How to Develop Resilience to Stress

Contents:

• The Soft Way to Learn to Accept Failure: The FLEX Plan
• The Hard Way: Productive Mistakes
• The Gentle Way: A Whole Program of Systematic Exercises
• Why It's Important to Start by Creating an Environment in Which It's Okay to Make Mistakes

Learning is impossible without mistakes, and innovation requires experimentation, which can lead to failure. Therefore, in the process of study and work, it is important to perceive failures not as a tragedy, but as a natural stage and an incentive for development. This skill does not develop on its own; it must be developed. Previously, we discussed how universities create a focus on developing this skill. In this article, we will take a closer look at several methods that help students cope with failures and turn them into opportunities for growth.

We will share information on the most important aspects of the topic. You will learn what factors influence choice, how to approach problem solving correctly, and which methods can be most effective. We will reveal key points that will help you better navigate this field and make informed decisions. Our goal is to provide relevant and useful information to help you succeed.

• How a teacher teaches students to follow a clear plan;
• How student failures are built into the curriculum;
• How one college developed a large-scale program on resilience to failure and received important insights;
• What failures are useful for students and which are not, and how to create the conditions for truly productive failures.

A gentle way to teach acceptance of failure: the FLEX plan

Professor Trish Berg from the University of Heidelberg has developed a unique framework for students aimed at working with failure, which is called FLEX. This acronym can be interpreted as "demonstrate flexibility" or "flex your muscles." In her article for Harvard Business Review, she shares valuable experiences and methods to help students overcome challenges and adapt to change. The FLEX framework provides tools for developing resilience and overcoming failure, which is an important aspect of learning and professional growth.

The plan consists of four stages and is designed to address both failures and successes, which can also cause stress. This approach ensures effective emotional management and allows you to better cope with various life situations. Using this plan, you will be able not only to overcome difficulties but also to respond appropriately to positive changes, which will significantly improve your overall psycho-emotional well-being.

At the beginning of the course, the instructor emphasizes the importance of resilience and flexibility. Students work in pairs, discussing examples from their lives when they were able to demonstrate these qualities. This interaction helps develop the skills necessary for successful adaptation to various life situations.

The group leads a discussion of key concepts such as effort, self-control, and courage. These terms are important for students to understand and develop. Professor Berg emphasizes that reinforcing these concepts in students' vocabulary contributes to their personal and academic growth. It is important to understand how these qualities influence success and shape character, which in turn helps in future professional endeavors.

Following the discussion, the instructor introduces the FLEX plan to students. This plan includes key learning aspects that will help students effectively master the material and develop the necessary skills. The instructor emphasizes the course objectives, lesson format, and expected outcomes, which allows students to better understand the structure and content of the training. Introducing the FLEX plan stimulates student interest and engagement, ensuring their active participation in the learning process.

• Failure happens.

Berg leads a discussion with students about the concept of failure and mistakes, emphasizing that these are an integral part of life. Students should understand that failure is not something to be afraid of. On the contrary, it is important to perceive them as an opportunity for learning and growth. Acknowledging mistakes and failures helps develop perseverance and improve skills, which ultimately contributes to personal and professional development.

• Lean in.

When a person realizes that a situation is out of control, they may experience a variety of negative emotions. It is important to learn to manage these feelings, especially in a professional setting. Trish Berg emphasizes that there is nothing wrong with emotions, and expressing them can help you gain support from others. However, this does not mean that you should display excessive emotions, such as yelling or crying, in the workplace - such lack of restraint can have serious consequences. The ability to control your emotions and find appropriate ways to express them is a key aspect of successful communication and effective collaboration in business.

• Elect a positive response.

While we cannot always control the circumstances of our lives, our attitude towards them is within our control. The teacher cites the example of renowned British track and field athlete Derek Redmond. This decorated athlete suffered a serious ligament injury, and doctors declared that he would no longer be able to run professionally. However, Redmond did not give up. He switched to basketball and motorsports, and also became a motivational speaker. Now he inspires others by sharing the story of his failure and subsequent success, showing that even in the most difficult situations, new paths and opportunities can be found.

