Anticipate potential challenges

By Stella Cottrell

If you are aware of the things that could be difficult or that might go wrong, you are in a better position to prevent or manage these.

Thinking about potential challenges early makes it more likely that you will find a solution or the right help.

Even if you can’t avoid all problems, it is easier to cope if they don’t come as unexpected surprises.

Illustration of a person at the top of a staircase with stairs missing

Managing challenges provides you with new skills and insights. It also builds your confidence and demonstrates that you can survive difficult situations and solve problems.

If you become more aware of the things that could be difficult or that might go wrong, you are in a better position to prevent or manage these. Thinking about potential challenges early makes it more likely that you will find a solution or the right help.

Even if you can’t avoid all problems, it is easier to cope if they don’t come as unexpected surprises. Managing challenges provides you with new skills and insights. It also builds your confidence and demonstrates that you can survive difficult situations and solve problems.

Pause for thought

I have a realistic sense of the challenges I might face during my studies.

Sounds like me

Not at all like me

If everything is going well, that’s great! However, it is still useful to identify and plan for challenges that could lie ahead, as this will enable you to tackle them with confidence.

If student life feels difficult now, clarify the issues so you can decide a plan of action. It can help to know that challenges such as those below are not unusual, and students do devise ways to cope and succeed. It’s likely you can too!

Managing challenges provides you with new skills and insights. It also builds your confidence and demonstrates that you can survive difficult situations and solve problems.

Click the icons below to reveal some challenging aspects of study alongside strategies for overcoming them.

Other challenges? Make a note of them in the box alongside, and give some thought to how you might overcome them.

I don’t know how to reference sources.

Next steps:

Consult my course handbook or tutors to check which referencing style I should be using
Attend a library workshop on referencing
Use a book such as Cite Them Right to ensure sources are referenced accurately in my assignment

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