The Resilience Project

With special guest:

• Hugh van Cuylenburg
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

When Hugh van Cuylenburg went to India as a volunteer teacher he did not expect to be on the receiving end of the learning process. At first reluctant to even be in India he soon found that he was learning from his students how to develop the psychological foundation for success in all educational and physical pursuits.

Hugh’s trip finished up being full of surprises. He was surrounded by so much poverty yet there was also happiness and contentment. Working on his observations Hugh was able to develop The Resilience Project for application in Australia and backed up his approach with technical qualifications obtained by completing a Master’s Degree at University.

In Australia many school children are anxious and depressed. They spend too much time looking at their mobile phones and other devices. Individual sports people such as some of our leading cricketers are needing to take time off to improve their mental health and sporting teams have earned a reputation for misbehaving when they seem to have everything presented on a platter. So if something is going wrong here what can be done.

Hugh’s approach has three key elements namely Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (or GEM). These can be practised every day and the benefits happen almost immediately. Hugh explains to us how to develop these qualities with some simple exercises such as pointing out what we take for granted and expressing some gratitude.

Some 110,000 kids have become involved with Hugh’s program. Hugh has sold out national tours including presentations at the Melbourne Convention Centre on several occasions. The message has been embraced by our national representatives in cricket, rugby league, soccer, netball and the list goes on.

Whatever age you might be you will benefit from listening to Hugh. So listen in to Hugh and find some inspiration. Get the book The Resilience Project to find the exercises that will help you to become the best person you can be. With a smile on your face

If this program has raised any concerns for you please contact:

Lifeline 131114

Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

Hugh van Cuylenburg

Hugh van Cuylenburg has been working in education for more than 17 years, teaching both primary and secondary in a range of educational settings. He has completed postgraduate studies looking at resilience and wellbeing, and has developed and facilitated programs for more than a thousand schools Australia-wide.

In 2015, the National Rugby League asked Hugh to design and implement a series of comprehensive workshops at every single club in the competition. Since then, he has worked with the Australian cricket team, the Australian netball team, the Australian women’s soccer team, the Australian women’s rugby league team, ten AFL teams, the Australian Olympic Committee and every soccer team in the A-League. Beyond the team environment, Hugh has worked one-on-one with individuals such as Steve Smith, Billy Slater and Dustin Martin.

Outside of schools and elite sport, Hugh has presented to hundreds of corporate organisations as a keynote speaker, and for three years running his national speaking tour has sold out. He is also co-host of the popular podcast The Imperfects.

Song selection by our guest: You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon

Note: This program is an encore presentation of the one aired on 9 January 2020.

Podcast (mp3)