• X-ray ("Be Open").

Burke strongly encourages students to openly discuss their mistakes and embrace them as part of the learning process. Recognizing and analyzing your own failures helps you develop and achieve new goals. This is an important step towards personal and professional growth. Students who are not afraid to share their difficulties can learn valuable lessons and improve their skills.

After forming the plan, the teacher Students are given cards with fictional stories of failures and successes. Each student is asked to develop an action plan based on the FLEX methodology. Students then discuss their ideas in groups, after which they move on to the next stage—analyzing challenging situations from their lives. This approach promotes critical thinking skills and helps students apply theoretical knowledge in practice. Finally, students create an essay in which they analyze one of their failures and consider how a new action plan could change their experience. This allows them not only to gain a deeper understanding of the reasons for the failure but also to develop strategies for future success. The essay becomes an important tool for self-reflection and personal growth, allowing students to learn from their mistakes and develop coping skills.

Reading is an important aspect of our lives, promoting the development of thinking and broadening our horizons. Books, articles, and blogs provide valuable information and knowledge that can enrich our experience. Regular reading helps improve vocabulary and writing skills, and develops critical thinking. In today's information-saturated world, it's important to choose quality sources and pay attention to what we read. This not only helps us stay informed but also allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the world around us. Reading can also serve as an excellent way to relax and relieve stress. Learning new topics and ideas enriches our lives and makes them more interesting. Maintain a reading habit to constantly develop and gain new knowledge.

The main career mistakes Russians make are related to insufficient education. Choosing the wrong educational institution or specialty can negatively impact your professional future. Many professionals fail to consider current labor market demands, which leads to difficulties finding employment. Furthermore, a lack of additional education and professional development also impacts career advancement. To avoid these mistakes, it's important to focus on in-demand professions and continually update your knowledge.

The Hard Way: Productive Mistakes

Productive Mistakes is a technique developed by Singapore-based mathematics teacher and professor at ETH Zurich, Manu Kapoor. The basic idea is to challenge students to solve a problem that goes beyond their current knowledge and experience. This approach stimulates critical thinking and fosters deep understanding as students learn from their mistakes and find new ways to solve problems. Productive mistakes help develop the skills needed for successful learning and the application of knowledge in real-world situations.

The approach may seem traumatic, but it involves:

• working in groups to find solutions together without feeling like a lonely loser;
• creating a safe environment where you can freely express your thoughts, ideas, seek solutions and not fear criticism or a bad grade.

Kapur emphasizes that his method is based on the concept of a flipped classroom, where the lesson begins with an engaging activity, rather than a traditional boring introduction. However, it is important to note that to create an interesting start to the lesson, it is necessary to choose appropriate problems or tasks that will interest students and stimulate their participation. The right choice of topic can make the lesson more interactive and exciting, which in turn increases student engagement and promotes a deeper understanding of the material.

The task is designed with an emphasis on engagement and intuitive perception. As Manu Kapoor notes in an article for The Times Higher Education, although students may present various ideas or solutions, they are likely to be incomplete or flawed. This emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and analysis in the educational process, stimulating students to explore topics in greater depth and develop their skills. Students will be able to identify gaps in their knowledge while simultaneously immersing themselves in solving real-world problems. The instructor acts as a facilitator, matching proposed ideas with relevant solutions and providing theoretical foundations. This interaction promotes a deep integration of knowledge and practical skills, which ultimately improves the quality of education and prepares students for the challenges of their professional careers. Professor Vivek Venkatesh of Concordia University in Canada, a lecturer in cognitive science and educational technology, decided to conduct an experiment based on the new methodology. He assigned four students to teach his statistical methodology course. The students were required to teach three lessons, each lasting three hours, in pairs. This unexpected situation left them feeling both anxious and fearful.

