Exams. For the vast majority of students, you are going to have to sit through these things right from Key Stage 1 all the way until your final year at uni. So at the minimum, most of us have to scuffle our way through 14 years of examinations.
And these examinations are usually accompanied by a good dose of stress. So getting familiar with ways to deal with stress, given that they are peppered throughout a significant portion of our early lives, is hugely beneficial.
So in this article I want to talk about stress and how we can really deal with it.
Even if you don’t have examinations looming, stick around as stress is something we experience in all aspects of life.
The art of not panicking?
The skill that was most practiced when America raced to send astronauts into space?
They trained them in the 'art of not panicking'. When we panic, we don’t think straight, we make mistakes, we lose track of our plan and deviate from it.
This is a common situation in our lives, when something goes wrong we panic and trade in our (usually) well designed plan for an emotional response.
You can imagine deep in space panicking is really not an option. Panic = death. So this panic must be trained out.
How can we cope?
Before the launch NASA recreated the steps of the launch day over and over again thousands of times. From what they had for breakfast to the ride to the airfield. They experienced every sight and sound of the experience which was possible, trying out every variation that was possible. So much so, launch day was like breathing for them.
This ruled out uncertainty - by simple exposure to unfamiliarity they could adapt out most of the fears they had.
In space, pressing the wrong button or instrument panel under pressure is death. Thus the question was not how great an astronaut's skill set is but rather - Can you keep your emotions in check and not panic? Instead focus only on what you can control.
Our life (or exams) are no different. We can overcome this by keeping our emotions in check. We need to be steady regardless of the fact that we may be asked questions that look alien to us.
What students would do well to remember here is that all other students will probably find this particular question tough. The trick is to realise “I am in control”.
I often recommend students to practice their day of the exam well in advance; from how they will walk there, what they will have for breakfast and what does the exam centre look like, and of course practice testing in an exam situation.
When faced with a stressful situation, we should ask ourselves - do I need to panic about this? Will being emotional do anything here?
No, because I practised for this.
Also remind yourself of the Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Josh and the uniform
I vividly recall during one of my university study sessions before an exam, I went to my friend Josh's room at the campus. I saw Josh enacting this very principle of ruling out uncertainty by wearing his sub fusc (A gown to be worn only during examination) in his room the week before the exam. I was shocked to effectively see him wear his uniform before bedtime. I know many of my readers will also be thinking this is very weird, but in reality this is what needs to be done if you are to succeed in high pressure environments. Josh wanted to experience every aspect of the exam (wearing the gown) so he can be as comfortable as possible in the real thing.
So to summarise [3 step stress buster]:
1. Rule out uncertainty by familiarising yourself with all possible variations.
2. Always question whether an emotional response will help the situation? If not why are you doing it.
3. Remember what you can control and work on that.
Further Reading
Thomas Edison and his burning factory. [Another famous example of dealing with stress]
As always, your comments and thoughts are welcome on the topic.
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