Planning ahead, uncertainty and stress go hand in hand. Every student faces such circumstances at least once in their life. This takes a toll on any student’s mind, as one does not know if they are making the right decisions. Right up to the point where one is finally experiencing what one had decided to do, one will continue to ruminate on all the possibilities. These can be negative or positive, most of the time, the former dominates.
This new chapter in a student’s life is burdened with all the past decisions they have made. As much as one would like to start the next part of their life with a clean break, one does feel hampered in freely moving forward because of everything that lies behind them. Along with the fear of uncertainty, comes the fear of rejection, loss, and loneliness. Not everyone gets into their dream university, many students have to leave their families behind and some find themselves going through this process without any support. The excitement of planning ahead, a fresh start and all the butterflies that come with it, die down as our mind fills themselves up with doubt and anxiety. But there is always a way to deal with these situations.
1. The first step to take after graduating is celebrating – Reaching milestones, giving yourself the recognition you deserve and letting yourself feel relief, joy and pride is of utmost importance. The end of anything is filled with fear, anxiety and sorrow but it also means that one has accomplished something. The feeling of this achievement must not be overlooked.
2. Practicing the art of taking things day by day – The future has no boundaries and only possibilities which can easily consume your mind. But a day has 24 hours only, a week has 168 hours, and using these limits to one’s advantage is a way to find clarity and work through the fear of the future.
3. Thinking positively – While this is easier said than done, you should always remind yourself, that if you can spend all your time thinking about the worst possible outcome, why can’t you spend 50% of the time thinking about everything that has, is and will go right?
4. Changing your perspective – This is applicable not only to how you see yourself but also to how you see others and where you are in life. You are not the same person you were when you first started college, nor are others. Not everyone is aiming toward the same goals and not everyone’s life is the same, thereby invalidating any comparison. If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.
5. There is always someone to talk to – When we graduate we have this dysfunctional notion that ‘now we have to make all our decisions on our own’. Being completely dependent on and seeking support are two very different things, the latter being desirable. Resources of information are not limited to your family and friends. Career counsellors, experts in your field of interest, social media platforms, and the internet is at one’s disposal.
6. Confronting the future – The only way to conquer the fear is to face it. In this case, you should think about your future, envision it but do not get stuck at this stage. Moving on and taking action is the only way to turn dreams into reality.
7. Giving yourself time – In today’s evolving day and age, there is no sure pathway to a particular destination. There are a thousand ways to achieve one thing. You should give yourself time to explore, analyse, and think about the next steps. Each step will be right for each individual.
Fear is a natural response to the uncertainty of planning ahead and the few ways we mentioned above, can help you in dealing with these stressors. We wrote a similar article, titled – ‘How can Graduating Students Overcome Doubt?’ which builds upon the ways to work through this fear and anxiety.
We would like to end on a positive note – The future is unknown, and so is your potential.
– Urveez Kakalia and Ferangiz Hozdar.