The capacity to imagine a meaningful future is one of the most powerful tools a young person can develop. Confidence and optimism emerges when young people have something concrete to work towards – a reason to believe their efforts will lead somewhere meaningful.
At Oxford Scholastica, we see this time and time again: students who arrive uncertain about their futures leave with clearer direction and stronger self-belief, not because they have all the answers, but because they’ve started to forge their own path. When teenagers can picture a future they want and take steps towards it, they develop the resilience to cope with setbacks along the way.
With this in mind, we wanted to understand whether thinking about the future – and how far ahead students plan – relates to how resilient they feel day to day. Working with over 60 members of The Panel, a global community of students aged 13-18, we found a connection that matters: teenagers who plan with intention, particularly those looking two to three years ahead, report higher resilience than those living without clear direction or those planning only in the very short term.
Key Takeaways
- Two to three goals appears to be the sweet spot for resilience. Students in this group scored 3.33 out of 5 compared to 2.4 for those with no goals and 2.48 for those with four or more.
- Medium-term planning horizons matter most. Students thinking two to three years ahead reported higher resilience than those focused on the very short or long term.
- Intensive planners feel more confident. The highest planning intensity group contained the largest share (29.4%) of “extremely confident” respondents.
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How Teens Describe Their Own Resilience
The majority of Panellists described themselves as moderately confident in their ability to bounce back from setbacks. Out of 64 students, 29 chose this middle category; 18 reported feeling very confident, nine extremely confident and eight slightly confident.
This distribution suggests most teenagers see themselves as reasonably capable of recovering from difficulty, rather than positioning themselves at either extreme. It reflects a realistic self-assessment: confident enough to believe they can manage, but not claiming certainty in every situation.
“True confidence isn’t about being flawless. It’s about knowing who you are while recognising there’s always room to grow. I’ve moved past the pressure of perfectionism and now focus on consistent evolution, especially through the projects I’m building and committing to now.”
The Link Between Planning and Resilience
Students who reported having a post-secondary plan showed a higher average resilience score (3.48/5) than those without a plan (3.35). The difference is modest but consistent: planning appears to be associated with slightly greater confidence in bouncing back from setbacks. Both groups include students across all confidence levels, so whilst having a plan does not guarantee high resilience, it does seem to nudge the average upward.
When students have thought about what comes after school – whether university, an apprenticeship, a gap year or another pathway – they may feel more grounded. They’ve made a choice, even a provisional one, and that sense of direction can buffer against uncertainty.
The Sweet Spot for Goal Setting
However, the relationship between planning and resilience is not linear. Average resilience peaks among students who regularly set two to three goals, reaching approximately 3.33. By contrast, students who reported no goals or just one goal show an average resilience of around 2.4, as do those with four to five goals.
Very short-term planning may leave students feeling unanchored, responding to immediate pressures without a sense of where they are heading. Planning too far ahead, on the other hand, may feel abstract or overwhelming, making it harder to connect future ambitions to present-day actions. The mid-range horizon appears to offer the best of both: clarity about direction combined with practical steps that feel within reach.
When we looked at how far ahead teens were planning, a similar pattern emerged. Resilience scores peaked for those thinking two to three years into the future, reaching approximately 3.3. Students with shorter planning horizons (up to one year) and those planning four to five years ahead both showed lower resilience, with scores around 2.4 in each case.
The data suggests that resilience grows when students can see a path that feels both achievable and meaningful, grounded in decisions they can begin to act on now.
“Plans are extremely important in the life of a student. School life is turbulent and having a plan provides so much peace of mind and stability.”
Intensity Matters: How Much Planning Makes a Difference
Finally, we examined planning intensity by dividing students into tertiles based on the number and detail of goals they reported. The high-planning intensity group showed the strongest resilience profile, with 29.4% of students in this tertile reporting “extremely confident” in their ability to handle setbacks – the largest share across all three tertiles.
When we combined the top two confidence categories (“extremely” and “very confident”), the high planning tertile also led, suggesting that more intensive planning is associated with stronger resilience overall. The low planning tertile, by contrast, had minimal representation in the “extremely confident” category.
This distribution indicates that students who engage more actively with planning tend to report stronger resilience. The pattern holds across the confidence spectrum, with high-intensity planners more likely to describe themselves as very or extremely confident in their ability to bounce back.
| Planning Intensity | Extremely Confident | Combined Top-Two Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 8% | 48% |
| Medium | 14.3% | 50% |
| High | 29.4% | 76.5% |
What This Means for Parents and Teenagers
These findings suggest that resilience isn’t just about temperament or mindset. It grows when teenagers have something to work towards and a realistic sense of the steps involved. The challenge for families and educators is to help young people find that middle ground between vague ambition and overwhelming pressure, where planning feels purposeful rather than burdensome.
For parents, this means that conversations about the future do not need to be exhaustive or pressured. Helping a young person identify a few concrete steps and supporting them in thinking beyond the immediate term can contribute to their confidence in handling setbacks. The goal is not to lock in a fixed path but to establish a sense of direction that feels meaningful rather than performative.
At a time when many teenagers are spending increasing amounts of time online without clear focus, these findings underscore the value of structured environments that encourage forward thinking. Whether through academic programmes, internships or simply guided reflection, creating space for young people to imagine and plan their futures can support both their immediate wellbeing and their long-term confidence.
Feel Confident About Your Future
After attending Oxford Scholastica for two weeks in 2025, students reported feeling 25% more optimistic about the future of the world.
Methodology. Oxford Scholastica Academy collected original data from students on The Panel through six survey questions exploring the relationship between future planning and resilience. Responses were analysed to identify patterns by planning status, goal count, planning horizon and intensity.
By Oxford Scholastica Academy
Since 2013, Oxford Scholastica’s award-winning programmes have empowered thousands of students to seize the future. We have welcomed bright students from around the globe for more than a decade, giving them the edge to help them succeed, find their purpose and make a difference in the world.
