Do you ever encounter
anxiety before or during an exam? Do you feel nervous due to your imminent
exams? Have you ever been subject to muddle-headedness owing to the exam pressures?
If so, let me assure you that there is no need to worry about it. To be honestly speaking the majority of students feel the same anxiety. This
article of mine is an endeavor towards how to overcome your exam anxiety and
unfounded fears of academic failure.
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| Anxiety |
Before we embark on the subject let us first
elaborate on the nature of anxiety and its probable causes. Anxiety refers to
helplessness, worry, and a confused state of mind. In fact, it mars our skills, potential, and abilities. It is a killer of a man’s peace of mind and
future aspirations. When anxiety empowers you it takes charge of your life; it
starts to control you; it eradicates your self-confidence and reduces your
productivity. It sucks and discourages.
The paradox of anxiety
and stress occurs when we try to control our life and their outcomes. Lack of
control is one of the biggest factors that increase our anxiety or stress.
Let’s elaborate on what we can control and
what we cannot. For example, from an academic point of view, we can absolutely
control our exam preparation, attitude, time management, and expectations.
Contrariwise we cannot control our goals like rank, score, gold medal,
admissions to name a few. The right attitude for us is to build the relevant
skills or knowledge for goals and leave the dreams for the universe to find and
fulfill what is best in our interests.
Anxiety feeds on various
factors and reasons. Some of the most common reasons are as follows:-
Fear of failure
Fear of inadequate
Fear of unknown
Unfounded fears
Fear of high
expectations
In addition, negative self-talk has always
been and is a contributory cause of anxiety or depression. The feeling of
helplessness also indicates a state of depression and anxiety. Unrealistic
questions add fuel to our anxiety like why me? Why this always happens to me? Why this life has always
been so unfair to me?
Here are some proven and
acclaimed measures of how to cope with your exam anxiety. Let me explain each
briefly.
The foremost step to
eliminate exam anxiety is to prepare well and learn the art of better
presentation and communication. Study and prepare in a way that inspires and motivates you. Study
with a purpose and reward yourself. Prepare positively and creatively instead
of simply cramming the content. Cramming will only increase your anxiety and
fear because it gets faded sooner or later.
Believe in your vast
potential and abilities. Even if you are not well-prepared self-confidence and
self-belief should be your driving forces. When being incessantly faced with
untoward challenges, we quite often forget how bravely and judiciously we have
handled the situation and how much we already have achieved in the past.
Therefore, as when and when experiencing a negative thought, try to replace it
with a positive one. Inform your subconscious that you are the best; you are
great; you are second to none. This kind of self-affirmation would suffice to
cope with entrance exams or other exams. “A bird sitting on a branch of tree
does not believe on the branch to withstand rather she believes on her own
wings.”
Do not tell your
subconscious that you have not prepared well or that your past academic record
is not healthy. Principally if you do so your failure is sure and you are
doomed to maintain a failure record with consistency. Do not weigh down
yourself by your past mistakes or failures remember one piece of paper does not
decide your future, skills, and knowledge.
“Your past mistakes and failures are there to guide you, not to define you.”
Since negative self-talk
destroys self-confidence and creativity. Hence never indulge yourself in
negative self-talk. Visualize success and bright prospects of your academic
success. Your aspirations and dreams inspire you to do more, to become more,
and to achieve more. Therefore, always think of your bright future and career. This may help lessen your exam anxiety.
Staying healthy is
essential for better performance and maximum productivity. Eat a balanced diet,
exercise regularly, and sleep well. Mental, physical, and emotional health is
indispensable to overcome exam pressure. As the expression goes, “for a healthy
mind a healthy body is essential.”
Stay proactive and
arrive early on the day of the exam, presentation, interview, etc. Being late,
indeed, increases your panic and anxiety. Avoid procrastination at all levels
as it is a thief of time and a killer of a man’s future.
Staying focused during
exams increases our chances of success and discourages anxiety. Being focused
on your goals or subject sharpens your memory. Setting realistic goals before
an exam help you to put everything in the right order and bright prospect. It
also ensures long-lasting and healthy learning.
Some students encounter
learning problems studying alone, while others don’t. In case you belong to the
first category study and learn with peers. In 2004, a research paper published
in Linguistics and Education asserted that revising with peers is an effective
study technique as it allows individuals to better absorb and assimilate their
own notes. Also, the emotional benefits of social support tend to include a
better sense of confidence and autonomy.
To conclude our
discussion it could be remarked that experiencing exam anxiety is nothing but
psychological pressure. The remedy for this ailment is to prepare well,
self-belief, and confidence. Lord of this beautiful universe has blessed us with
vast potential. Now it becomes our moral and religious obligation to tape this
immense potential positively; for a noble cause.
Wish you all success!
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