Thriving Through Change With Joy and Interdependence

Transitions are a constant in our lives. Knowing about change and being your best self in it is a core life skill.

I’ve just read Joyspan: A Short Guide to Enjoying Your Long Life by gerontologist Dr. Kerry Burnight. The book, about the transition into the second half of life, is a great read about an often-neglected life stage. So, Joyspan is more than lifespan – the years of your life and health span – the healthy years. It’s about framing aging as the opportunity to enhance your overall wellbeing with joy. From her 35 years of work and research, Burnight has identified a consistent set of actions that promote a joyful long life.

• Growing – continuing to expand knowledge, experiences, and perspective.
• Connecting – investing in both new and existing relationships.
• Adapting – adjusting to life’s inevitable changes and challenges.
• Giving – sharing time, wisdom and presence with others.

While reading, I made connections with another major transition, the move from school to university. Growing, connecting, adapting and giving, seem to me to be just as essential in bringing positive emotions to the start of adulthood as they are later in life. For new university students, this experience can be full uncertainty and doubt as they are working to be settled and succeed. There’s an opportunity to frame this as a time to shape and savour joy in this experience to balance some of the messiness of change.

It was also interesting to read of Burnight’s caution and the negative consequences of striving for independence. She reminds us that wellbeing is not built on independence alone, but on interdependence. Understandably there’s a familiar narrative in young adults seeking independence, yet they are not going to be fully independent at university. If independence is highly valued, there may be a hesitation in asking for help or view support as a sign of failure. There’s an opportunity to frame this as a time to be open to balance self-reliance with accepting support especially when they navigate all that is new at university.

As students make the move to university, remind them to 

1. Shape and savour positive emotions, like joy. This will help balance the inevitable ups and downs.
2. Know they don’t need to do everything alone. They can be capable and connected with others to ask for help.

If you are new to university, or preparing to go to university take a look at the ways in which we can support you:

Learn about our online course - Thrive in Your Transition to University HERE