital at all so finally I was able to
speak and I said I don’t need a hospital
and make sure that this man is leaving
this house and I was pointing with my
finger to my boyfriend I don’t need a
hospital the only thing what I need is
rest silence and sleep so on my way back
to regaining willpower of course I was
looking after the three pillars of
course I was looking after my health I
had a neurologist who was looking after
my brain and of course I was looking for
new business opportunities in future and
of course you know finally I did
definitely break up with this toxic
relationship but all this to be honest
is on this hard
there what is going on with the software
looking back I went through three steps
I didn’t read that in books
I just came automatically or
instinctively to it so understand accept
and act understand I needed to
understand why the situation was this
way and not the other way around I had
to understand who I am in this new
situation and I had to understand which
changes are now necessary once I
understood I was able to move one step
further so except I started to accept
the situation how it was I started to
accept Who I am in this new situation
and I accepted the changes that had to
be done so then I was finally ready for
the third step act acting meant being
ready for a new goal but by setting a
new goal
I needed first to let go off all the old
goals first all the old arms fulfilled
expectations all the images all the
plans and all the pictures letting go
was very painful and it was a long term
but at the end in a good way because in
this emptiness I found the space to
create a new goal and from this moment
on I felt new strength so that’s my
message for today let’s power up our
willpower muscles because the more we
train them the stronger they get even if
they deplete from time to time or let’s
say like what Arnold Schwarzenegger says
it no pain
gain thank you
[Applause] [Music]