Your test-taking mindset allows you to feel comfortable and confident, no matter what test you are taking. You can transform the feeling of “I can’t do it” into “Hey, look I did it!” Follow this guidance:
1- Remember Success: Take a moment to remember a time when you did something really challenging and were successful. It could be academic or anything else. If you’re truly stumped and can’t think of anything, just ask a friend or family member. Sometimes they can help you remember really good examples. If this doesn’t work, then think about a character in a movie, or even a superhero: what did they do to succeed in their challenge? Make a note of what you or they did to succeed, and remember that in the future. Remember that feeling of success.
2- Practice to Comfort: Surprise! Part of your success will be practicing. Like practicing a sport or anything else, “practice makes perfect.” You continually are perfecting your craft. Obviously one of the big reasons to practice is to master the skill (or knowledge) itself. The other reason to practice is to get comfortable and to know you can do it. This is really important, especially if you’re feeling anxious. Once you complete the test to your satisfaction, then do it again and again and again. When you sit down to the actual test, you’ll feel more confident.
3- Rehearse Success: Have you heard of visualizing? If you’ve ever played on a sports team, you may have heard it from your coach at some point before a match. The process works like this.
Use all of your senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to imagine yourself in the testing location (school, office, or home). Picture and imagine yourself there.
See yourself taking the test. All of the answers are coming to you easily and everything makes sense. You feel well prepared for the test. On the off chance that you forgot something, you simply reach up in the magic bubble above your head and pull down the right answer. Nobody told you that you have a magic bubble above your head?? I’m so sorry, but you do! It’s because by now you know stuff about stuff. Even when you think you have no idea what the answer might be, trust yourself to make an educated guess.
Imagine yourself walking out of the test situation with a big smile on your face, a confident swagger, and perhaps tearing at the edge of your shirt to show the Superman logo. You did it!
4- Stay positive
Inner Voice: You know that little voice in your head that sometimes isn’t very nice to you. That one. Therapists call it the inner critic. It is something that takes practice, but start now. Whenever a little voice in your head pops up that says, “I’m going to fail...”, try to dismiss it. Most of the things our inner critic says are quite catastrophic. It may feel like it sometimes, but you actually won’t ‘not go’ to college just because you don’t do well on any number of things. Really!
Positive Vibes: Surround yourself with positive people who are not worried about their performance or your performance. It can feel like a relief to get together with friends or family and stress out about stuff, but trust me, it’s not in the long run. Your dog is a better choice. If you don’t have a dog, a walk does the trick, too. Or animal videos? People crashing into stuff on TikTok? (I’m not here to judge!)
Excellent Self-Care: Walks and exercising are excellent methods of self-care. You can listen to music for relaxation or championship building (think “Eye of the Tiger”). Also, eat well in whatever way that means to you. Sleep well, too. Can you imagine a marathon runner trying to do it on the four hour sleep routine? Your brain is in your body after all so if you give it enough care, it will do a better job for you. Be nice to your brain by taking good care of your body.
Your test-taking mindset allows you to feel comfortable and confident, no matter what test you are taking.