Failure is

Human

We’ve all felt “less than” at some point—not smart enough, not talented enough. But we’ve found that learning from our failures helps us grow.

Meet Your Peers

MIT students share stories about their own challenges and the strategies that help them learn from their struggles.

Video Story

Managing an Overloaded Schedule

I was just so tired, so disconnected. I felt like a machine. And it's not a good way to go through life, in such a mechanical fashion.”

Meet Tim,

Undergraduate student

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New Coping Strategies

MIT students share strategies they have used to cultivate awareness of thoughts and emotions, focus on the present, recognize unhelpful ways of thinking, and gain new perspectives.

Strategy

Practicing Acceptance

MIT students share how they overcame resistance to challenging situations and emotions to practice self-compassion and accept situations they cannot change.

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Strategy

Meditation

MIT students discuss meditation practice and how it helped them shift their perspectives to gain mental clarity and feel more compassion.

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Strategy

Coping with Anxiety

MIT students share strategies they used to calm their nerves before stressful situations.

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Strategies to Build Community

Being away from home and far from support as you face academic challenges can leave you feeling sad, isolated, and disconnected. MIT students share strategies that helped them to make new friends and feel more connected as they balanced academic work and competing demands.

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Evan: Making New Connections

Evan discusses how being around other people keeps him energized and how working with people results in a better product.

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Vyshnavi: Sharing Struggles with Peers

Vyshnavi describes how conversations with peers helped her normalize the struggles she experienced during the pandemic.

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Emily: Scheduling Free Time

Emily describes the value of setting aside free time to get off campus, whether alone or with friends.

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Jessica: Prioritizing Office Hours

Jessica prioritizes office hours by adding them to her calendar to get clarification on material and problems she finds confusing. She finds both the academic and social support of teaching assistants to be helpful.