Unless we are Tibetan monks of ultrazen expert plus level or total psychopaths, it is normal for exams to make us nervous. Previous clarifications
There are people who easily overcome those nerves and, after a few exams, end up passing them like making toast, but it is normal for us to feel our stomachs shrink with nerves every time the moment of sitting down for the exam arrives. From the beginning of our studies until we obtain the
university eTitle, we will go through this ordeal several (many) times, so it is better if we learn to control ourselves. It is also true that some people are more affected by nerves than others, but that is because they focus on the importance or difficulty of the subject, when the real trick to controlling nerves is to focus on ourselves and our attitude. An important note to keep in mind is that having zero nerves is not the best either. A small level of stress during the exam will help us perform better, be more focused, and for a longer period of time. But of course, if the nerves skyrocket, we can
go blank or fail miserably in our answers. As we said, if we learn to control our nerves and focus on ourselves, everything will go smoothly. We will tell you how to achieve it:
Prepare well
Let's be realistic: nothing calms nerves better than knowing the subject matter better than our ID card, so the more time we invest in preparing for the exam, the better in every way. Thinking about studying for an exam for two or three weeks may seem like the most boring thing in life, but with certain
techniques that make studying fun and studying a little bit every day (and not the countless hours we spend two days before the exam), it may not be as horrible as it seems
a priori. Good preparation will make us arrive at the exam feeling invincible, which is quite incompatible with getting nervous.
Use study techniques that emulate reality
What are simulations for? Well, for that. The more our way of studying for the exam resembles reality, the better. How do we do that? Very easy,
by preparing our own tests, asking a classmate to give us exams with what they think will be on the test (and we can reciprocate with the same help), looking for exams of that subject online, asking students from previous years to tell us what they were like... The closer we get to reality (which is achieved by doing several versions until we have nothing left to answer), the less nervous we will be when we see the exam, because we will recognize everything and know how to answer. And this is the key to simulations: it's not that we know the answer because we studied the subject matter, it's that we know the answer because, in addition to studying the subject matter, we have already answered it several times and we know everything we need to put. We avoid thinking about whether we left something out, whether we answered correctly, whether it referred to something else... in short: we save ourselves from nerves.
Find helpers
There is a part of studying that is individual work, but other parts can be done in a group or with a partner, and it is much more enjoyable and very practical for learning. But the best thing is that it will help us get rid of many nerves and insecurities. Of course, we have to choose committed classmates who make an effort because, otherwise, they will only distract us.
Move your body
We need to exercise as soon as we take a break from studying so that our mind and body are in good harmony, but also, if we have studied in advance, we will not need to review just before the exam (which, by the way, is quite stressful and better to avoid). Therefore, the best thing we can do just before entering the exam is a powerful training routine that leaves us feeling great. Exercise will calm our nerves and improve blood flow and concentration. If we finish with some meditation, we will be the bosses.
The power of the mind
The brain also needs to be put in its place from time to time because it can play tricks on us by introducing a lot of horrible thoughts like "I'm definitely going to fail", "I'm terrible at this", "I'm not cut out for this", and the classic "I'm sure I'll forget everything as soon as I sit down for the exam". We have to ignore these thoughts and fight that damn voice with images (which is the true
language of the brain) of ourselves feeling at peace during the exam, answering all the questions easily, passing... We are not saying that visualizing something will make it happen, because if we haven't studied, no matter how much we visualize ourselves winning the excellence award, it won't happen. What we will achieve is calming our nerves and mentally predisposing ourselves to give our best.
Breathing well is good
When nerves attack, we breathe in strange ways. We either hyperventilate, inflate our chest too much, practice very short breaths, or inhale before emptying our lungs, etc. When we have the exam in front of us, we must remember to breathe properly to oxygenate the brain and calm the nerves. This should be done by inhaling air through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. We should expand our belly, not our chest, and make sure to expel almost all the air before inhaling again. A calm and conscious breath will help us take an exam without nerves paralyzing us.
Perfection comes at a cost
Some people are more prone to getting nervous during an exam, while others handle it better. Either way, everything is trainable and we can improve. The ideal thing is to try out different techniques and take note of the ones that work best for us, so that little by little we create our own ritual against nerves and become invincible. Lots of encouragement and peace of mind!
