Studying for Success!

Today we have a guest post from Life Coach and parent Lindsay Law about getting through finals stress without losing your mind.  She is a fantastic resource, check out her Instagram and YouTube channels for more! 

Exam time is coming and it can be stressful. 

You often put a lot of pressure on yourself to do well; to succeed. 

I get it.  

I’ve been there.

What if I told you that I had 3 ideas that would make your final exams this year go much smoother?  

You may be thinking that you’ve heard it all before, but I promise you that this is a perspective that will be NEW for you.

Tip #1- Don’t Stress about the Stress, Welcome it!!

“Are you kidding me?  Why would I welcome the stress?”

I know, it sounds like the opposite of what you should do, but hear me out.  

When we experience stress and anxiety in our bodies, our immediate response is to push it away and resist it.  

No one wants to feel stressed right?  

The problem with this is that resisting the stress actually makes it stronger.  

“So, if resisting the stress makes it stronger, then what do I do with it?”

You welcome it, and allow it to be there.  

Stress and Anxiety are a natural response in our brain (the amygdala specifically) to keep us safe.  

Remind yourself that nothing has gone wrong. Your brain is just doing its job.  

You can also remind your brain that you are safe and it’s ok.  

Here are some phrases you can think that will help you allow and welcome stress so it doesn’t grow bigger.

“Hi stress, you’re here.  I’m not going to push you away, you can just flow through.”

“Thank you anxiety, we’re safe, it’s ok, stay as long as you need. I’m going to carry you in my back pocket, I’ve got us.”

“This is anxiety.  It is part of my journey”

Don’t worry, you don’t have to say it out loud.  Just think it in your mind and you’ll be amazed at the effect.

Tip #2- Question what you’re making failure mean!

A lot of times when you are stressed about a test, it is because you are worried about failure; however you define that.  And the reason you don’t want to fail, is because you will make that failure mean something negative about yourself. You might think:

“I’m no good because I didn’t get the grade I was hoping for.”

“I will never get into the University or College I want with grades like this.”  

“I’m just not smart enough”

These are all thoughts that can be questioned.  

None of them are true.  

None of them are facts. 

And none of them are helpful.

What if you defined success and failure differently?  What if a number on a page didn’t mean anything about you as a person?

What if studying hard and doing your best is your definition of success.

What if you get to make that number on the page mean whatever you want?

Being open to these ideas gives failure way less power in your life and therefore, less to stress about.  

Imagine the stress as a helium balloon.  

Just let go of the string!

Tip #3- Choose sleep over studying every time!

I bet studying for an exam isn’t top on your list of fun things to do!  

Do you sometimes procrastinate studying?  

It makes sense.  

Your brain likes to avoid hard things or tasks that require more effort, like learning. Your brain is just doing its job. (That’s your primitive brain)  

So, let’s say you avoided studying and now it’s the night before the test.  

Your brain is going to try to justify staying up late to study because that seems like the best idea at the time.  

The problem is that the part of your brain that makes decisions and focuses and stores memory, needs 8-10 hours of sleep a night to function well.  

If you’re in that situation, do a quick review and get a good night’s sleep, maybe sneak in another quick review in the morning and your brain will thank you!!

Do you want to avoid getting into that situation in the first place?  

The great thing is that you also have another part of your brain called the Pre-frontal cortex or the Thinking Brain. 

This part of your brain plans ahead of time and is not the part of your brain making last minute decisions. 

When you know that you have a test coming up, plan all of the times that you are going to study a week or two ahead of time.  

Be specific with times, location, and put them on the calendar.

Now, I’m warning you, that when that time in your calendar comes, your primitive brain (or the lizard brain as I like to call it) is going to want to give you all sorts of reasons why you should definitely not follow your study plan.  

You’re too tired. 

Your friend invited you to go hang out. 

You need to catch up on your social media feed.  

Remember that your lizard brain is only worried about what is happening in the moment and your thinking brain is the one that plans for the future.  

Be ready for those objections and remind your brain that you have a plan and it’s ok.

Remember, your brain can be your friend if you know how to work with it.

1. Allow the stress to be there so it doesn’t grow bigger.
2. Redefine Success and Failure. Numbers on a page don’t mean anything about you as a person.
3. Take care of your Thinking brain by getting the sleep you need and let it be in charge of the study schedule.

Happy Studying!  You’ve got this!