The power of resilience: overcoming challenges and achieving success

Scarlett Mullen, pupil at The English College in Dubai, explains why resilience is not just about bouncing back from challenges, but embracing commitment and determination.

Resilience, “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties” says the Oxford English Dictionary

Resilience, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” says Kelly Clarkson

Resilience, “Never going to give you up” says Rick Astley

Resilience, one of The English College’s core values.

Everywhere you go resilience will always follow. Resilience to me isn’t just about bouncing back from difficult situations, it’s about commitment and determination. I showed resilience through mocks during my GCSEs, from feeling like I will never be able to do well to changing my mindset and saying: “Yes I can, yes I can!”

Resilience, to me, is about looking at your goals and knowing that even if you do come across a bump in the road, you won’t say: “I give up” and instead say: “Mistakes happen for a reason, to make us stronger.”

The English College encourages resilience in all of us because they never give up on us when we have a bad day, a bad grade or even a bad test. The truth is, we all face these issues but having a support system (school) that continues to believe in us, gives us the motivation to bounce back from the negativity and “Just do it” like Nike has taught us.

The school’s values (Aspiration, Gratitude, Integrity, Resilience and Respect) are important because they allow us to understand that we can achieve anything if we put our minds to it, and we are all capable of riding the train of success.

However, we are going to face challenges either through picking our GCSEs, doing our GCSEs, doing our AS/A-Levels or applying to university. We are all going to face problems and difficulties, but that is where the lovely core value of resilience comes into play.

COVID-19 was a major difficulty everyone faced. It was during this time that we really had to show resilience. To accept learning online – which was new to everyone -to starting school again but with masks, to now trying to get back to normality.

Things may never be ‘normal’ again, but it is only now that we can really show (even though we may have not realised it) how we bounced back and showed strength and power to overcome one of the most difficult challenges we may ever face. That’s something to be proud of.

If a new student were to come to The English College and ask: “What is the core value of resilience?” and, “What does it mean to EC?” I would say it’s about perseverance, determination, tenacity and vision.

If you have a vision, a dream or a goal that feels out of reach, I want people to know that: “failure will never overtake you if your determination to succeed is strong enough”. The best advice I would give to someone is never stop, if you miss your turning you can’t stop, even though it may take a little longer to get to the final destination the end is closer than you think – and you will be back on track sooner than you think.

A film that I love to watch is called Zootopia/Zootropolis and it’s about a small bunny who aspired to be a police officer, but everyone tells her that small animals can’t be police officers. Even though she faces many challenges, from being assigned to a parking ticket job instead of the fancy jobs that the tigers get, or losing her job because everyone got in her head, she comes back stronger and ends up being the best police officer ever. The moral of the story is that failure should never be an option and that mistakes are only there to make you stronger.

It’s okay to feel down, it’s okay to feel like the end goal is so far away that you feel like you might just give up. What’s the point of trying if you don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere?

The truth is we all have days like this, but our school environment pushes you to believe in yourself and never give up – because as soon as we get in that negative fixed mindset then all that hard work you have put in goes up in flames.

However, if you get in the growth mindset and become ‘the eye of the tiger’ you can flourish and grow to your full potential. This is what resilience means to The English College.

Resilience isn’t just one word, it’s a thousand words that represented by just  one. Instead of looking at one word and thinking what’s the point, change the meaning and find out what it means to you, make it one of your individual values that is shared by everyone.

Resilience can be a motivator. If you are sat thinking this is a ‘tragedy’ and that you should just give up, then take a step back and think what would students at The English College do?  Would they give up, or become the champions that are just trying to fight their way through? We would bounce back from the situation and keep climbing to the end goal.

To end; I leave you with what Winnie the Pooh would say about resilience: “You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”