It’s very difficult to put a large puzzle together without the box top. Why? Because the box offers the big picture. In your life, you’ll play a piece of the puzzle, but just like a puzzle, one piece can never make up the whole picture. Being ready for a class or even a career means more than just improving yourself. Confidence comes when we understand the bigger role we play in our work and in our community.

SEL Core Competency: Self-Awareness

The ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.

A desert is dry and sandy. A rainforest is wet and full of trees. It would be easy for us to assume one of them is more valuable than the other, but the truth is both are very valuable to our life on earth. They are just different. People are like this. Whether we are like a desert or a rainforest, it’s easy for us to compare ourselves to others and forget how unique and valuable we are.

SEL Core Competency: Self-Awareness

The ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.

When dirt in a jar of water is shaken, the muddy water created is impossible to see through. After time, however, the dirt settles to the bottom of the jar, and we can see through once again. This is a lot like life. Moments of uncertainty are like shaking up the jar. Life becomes murky and confusing. The longer we wait however, the clearer our next step becomes.

SEL Core Competency: Self-Management

The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.

We’ve heard it for years: no pain, no gain. Like rubber bands, workouts are only useful when they are stretching. Growth requires tension. In order to grow, the best place to be is somewhere between stretched and overwhelmed.

SEL Core Competency: Self-Management

The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This 

includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward 

achieving personal and academic goals.