Page 7 - Failure to Triumph - Journey of A Student

Any exam that you write not only assesses your knowledge but also
determines your personality.

It is a common misconception that a personality assessment is done
only during an interview, a group discussion or a personality test per
se.
A written examination that consists of questions and answers can
also assess your personality. The examiner can gauge your
personality through the words that you write on your answer sheet.

An essential quality that a student must inculcate in himself is mental

perseverance. In Psychology, it is called ‘Mental Toughness’. An
individual with mental toughness knows how to persevere against
the odds. Mental perseverance helps you to stick to your goals,
believe in your abilities and overcome doubts, worries and troubles
when the going gets tough. An individual who lacks mental

perseverance is stressed and afraid because he has no faith in his
abilities; he questions his skills and denies to believe in himself. This
bogs him down and may even lead to a mental turmoil.

Is exam fear and stress completely wrong?
No. Unless you have a little fear inside you, you will not be serious
about your studies. A little stress is necessary. The right amount of

stress tunes up the brain and can increase productivity. It keeps you
on your toes and doesn’t let you deviate from your path. This little
fear for the exams is your friend.
The problem arises when you start taking stress beyond a limit and
develop ‘Test Anxiety’. Test anxiety can be a debilitating condition
leading to physical and mental stress. It starts affecting your life in an

adverse way. As the exam draws closer, your stress levels start to
increase disproportionately. The main problem is: this debilitating
anxiety will cripple you.

You will start feeling exhausted two to three weeks before the exam
and this decisive time will be wasted. You may become mentally
exhausted and start thinking “I cannot take any more stress and I

don’t care if I fail”. All you would want is the exam to get over with-