Is your identity tied to your numbers?

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Farmers who are clients of HOPE’s partner in Moldova, Invest-Credit


When the financial crisis hit in 2009, it didn’t just strike Wall Street investments.  It impacted every level of the global economy.In Moldova, Invest-Credit (HOPE’s microfinance partner) saw a rapid rise of portfolio at risk, as families were slower to make repayments. This decrease of portfolio quality raised concerns from donors and investors who questioned the long-term viability of the program.

Ghena Russu, the Executive Director, and his staff worked tirelessly to resolve the problems, but their usual solutions didn’t make significant improvement.

The problems kept growing. And Ghena took the challenges personally. Eventually the stress took an extreme physical toll. Unable to sleep or eat solid foods, he lost over 25 pounds within a month. He would have to pull over on the side of the road rocked by headaches. Eventually, he spent four weeks in the hospital while the doctors remained unable to find a cause for Ghena’s illness.

The time in the hospital became an intense time of reflection. Is my identity defined simply by numbers? Is success measured by our financial performance alone? Or is there another definition of success?

“Staring at the hospital ceiling, I came to my senses like a prodigal son,” Ghena says, five years later. “It was just God’s mercy that I eventually realized my worth is not tied to numbers.”

After this realization, Ghena’s health and Invest-Credit’s performance both began to heal.

Never wanting to go back to that state, Ghena created boundaries to protect him from stress. He reduced his work hours, forced himself to take a Sabbath rest, and exercised more frequently. And he publicly acknowledged his mistakes of having his identity so tied to his financial performance and asked for forgiveness from the Invest-Credit staff.

For Ghena, the crisis began a paradigm shift about what trust in God really looks like. He still works hard, but ultimately, he knows that his identity is tied to who he is, and not his financials.

Ghena summarized, “I know God cares for me – and I’m slowly being released from the unhealthy expectations I put on myself.”

May we each be freed from our own unhealthy expectations and remember our true worth in not found in our performance.


Sarah Ann

This blog was adapted from a talk Ghena shared at our global Leadership Summit by Sarah Ann Schultz, one of our amazing 2014 interns.

 

 

 

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