The students' task was to extract information from a complex statistical analysis textbook, then explain it to others and demonstrate its practical application using examples provided by the professor. They were also required to prepare questions and problems for their classmates that were relevant to the topic being studied. This contributed to a better assimilation of the material and the development of data analysis skills.

A few hours before the start of the class, Venkatesh met with novice colleagues to evaluate their presentations and examples. Students who had spent a whole week preparing and were experiencing great anxiety heard from him: "Sorry, but your solution doesn't work, it's wrong." They were left with only an hour to quickly correct their mistakes.

This experiment is a serious test, forcing students to activate their thinking under high stress while maintaining calm. It became a valuable lesson for the participants. Students noted that they had never before prepared for classes so thoroughly and mastered so much new information as this time. This approach to learning contributes not only to the development of knowledge, but also to improving skills for managing emotions in difficult situations.

A gentle method: an entire program of systematic classes

Comprehensive programs are often developed to increase stress resilience and prepare for possible failures. One example is the Resilience Project, implemented at Tilburg University College in the Netherlands. This project includes three key components aimed at developing resilience and adaptability skills under stress.

• An academic and interdisciplinary module focusing on failure and success.

An opening conference and lecture series were core elements of the required courses, during which students explored concepts of success, distinctiveness, failure, and resilience. Discussions took place from a variety of perspectives: psychological, philosophical, economic, and historical. This allowed participants to gain a deeper understanding of these important aspects of life and their impact on personal and professional development.

This add-on enabled the material to be effectively integrated into standard courses. However, despite positive student feedback on the importance of the concepts discussed, not all fully understood the lectures as part of a larger project. This highlights the need to improve communication and explain the purpose of the lecture process so that students can fully appreciate its significance and context.

• Resilience Workshops.

The project included a practical component consisting of three workshops covering various topics. The workshops were not mandatory for students, as the organizers sought to attract only those who were already motivated to solve their problems. As a result, it was found that only about 20% of college students were interested in participating.

The first meeting focused on stress caused by academic and workload. The second meeting addressed the difficulties associated with choice. The third workshop, entitled "Falling Backward and Forward," included theoretical materials on the mechanisms of adaptation to change and students' reflections on their own experiences. These events help participants better cope with emotional stress and approach the choice process consciously.

• Open Mic.

The final part of the project was planned for spring 2020, but due to the pandemic, the event had to be canceled. Despite this, the university administration learned important lessons in preparing for the event. The dean of the college, two staff members, two alumni, and two students were expected to share a stage, each sharing their stories of failure. Students would then join the discussion and share their own challenges. This format, aimed at openly discussing mistakes and failures, could be a valuable experience for all participants.

Staff and alumni eagerly responded to the call, but engaging students in the discussion proved significantly more difficult. Many of them were reluctant to share their failures.

The project's creators invited university students to participate in a photo shoot where they had to pose with a board briefly depicting one of their failures. During this initiative, it became clear that most students preferred to share their failures anonymously. This highlights the importance of openness and vulnerability in the educational environment, as well as the stigma surrounding failure that can hinder honest sharing and support among students.

Tessa Lissen, Vice Dean of Til's University College, noted that there is still a stigma surrounding discussing failures. This emphasizes that sharing one's failures is considered low-status and shameful. This is especially true for those who have not yet achieved significant successes that could "overshadow" their past mistakes in the eyes of others and in their own perception. This approach hinders openness and acceptance of failure as an important part of the process of achieving goals and personal growth. Discussing failures can help create a more supportive environment where people feel comfortable sharing their experiences and lessons.

Why It's Important to Start by Creating an Environment That's Okay to Fail

Professor Paul Fingenbaum has conducted some of the most in-depth research on the perception of failure and the development of resilience. Although his essay focuses on the US, the methods he proposes are universal and can be adapted for use in any country. In this text, we will take a closer look at his approaches and strategies for coping with failure and increasing resilience.

