Wellness Wednesday: Resilience
Remember that time you missed the penalty kick in your middle school soccer game? Or that time your science fair project didn’t win and you were so let down? You may have gone home and locked yourself in your room with a bowl of ice cream and cried, or you may have come up with a detailed training schedule to improve your skills. Either way during these challenging times in youth you were building the skill-set to cope and overcome. This concept is building resilience.
Resilience can be explained as your ability to cope with adverse situations and continue on stronger. We are not born with resilience. We learn how to become resilient. That’s a big distinction I think many people overlook.
So all those skinned knees, missed goals, failed science projects weren’t for nothing. They helped to build the foundation for your adult self to manage life’s rough spots.
In college, pressure is higher and sometimes the stakes are bigger. How can you take your resilience into your own hands and make sure you are able to persist towards your goals, even if there are bumps in the road?
Here are three suggestions on how to build resilience.
1- Foster feelings of competence. Long gone are the days of teachers being on you for turning in homework. As a college student it requires self discipline to manage your schedule both personally and academically. This can often lead to feeling incompetent in time management, or your ability to succeed in school. Especially after an all-nighter trying to finish seven assignments that piled up. Creating manageable, realistic schedules can build a sense of accomplishment and ability. Checking off the boxes of your to-do list can help you feel more positive about your ability to continue on, even in the midst of hard classes.
2- Build your community. Everyone needs a community. Especially after the past three years. Sometimes we feel extra isolated, especially during a crisis or stressful situation, which can exacerbate the struggle and difficulty. If you feel like you have a group of folks you can turn to, you can be more positive about yourself and your resiliency. I encourage you to join groups and clubs around campus.
3- Take Action. Take control over what you can. You can’t always control the situation or people’s reactions. There are two pieces you can control though – what you let in and how you react. Your mind, time and energy are important to protect. Pay attention to your reactions. When responding to situations or people, I encourage you to take a pause. Take your time before responding and think out what and how you want to react.
Remember, you are a learner. So even when situations go awry, you can learn, adjust and adapt accordingly. Cheers to building your resilience!
Image by storyset on Freepik
