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3 Steps to Face the Exam & Succeed

The Exam or Stressful Situation

Have you ever had a test or exam or other stressful anxiety filled situation in your life and you didn’t know how you were going to get through it? Do you want to STOP exam stress NOW? Then read on. I have 3 steps to face the exam and succeed.

Let’s introduce my stress event “The Exam”

I wanted to have a commercial drivers license.  The driving exam at the dmv is on the calendar and this exam has three sections, many moving parts and a lot of memorization. The vehicle inspection test is the most difficult part for many people and was the most daunting for me. The inspection covers various parts of the vehicles starting at the front to the rear and the top to the bottom.  One has to show the examiner the part you are talking about and tell him why you are inspecting it.  So it has many elements of memorization and organization.  Once I pass this test, I move on to the driving skills, This is backing up, offset backing and parallel parking.  This is enough to throw some people and does and then on to the ‘on road’ driving test.  Going through such a 3 part test has many pitfalls. How did I get through it?  I found these 3 different anxiety busting steps to effectively prepare for the exam and to remain calm and engaged during each test section to a successful conclusion.

My first Step: Core breathing:

Whenever the stress, anxiety, feeling of doom or being overwhelmed began to arise, I stopped and took a few deep core breaths. When taking these core breaths, it is important to know that the breaths begin in the core. Why? When you breathe into the core first, it signals your ‘flight and fight’ part of your brain that you are safe. (Stress & anxiety activates the fight & flight response)  When your brain knows you are safe it begins to turn down and possibly even off the fight/flight chemicals such as epinephrine and adrenaline allowing your mind and body to begin to relax.  This is why core breathing is so important. Now that your mind and body is beginning to relax, because you are safe, you can move into the next step. 

Second Step: is Mindful Breathing:

After a few core breaths, I use this technique to continue to relax the mind and body. I know of no other technique that stops anxiety in its tracks like mindful meditation. It is simply amazing. In short, Mindful Breathing is to simply stop whatever you are doing and become aware of your breathing. Not to change the breathing in any way, just be aware of your breathing. Use mindful breathing as long as it takes for the anxiety to fall away and the mind and body to relax. As I relaxed deeper, I allowed my mind to now move into the next step. 

Third Step: Visualization. Watching the event:

This is where I get to provide my mind how I want the event to unfold. In the example of the exam, I would see myself in front of the examiner as he said, Mr. Kuhns you have passed. Congratulations.  I would allow myself to feel the emotions of success, satisfaction and joy of passing.  This is an important part of the 3 steps.  You must convince yourself that you deserve and believe you can accomplish the event successfully. If not, it opens the mind to self-sabotage and undermines your chances of success.

Practicing the Steps:

I was just having an anxiety trigger of ‘What If’ I fail episode and I had moved through the core breathing, the mindful breathing meditation and I was watching the exam in my mind. A ‘not so happy’ examinitor appeared in my scene and at first I saw myself become more nervous and intimidated by his attitude. That’s when it became clear that my anxiety was based on failing. (This is another benefit of this process, it helps find the core reason for the anxiety)

So then I asked myself, what is the worst case if I fail? Answer: I get to retake the test with the experience and lessons from my 1st attempt.  Is that acceptable? Answer: Yes. (Now, mind you, this is a conversation happening in my head) 

Let Go and Have Fun!

After I made that agreement with myself,  I then remembered my Toastmaster training and I just started saying to myself, let go of the results and have fun. Let go of the results and have fun. As I repeated it, I saw myself grow in confidence.  It didn’t matter if the examitor was unfriendly or intimidating.  The sting of his control was gone.  The inspection part of the exam became a presentation (just like the many I have given in Toastmasters) where I just ‘let go’ and have fun. Just like I was trained in Toastmasters.  From then on, I used this affirmation/mantra whenever the anxiety began to raise it ugly head and ruin my fun. I was also amazed at how easy preparing for the test became.  Gone was the procrastination and memory loss of important parts. I was relaxed, confident and motivated.

Preparing for the exam, from this point on, became easy and fun.

Mantra or Affirmation:

This is a bonus tool in my stress busting technique.  I like to use mantras or affirmations to overcome a core stressor.  In this case, the fear of failing.  The fear of failing was my core issue that was stealing my confidence and motivation.  So the mantra, ‘just let it go and have fun’ was born to remind me of the deal I made with myself.  It is okay to fail. Just have fun.  

Test Day

Now, fast forward, I am at the DMV, my confidence is high. I am ready. I am not going to be denied.

Right from the start I made a mistake that would have knocked my confidence and intimidated me. Instead, I laughed off, took a deep core breath, repeated my mantra ‘just let it go and have fun’ and continued on.

Several times during the test, I made errors. Each time, I laughed off, took a deep core breath, repeated my mantra ‘just let it go and have fun’ and continued on.

During the very long drive test, which I even commented to the examiner ‘this is one long ass road test’ I would take deep core breaths and repeat my mantra to stay focused and alert.

It worked, as I finally pulled back into the DMV, the examiner informed me that I had passed and I proceeded into the DMV to process the paperwork. 

The process from start to finish was almost 2 hours and it felt like 4. 

Conclusion:

I believe these 3 to 4 steps were crucial in my success.  If I wasn’t able to get my attitude turned from anxiety into fun, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to overcome the first few errors. Instead, I was able to let them go and move on.  And so can you! 

Perhaps you could try these steps for your next stressful event or situation.  Let me know how it turned out for you?

If you would like help in reducing and eliminating Anxiety in your life, reach out to me with the form below.  I offer a free 20 min consultation to determine if hypnosis is right for you.  You can even call me directly at 805-242-1649

Additional reading 5 Steps to Stop the ‘What If’s” can be read here:

You may find this audio helpful: Reduce Stress & Anxiety and Sleep Better

If you need assistance with your exam or stressful event, I am here to help. Contact me with the form below for your free 20 min consultation. Then you will know if hypnosis is a solution to your problem or not.