David's story: tackling a fear of failure

Loss of time in school didn’t just affect young people’s educational attainment. At a vital time in a teenager’s life, having nearly all personal interaction with friends, peers and influential adults removed, meant opportunities to build relationships, social identity and a sense of belonging were stripped away. David found he was comparing himself to other people, perceiving that they were doing OK and so believing he was the only one who wasn't coping.

David booked to come to Outward Bound in the summer of 2021. The two years of his GCSEs had been disrupted by the pandemic and he was facing the transition from school to A Level college.

Facing new challenges

Feeling good day to day and knowing life is going well are both needed for an individual to have high wellbeing and to flourish. As his time on the course progressed, David began to realise that the fear of failure he felt was his head and this was holding him back. Outward Bound focuses on ‘challenge by choice’ – no young person is forced to do anything they don’t want to do. For many, realising they have a support network around them gives them the confidence to face their fear of failure. David tells us "once I got to know the people that I was with, once I found that connection and stuff, you know they will look out for you if you struggle to do something, and if they struggle to do something they know that I would do the same."

When reflecting on what he had learnt on the hills, lochs and with his group at Outward Bound, David realised this was directly transferable to helping him tackle his anxiety and wellbeing challenges.

A new mindset at home and school

Pre-Outward Bound, asking for help felt like a sign of weakness. “Before, I didn’t communicate, and my mum would always be asking me how my day was and I’d say ‘it was fine’ and it wasn’t really fine, but now, I can say what was wrong with my day, I can say more about what’s happening in my life. It kind of gives me a sense of relief, whenever I do it, it’s like a weight has been lifted off my chest, it kind of gives me a sense of joy when I do it. And it’s not just with my Mum, it's with my whole family. We’re more open with each other and we can talk about things that we avoided in the past.”

David credits his Outward Bound experience with changing his mindset. He gives this example about how he’d approach online learning now. “If I had to do it again, I would contact the school saying that I'd been struggling doing the work because of the situation and I would have just that one to one help online or something. If I got stuck I could ask for help, if I felt that I couldn’t do it I feel that I could give it another go.”

Three ways to improve wellbeing

There are three key ways that Outward Bound courses support wellbeing in young people.

1. Building connections and relationships with others
2. Tackling fear of failure and being able to respond to change
3. Building confidence, capability and purpose

In our report on wellbeing, we look more closely at these three factors and how our courses support young people to feel good and function well. Download it here.