Resilience Required

As the Beijing Winter Olympics comes to a close, we recall the athletes' victories, the defeats, and the need to maintain resilience in the face of intense pressure to perform up to expectations. NPR's All Things Considered reports that Olympic athletes experience mental health challenges from many aspects of the fight -- the stress of performing, the lull that follows the contest, and the fallout from sudden changes that affect their performance. Resilience, and the support to build it, can carry them through to what tomorrow brings.

In a similar fashion, students frequently face pressure to perform under particular circumstances -- upcoming midterms, for example, or research papers, or major projects, all linked to specific requirements and deadlines. If they can call on their resilience, they will be more able to perform to the best of their ability, take something useful away from any result, and flex if a change or a roadblock alters the landscape. 

____

As you coach a student facing pressure to perform, or feeling deflated after an unexpected defeat, coaching questions can help uncover past resilience:

"When this semester have you come back from a tough loss?"

"What did you learn that is helping you now?"

And coaching questions can help build future resilience:

"What do you need to learn to do better?"

"Who can help you learn it?"

Join us for our 3 Day Inclusive Coaching

class on March 11, 18, 25