Uni success is about more than just hitting the books – you also need resilience
‘Resilience’ is a term used by many people over the last 12 months, as we all faced multiple challenges and new situations brought about by COVID-19. You probably also heard the word ‘unprecedented’ a LOT, too!
While we all needed to find bucketloads of resilience to get through 2020, the start of 2021 has shown that we’re likely to face further hiccups and adjustments in this new ‘COVID-Normal’ landscape.
How have you been coping with everything? Do you ever struggle to manage stressful situations, or are you worried about how new study commitments will affect your wellbeing?
Well, the good news is that you can learn resilience by developing and building habits that increase your flexibility and strength.
Picture a rubber ball …
Associate Professor Marcus O’Donnell, Director at Deakin’s Cloud Learning Futures, likens resilience to a rubber ball:
The reason it bounces is because it’s flexible. It’s pliant. And it’s also incredibly strong. Because of this, it regains its shape very quickly. But one of the interesting things about a rubber ball is that it can bounce up and down or it can bounce forward. So resilience is also about gaining that sense of direction or forward thrust in your life.
Ways to build resilience
It’s important to take care of all aspects of your life – your study, mind, body and environment – so follow these tips to develop your resilience:
- Set yourself achievable goals and break down tasks into manageable chunks. Our online Study workload planner will give you a sense of control and help you keep your study time balanced and productive.
- Only focus on what you can control. Write a list of anything you’re currently worried about and divide it into two columns: ‘control’ or ‘no control’. See if you can find workable solutions for those things in your control. Hopefully this will help you to stop your panic and avoid catastrophising. You can also download some brain-friendly apps such as Smiling Mind or Headspace.
- Remember that perfect can be the enemy of the good – sometimes ‘good enough’ will do. Read more about the trap of perfectionism.
- Exercise, exercise, exercise, in whatever way works best for you! Deep breathing is another effective way to ease stress and re-oxygenates your cells during times of stress. And nothing is more important than a good night’s rest – just remember to practise good sleep hygiene.
- Take the time to declutter your study space. If you’re going to be spending lots of time at your desk, it’s important for it to be comfortable and a pleasant space to be in.
Help is here!
We’ve put together a few resources you can use to develop your resilience and succeed at your studies:
- Cloudy is a resilience toolkit that measures your current levels of resilience, and then gives you tools and techniques to develop in targeted areas. It’s as simple as reading articles on six key areas for building resilience and then doing some specially designed habit-builders. All it takes is 10 minutes each day!
- Create your own resilience plan with our free FutureLearn course Professional Resilience: Building Skills to Thrive at Work, delivered by Associate Professor Marcus O’Donnell. Over two weeks, you’ll build resilience capabilities, skills and self-care practices that will help you to meet the challenges of study, your professional career and everyday life.
- If you’d like to talk to someone, Deakin’s Counselling and Psychological Support (CAPS) team offers free and confidential support to students located in Australia from highly skilled psychologists and social workers. Book online to have a real-time telehealth appointment.
- You can also visit our Ask Counselling blog, which is designed to help students experiencing a range of personal or study-related issues. It contains questions asked anonymously by students and answered by Deakin counsellors.