By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.
Skills Icon: Listening
Skills Icon: Speaking
Skills Icon: Problem Solving
Skills Icon: Creativity
Skills Icon: Adapting
Skills Icon: Planning
Skills Icon: Leadership
Skills Icon: Teamwork
Self-Management

Planning

Receiving, retaining and processing information
Transmitting information or ideas
Finding solutions to challenges
Using imagination and generating new ideas
Overcoming challenges and setbacks to achieve goals
Setting goals and designing routes to achieve them
Supporting, encouraging and motivating others to achieve a shared goal
Working cooperatively with others to achieve a shared goal
Step
5
:

Facing challenges

I take a positive approach to new challenges

Core ideas

A

What it means to take a positive approach to new challenges

Taking a positive approach to new challenges means facing them with confidence, curiosity, and a willingness to learn. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or afraid of failure, you focus on opportunities for growth and improvement.

  • Seeing challenges as opportunities: Viewing difficulties as a chance to learn new skills and gain experience.
  • Believing in yourself: Trusting that you can work through problems and find solutions.
  • Staying open-minded: Being willing to try different approaches and then adapt.
  • Keeping a problem solving mindset: Looking for ways to overcome obstacles rather than focusing on what is difficult.
  • Learning from mistakes: Understanding that setbacks are part of progress and can help you improve.

By taking a positive approach, you build confidence, stay motivated, and make it easier to tackle future challenges.

B

Why it is helpful to take a positive approach to new challenges  

Being open to new challenges is an important part of personal growth and development. It allows you to build new skills, gain confidence, and experience different perspectives. Some key reasons why it is beneficial to embrace challenges include:

  • Discovering and building new strengths: Taking on challenges helps you learn more about yourself and develop new strengths and abilities that you may not have known you had.
  • Increased confidence: Overcoming difficulties can boost your self-belief and make you more willing to face future obstacles.
  • Opportunities for success: Many opportunities arise from stepping outside of your comfort zone, whether in learning, social settings, or personal projects.
  • Adaptability: Life is constantly changing, and being open to challenges helps you become more flexible and prepared for unexpected situations.
  • Building resilience: Facing difficulties and learning how to manage them makes you stronger and better equipped to handle setbacks in the future.

When you are open to new experiences and challenges, you give yourself the chance to grow in ways that may positively impact your life in ways you never expected.

C

How to take a positive approach to new challenges 

Taking on a new challenge can bring a mix of emotions. Some of these feelings can be positive like excitement, satisfaction and motivation. However, it is also very normal to feel some emotions that feel more negative like fear, frustration or doubt. 

It is usual to experience both positive and negative emotions when facing something unfamiliar. The key is to avoid them putting you off and to manage them in a way that allows you to keep moving forward.

Taking on a challenge with a positive mindset can make a big difference in how you experience it. Here are some ways to help you maintain a positive approach:

  • Break it down: Large challenges can feel overwhelming, so divide them into smaller, more manageable steps.
  • Focus on learning: Instead of fearing failure, view challenges as opportunities to learn and improve.
  • Stay patient: Progress takes time, and setbacks are a normal part of growth.
  • Seek support: Talking to others who have faced similar challenges can provide reassurance and helpful advice.
  • Remind yourself of past successes: Think about times when you have successfully faced challenges before to boost your confidence.
  • Remember that efforts pay off in the end: Encourage yourself with positive thoughts and remind yourself that effort and persistence lead to improvement.

By staying open-minded and focusing on the benefits of taking on challenges, you can develop a stronger, more confident approach to facing new experiences and challenges.

Assessment

Reflective questions for individuals can include:

  • What does it mean to take a positive approach to new challenges?
  • Why is it important to be open to new challenges?
  • How can it feel to face new challenges and how can you stay positive?
  • When have you taken a positive approach to a new challenge and how did it go? 

Observation cues for trainers can include:

  • Are individuals able to demonstrate a positive approach to new challenges? 

Evidence can include individuals’ self-reflections and observations from others.

Ready to discover more?

A mockup of the Skills Builder hub on a laptop screen. The mockup shows the teaching resources available and the built-in filter system that allow users to find resources suited to their needs.

Skills Builder Hub

Access Hub

Skills Builder Hub is a complete platform for educators around the world to build their learners’ essential skills.

Join Skills Builder Hub to get free, ready-to-go resources to build essential skills today.

Skills Builder Benchmark

Access Benchmark

Skills Builder Benchmark allows individuals to discover their own essential skills.

It’s free to get started, and is used by individuals, employers, educators and NGOs across the world.

A mockup of Skills Builder Benchmark on a laptop screen. The display shows the beginning of the Skills assessment for Adapting.

Get the Educators Handbook

Re-published for Universal Framework 2.0, the handbook helps any educator to use the Skills Builder approach with their learners - whether in primary, secondary, college or specialist settings.