The onset of March brings with itself the promise of spring. The weather starts turning pleasant as the remaining harshness of the winter ebbs away. There’s a sense of pleasant expectation in the air. However, it is difficult for students to enjoy the weather as for them, it is the exam season. Everything that they have studied over the past year would be up for a test. And everywhere they turn, they are told that these scores decide their future career path.
The pressure to do well and perform admirably comes internally and is a driving force. However, when you add the stress of every exam being a decider and the expectations of several people riding on them, it is little wonder that the number of students burning out every year is increasing.
With the exams being delayed, there is a case of prolonged agony where the students have to keep their minds sharp for the next several weeks before taking their tests again. Your mind can work best when it is relaxed and focused at the same time as that will help you retain what you study.
Tips to keep the stress away and study better:
Know that examination is not a big deal
At the face of it, this may seem blasphemous. But this is a trick and a fact. Everyone around you will be telling you how your life hinges on getting the best score in the following exam. Your parents will be pushing you to give your best. And when you study, your mind will be thinking about all of these things, making it too worked out to even remember what you are trying to learn.
So, just know that examination is not a big deal. The studying that you do and the knowledge you gain is the ultimate tool that is going to help you. Instead of hyping up a test, put your focus on just the study aspect of it all.
Learn from your past successes
When every exam is considered as the final barrier, the pressure we feel for it is immense. But, many students forget that this is not the first time that they are facing this pressure. Our mind overworks itself when dealing with an unknown situation. However, examinations aren’t an unknown situation.
You have given many exams before and faced all the pressure before as well. Just like you cleared those exams, you will clear the next one as well. Just looking back at your past will help you calm your mind.
Believe in your intuition
The examinations that happen in March aren’t the first exam you will face in the whole year. There are several small and big tests that take place throughout the year. While studying for them, you gain an awareness of what parts of a subject are more important.
Although, you should focus on completely revising your syllabus. But the parts of the syllabus that you had studied properly before will create a knowledge bank in your mind. Instead of worrying about everything, just feel confident that your intuition will take care of everything. Many students share that when they are confident about a specific topic, more often than not it is the same one that is asked about in the examination.
Do some breathing exercises
What do you feel when you realize that you are getting stressed about your exams? Your heartbeat increases, your breathing quickens and your body starts getting warmer. These are signs of stress. By working on the physical symptoms of stress, you can calm down your mind.
When you feel those fearful sensations arise in your chest, just close your eyes. Take a deep breath in and then breath out. Repeat this for a few times and focus on the relaxing aspect of the breathing. When your mind cools down, it can study for longer and retain much more of what it has studied.
Know that Success requires several chances
Students nowadays face extreme pressure from their parents, teachers, and peers. The pressure to succeed is such that they are made to believe that their whole life depends on getting a certain rank or specific marks. And when they aren’t able to, they feel that their whole life is meaningless. This is a foolhardy thought but because it is drilled into their minds constantly, the students who don’t achieve what they set out to sometimes take extreme measures.
This idea should be the most important thing that any student must learn: Examinations aren’t the end of life. Keep your life bigger than your exams. If you get low marks then that doesn’t mean your life is over or you are not going to get another opportunity to succeed. There are so many dormant skills inside of us that we never consider. During your free time, you should improve these skills and invoke them later to succeed in a path that is more suited to you.
Keeping these tips in mind will calm your mind to a great extent, allowing you to study relaxedly. However, many students, privately and socially, share their worries and queries related to examination stress. Even though these queries are specific, every student feels that this has happened to them at least once in their life.
Common questions that students ask Gurudev
My parents compare my results with my friend’s result, making me feel like a failure. How do I come out of that feeling?
Gurudev: There are many examples of people who have failed their exams but excelled in their life. They have become successful businessmen, actors, sportspersons, innovators, and leaders. There have been many leaders who have successfully promoted education and made innovations in it even when they couldn’t complete their studies.
Just taking a trip to Surat will be an eyeopener for many. In India, most of the diamonds come from Surat. The big factory owners in the city, who are multimillionaires, have not cleared high school. Some of them can barely read or write but they have made multinational companies because of their skill and abilities. Have confidence in your skills and make your parents feel confident about your abilities.
How do I keep my mind away from diversions while studying?
Gurudev: There are several things you can do to keep your mind away from diversions:
One of the things that students do while preparing for exams is studying in groups. They study in groups of 3,4,5 or sometimes even with two friends. This helps you study better as there is someone to motivate you to study continuously. However, this also gives rise to distractions. Some get distracted for 15-20% of the time, while others waste 50% of the time. Take a commitment as a group that each one of you will make sure that you aren’t distracted. This is important because studying in groups is better.
There's even an old Sanskrit phrase which says, ‘ekas tapasvi, dwir adhyayi’ - When you do penance, sit alone but when you want to study, sit in a group. However, make sure there aren’t many people as the chances for distraction overpower the collective productivity of the group.
An important thing which you should do is to focus on your food. Many students have noticed that eating junk food during exams reduces their concentration levels and makes them more lethargic. So, make sure you are eating healthy cooked food like vegetables during your examinations. Eating salads and fresh fruits will keep your mind fresh and productive for longer periods.
I am an average student and I know that I cannot score 90% marks but my parents want me to get those marks. How do I fulfill their expectations?
Gurudev: The first thing you need to do is to remove the label that, “I am an average student”. This labeling reduces your ability and brings complacency in your mind. Most students don’t even know their abilities and remembering that will help you study without conforming to a label. Secondly, remove this thought that “I cannot do it.” Have confidence that you can do it and prepare for your examinations with that confidence. There are more chances that you will achieve your target when you go at it with a confident and dedicated intention.
And, even if it doesn’t happen, that shouldn’t hamper your confidence. Have the confidence that you will try it a second time, or third time and achieve it. But if you put limiting labels in your mind at the start then even your preparation will be limited.
Many students say that the pressure that they feel about the examinations also comes from having to talk about their results. There are going to be relatives, friends, and even friend’s parents who are going to ask - ‘what is your result?’ The questioning and judgment that others bring shouldn’t pressure you because eventually they will get busy in their lives and forget about yours. Just focus on the aforementioned tips and prepare for your examinations with a calmer mind. You will find that your stress-free mind can work longer and better than it ever did.
Art of Living’s Stress-free Exams Workshop can help you learn even more tips and tricks which will help you increase productivity, sharpen your concentration, and boost your memory power.
Based on wisdom talk by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
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