How to build resilience for a successful future

Why is it so important to us that our students develop resilience?

At School Beyond Limitations, we celebrate the uniqueness of each child. At the same time we stress the importance of approaching life with resilience, determination, discipline, and the introduction of specific daily habits.

Why are we doing this?

We are doing this because we know how essential it is for a human being to navigate life’s challenges and to get up from potential setbacks that each of us encounter on a regular basis. Indeed, resilience doesn’t mean preventing adversity or stress, but instead it means to develop the capacity to cope with, recover from, and grow in the face of these challenges.

There are many strategies that help develop resilience and that can be learned on a daily basis. At School Beyond Limitations we apply a number of strategies such as:

1. Self-awareness: We invite our students and ourselves to recognise and understand our emotions and reactions. By acknowledging how and why we feel a certain way, we learn to embrace such emotions by looking at them from a non-judgemental point of view. That allows us to react to them in a more balanced way and as a consequence we learn to find ways to cope with them.
2. Keeping a focused perspective: If we learn to see setbacks and/or failure as a temporary and situational experience we look at them differently: We learn to see them as challenges that we can overcome by making conscious choices. This means we learn to accept change as it comes and to adapt to it by finding alternative routes that allow us to achieve our goals.
3. Building strong relationships: All facilitators and mentors build strong relationships with their students. That shows our students that they are not alone, that they get support and that there is a safe space that allows them to discuss any challenge they may encounter.
4. Focus on each small step: By breaking large tasks into smaller, manageable steps and by celebrating small achievements along the way we realise that we, eventually, achieve our bigger goals.
5. Focus on the attitude: We invite our students and ourselves to look for solutions and to ask questions such as: What else is possible? Did I really give my best? Did I ask for help? Did I do my action steps?… We know that – even in the darkest moments of adversity – this is an approach that allows us to see the power that lies within each of us. Eventually, each student is able to break through by developing a solution-oriented attitude. There may be many more strategies that allow a human being to grow their resilience, but one that – in my view – is one of the most crucial ones is the understanding that we are all here to learn any lesson. Learning is taking place at any time and everywhere. If a person views their life from that angle, then there is the willingness and the understanding that each moment of our lives is a learning opportunity that allows us to see beyond the apparent surface. And such a perspective on learning strengthens one of the most important skills to live a fulfilling and meaningful life: resilience.

Building resilience is – as mentioned above – a lifelong journey. While everyone’s path to resilience will be different, at School Beyond Limitations we aim to equip our students with strategies and approaches that resonate with their unique personality. Over time, we know that these efforts will empower them and will enhance their ability to bounce back from challenges stronger than before.

In summary, we can say that resilience can be learned.

The following feedback from a mother may underpin this statement:

‘My daughter has grown so much. She is now a self-confident human being who looks for solutions at any time. SBL has changed my daughter’s life completely. I am so grateful for this.’

If you would like your child to experience such a learning approach, please reach out to us.