Skills Guide
Teaching: Being Resourceful
Being Resourceful
Why This Skill Matters
Being resourceful is a key resilience skill that allows students to adapt when things don’t go as planned. Resourceful students are better able to identify options, seek alternatives, and persist instead of giving up. Without this skill, obstacles can feel final or overwhelming. Teaching resourcefulness helps students recognize that challenges are not signals to quit, but opportunities to try a different approach.
Student Challenges This Skill Helps Address
- Giving up when solutions aren’t obvious
- Overreliance on adults
- Low confidence in problem-solving
How WhyTry Builds This Skill
WhyTry develops resourcefulness primarily through the Problem Solving unit, where students practice generating multiple solutions and adapting strategies. This is supported by Support Systems & Relationship Building, which reinforces that being resourceful also includes knowing when and how to seek help. Facilitators help students see that resilience often involves flexibility, creativity, and strategic use of available resources.
Problem Solving
(“Jumping Hurdles”)
In Problem Solving, resourcefulness is built by helping students generate more than one strategy and adapt when the first attempt doesn’t work. Facilitators guide processing that celebrates flexibility (“What else could I try?”) and treats obstacles as solvable. Students learn that resilience often looks like creative persistence—using available tools, strategies, and next steps instead of shutting down.
Support Systems & Relationship Building
(“Plugging In”)
Support Systems & Relationship Building reinforces resourcefulness by teaching students that using people wisely is part of being capable. In processing, facilitators normalize help-seeking as a strategy—not a weakness—and help students identify who to go to, how to ask, and what support is appropriate. This strengthens resourcefulness because students learn to combine internal problem-solving with external supports to move forward.