Paul Fingenbaum classifies failures into two main types: internal and external. Internal failures arise from deficiencies in the organization, processes, or resources, while external failures are associated with circumstances beyond the company's control, such as changes in the market or economic conditions. Understanding these types of failures allows organizations to more effectively analyze their mistakes and develop strategies to prevent them in the future.

• Generative failures. These are natural failures in any work or educational process because they are the result of experiments, leading to new experiences and important lessons. An environment that encourages productive failures involves developmental assessment—where students receive constructive feedback for further growth and development rather than the stigma of failure and shame for poor preparation.
• Stigmatized failure. In this paradigm, failure is a cause for anxiety and embarrassment. Of course, this does not lead to any development, but only leads to an awareness of one's own inferiority. With this, Paul Fingenbaum associates both the corresponding assessment methods and the corresponding results—teaching not for the sake of learning, but for the sake of achievements that may have nothing to do with real knowledge and creative experiments.

Universities strive for the first paradigm, but often find themselves within the second, as Fingenbaum notes. This is due to the specifics of the social structure, including meritocracy, as well as its attitudes toward mistakes and certain social groups. It is important to understand that such systemic factors can hinder the achievement of high academic standards and the development of an innovative environment. Discussing these issues is relevant to improving the quality of education and creating a more just society.

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Modern educators are increasingly advocating for the elimination of grades in the educational process. The main reason is that the traditional grading system can negatively impact student motivation and their desire to learn. Grades often become a source of stress, which distracts students from truly understanding the material and applying it in practice.

Avoiding grades allows us to focus on the individual progress of each student, which promotes deeper learning. This approach emphasizes formative assessment, which includes feedback that promotes skill development and critical thinking.

Furthermore, modern education aims to develop creativity and collaboration, which is difficult to achieve within the traditional grading system. Educators note that in an environment free from the pressure of grades, students become more self-confident and open to new knowledge. This approach contributes to a more positive educational environment and an overall improvement in academic performance.

Thus, eliminating grades is a step toward a more humane and effective education focused on the comprehensive development of the individual.

Let's consider Fingenbaum's examples in the context of Russian practice. A student from an affluent family is capable of making serious mistakes, such as failing a project or exams. However, he will learn valuable lessons from this experience and continue his development. This opportunity to learn from mistakes plays a key role in shaping a successful career and personal growth. It is important to understand that even failures can become the foundation for future achievements.

For a classmate who grew up in a poor, large family in a remote area and requires social support, every failure, even a couple of bad grades on exams, can have serious consequences. Thus, the right to make a mistake becomes a true privilege, unavailable to many.

Academic freedom implies the right of students to choose difficult courses that can be a real challenge. However, this freedom is often limited due to the stigma attached to mistakes. While universities can support inquisitive students seeking to deepen their knowledge beyond the required curriculum, fear of failure hinders their desire to learn. This creates barriers to a fulfilling educational process and the development of critical thinking. Students should feel free to choose their educational path to reach their potential and achieve success in an academic environment.

Modern attitudes that appear positive and aimed at motivation can actually contribute to stigma. Statements like "anyone can develop their abilities if they try hard enough" or "everyone is talented, you just need to think positively and strive for success" can be interpreted as implying that if someone doesn't succeed, they simply didn't try hard enough or didn't have an optimistic outlook. This creates additional pressure on people who face challenges and can lead to feelings of guilt for their lack of success. Therefore, it is important to remember that hard work and positive thinking are not always sufficient conditions for achieving success, and that each person is unique in their abilities and circumstances.

In practice, equal opportunity exists only on paper; in real life, things are different.

While educators strive to use student failures as opportunities for growth and learning, this doesn't mean such situations are free of stigma. For some students, failures become an incentive to experiment and develop resilience, while for others, they only exacerbate stress and anxiety. It's important to understand that the perception of failure varies from student to student, and approaches to overcoming it should be individualized. Creating a supportive environment where mistakes are viewed as part of the learning process can help reduce stress and promote more productive learning.

