I was motivated by the realisation that the system is flawed or at least in need of improvement. With this in mind, I was better able to set out on a path and to complain less about the ACTUAL state of affairs. It is clear that things will only change if we work together and see ourselves as an important part of the whole. For example, you can name mistakes, make them public, speak your mind. And in the meantime, you can try to work successfully for yourself within the existing structures.
What do we need to achieve this? First of all, I can start by giving myself confidence over a specific goal, for example, as an independent practitioner or as a senior physician, or as a chief physician. The fantasy of what I want to achieve can unleash a powerful force to actually set out on the path.
In my life, this goal was my medical habilitation. During a mentoring programme, the question was: Where do I want to be in five years? I was 32 and had three children. That was when I first formulated the wish: I want to do a habilitation. It seemed quite daring and a bit absurd to even say it. But it made it a bit more real. And in practice, as I moved towards the goal, it became apparent: the feared hurdles were often something like imaginary giants that were smaller up close, than when you would see them and feared them from a distance.
Nevertheless, I was by no means sure that I would overcome them. Many people also said: "You can't do that. It will be too much for you." But that gave me more motivation than deterrence.
I like the Walt Disney strategy. It works like this: I look at my goal, my project, from three perspectives. First, there is the perspective of the dreamer. She can simply achieve anything, no matter what. Suddenly you're a senior doctor. There is also the pessimist's perspective. She thinks: That's not why any of this is possible. And then there is the realist: she asks herself, how could the resistance be overcome. This all adds up to a rounded picture of the challenge - and then you get to work.
The dreamer drew a clear and beautiful picture of my habilitation: You do your habilitation, you write ten papers, it's very interesting and brings added scientific value, the teaching you need for your habilitation is a lot of fun, and you have the clinical work anyway. So no problem.
The pessimist, however, whispered something about the constant strain between work and family, high stress levels, and the impossibility of weaving more projects into a life that is already packed and busy. Fortunately, there was also the realist, who helped me to work through the habilitation requirements very carefully and to understand that one can very well reach the goal step by step.
In reality, all three perspectives had their justification; I wrote large parts of my habilitation between 9 p.m. and midnight, while the children were asleep. The path was a challenge, it gave me the opportunity to implement my perspective in the existing system, and to contribute.
By the way, the first woman to habilitate was Adele Hartmann in Germany. That was in 1918 and she had to overcome great resistance. She is rarely mentioned because we are much more used to getting excited about male successes, putting up busts, naming streets and announcing tributes. But Adele Hartmann's achievement is incredible and it cannot be appreciated enough. She prevailed against the odds and against the prevailing social dynamics. I also owe my habilitation to her and all the other clever people who created the structural conditions for it, so that I could habilitate 97 years after Adele Hartmann.
When I first said that I wanted to do my habilitation, it seemed unreal to me to achieve it. Now I know: if we face our own illusory giants, formulate our needs and then go step by step, it becomes a little easier to achieve our goals.
I wish you a succesful road ahead!
Yours truly,
Mandy Mangler