College is a pivotal time for growth and recovery in your life, but it can also feel overwhelming as you juggle academics, social life and preparing for your future.
Are you feeling the weight of balancing it all while staying focused on your goals? The pressure to succeed and uncertainty about what lies ahead often lead to stress, burnout or self-doubt. Let’s look at some resources that will help you cultivate resilience, stay motivated and build a strong foundation for your professional journey.
What is Resilience?
Resilience is the ability to adapt and recover quickly from various challenges, setbacks or adversity. It may take your mental, emotional and sometimes physical strength to persevere and maintain a sense of well-being, even in the face of obstacles or stress. Dealing with change as a college student can be challenging, but you are not alone. Resistance to change is common inside and out of the workplace too where financial pressures and uncertainty impact our daily stress levels. Resilience helps you embrace these challenges as opportunities for growth.
Keeping a Growth Mindset
Change is hard, and our daily challenges are real! Having a growth mindset can help manage stress by giving us an outlet to think openly about our challenges and look at them as opportunities rather than all-or-nothing faults. People with a growth mindset tend to view setbacks as temporary and solvable, which can help reduce overall feelings of helplessness and stress. Taking charge of a growth mindset not only pushes your limits but also creates confidence in your ability to achieve greater things and develop resilience. This shift in perspective reduces stress and builds confidence in your ability to achieve greater things — one step at a time.
Practical Tools for Managing Stress
- Time Management: Using tools like apps or planners to prioritize tasks and organize your schedule can make you feel more prepared for the workload ahead.
- Mindfulness Practices: Engage in meditation, yoga or journaling to help stay grounded.
- Movement: Physical activity, even as simple as a walk or exercise snack, can significantly reduce stress levels and improve mood.
- Professional Support: Reach out to campus resources like counseling services or wellness coaching for guidance and support.
When you’re ready, you can even embrace change with the force field analysis, which helps you identify the supportive and hindering forces to make changes in your personal life or in the workplace.
Know Your Academic, Career and General Resources at NC State
The best thing you can do to help flourish your resilient mindset is promote personal growth and know your resources. To name a few, our university offers resources that can build up your resilience towards professional endeavors through the Career Development Center, academic challenges through the Academic Success Center and stress management tools with the Wellness and Recreation Center through student wellness coaching. These services are only a few out of many that can be a part of your personal well-being collection/tool kit.
NC State faculty and staff can also utilize resources through the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program to alleviate the feeling of uncertainty from emotional, financial or even legal stressors.
Your Next Chapter Awaits
College is a time of immense growth, and while challenges are inevitable, your resilience and ability to recover will set you apart. By being able to adopt a growth mindset, utilize stress management tools and lean on available resources, you can navigate this chapter with confidence and strength. Remember, resilience isn’t about avoiding challenges: it’s about learning, adapting and coming out stronger on the other side!
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