Paul Fingenbaum believes there are solutions to overcome current difficulties.

To create an environment where failures and mistakes become productive, Fingenbaum proposes the concept of wise interventions. These interventions include actions aimed at creating a safe atmosphere for making mistakes, but with certain caveats. This approach not only minimizes the negative consequences of errors but also uses them as an important resource for learning and development.

Intelligent interventions involve deliberate and justified actions aimed at solving specific problems or improving a situation. These measures are based on data analysis and a thorough assessment of current conditions. Key aspects of intelligent interventions are their focus, effectiveness, and consideration of potential consequences. It is important that such interventions are tailored to specific conditions and needs, maximizing positive impact and minimizing risks. Smart interventions can be applied in a variety of settings, including health, education, and social programs, and contribute to improved quality of life and sustainable development.

• A trusting, comfortable relationship between student and teacher.

This implies transparency and sincerity on the part of the teacher.

• Explaining that failure is normal in specific circumstances and in a specific class.

Failure in this subject does not pose significant risks, as it may in other situations. Moreover, Paul Fingenbaum emphasizes that teachers should discuss with students whether the consequences of failure are the same for everyone. What kind of education system would we have if failure were perceived solely as a source of productive experience? It is important to consider that each student is unique and their perception of failure may differ. This opens new horizons for discussion and the creation of an educational environment where mistakes become an integral part of the learning process, fostering critical thinking and creative problem-solving.

• Shared experience.

Experiencing failure becomes easier when there is support nearby. This, to some extent, contradicts the competitive individualism characteristic of the modern academic system and society as a whole. Joining forces and supporting each other can help overcome difficulties and lift spirits in difficult times.

The specialist mentions the Impossible Project, Initiated by the University at Buffalo in the United States, this project involves students forming teams to tackle seemingly impossible tasks. This initiative fosters creative thinking and teamwork, enabling participants to overcome complex challenges and achieve their goals. The tasks often prove overwhelming, and participants face seemingly intractable problems, such as global inequality. However, it's important to note that failure occurs collectively. This experience fosters flexibility and resilience, and creates opportunities for creativity. Together, they can find unconventional solutions and develop innovative ideas to overcome complex challenges. In this way, even failure becomes a valuable source of growth and inspiration. You'll find students in the classroom who are experiencing anxiety, asking questions like, "How can I accomplish an impossible project? How can I master this challenge?" History professor Dalia Müller, the initiator of this project, aims to induce cognitive dissonance. She wants students to experience discomfort, realizing that an unusual experience awaits them. The professor aims to revolutionize traditional notions of learning by offering a new form of engagement that allows for a different perspective on the learning process. This approach fosters creativity and critical thinking, which are essential aspects of modern education.

Professor Fingenbaum drew inspiration from the New York-based Failure Club project. In this project, nine friends set ambitious goals previously held back by a fear of failure. Over the course of a year, they exchanged stories of their failures and successes, and supported each other in achieving their goals. This experience demonstrated the importance of sharing fears and failures to overcome obstacles to success.

In his philology course, Paul Fingenbaum offers students a unique experiment. Students must choose an inspiring goal and visualize the process of achieving it, as well as imagine what their progress will look like. Each student chooses an individual project, regularly reports on their results, and receives feedback, but without a grade. This approach helps develop self-reflection and goal-setting skills, which are important aspects of personal and academic growth. Students, although working individually, still experience challenges together and support each other. The instructor, recognizing that failure is part of the learning process, provides them with the necessary motivation and creates space for experimentation. This contributes not only to the development of their skills but also to the development of self-confidence, which is an important aspect of the educational experience. While instructors cannot change the existing educational system, Fingenbaum notes that they can significantly help students understand the difference between productive and stigmatized mistakes. This approach allows students to focus not on grades and results deemed acceptable by society, nor on competition with peers, but on the process of acquiring knowledge. This can contribute to a deeper understanding of the course material and create a healthy learning environment.

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