Confidence and anxiety are two sides of the same coin. The fear and anxiety will make it impossible to concentrate. If you can’t stay focused, you will fail. Plain and simple. I’ve talked with hundreds of people who have failed their exam and losing it in the middle of the test seems to be the #1 reason.
I’ve got two ideas for you today to maintain your focus.
The first is to use routines. Michael Phelps always warms up the same way. He listens to the same music every time. It keys his mind and his body into what they are supposed to do. When you start to panic, you just go back to your routines.
When we started teaching our eight-year-old travel team to pitch, every kid was taught the same way. We gave them a routine. They all went through the same steps:
– Hands set with a deep breath.
– Knee up with a slight pause at the top.
– Throw the pitch
– Follow through
– Walk off the mound to catch the ball back from the catcher
– Repeat
When you hit a kid or give up 2 or 3 walks in a row, it’s much easier to reset and get back on the mound if all you have to do is follow your routine. It’s like a fuzzy blanket and some hot cocoa on the couch.
Study as if you’re going to be taking your test. At the very least, when you do practice questions, go through a routine that you can use the day of your exam. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. A simple stretching and breathing routine for 2-5 minutes of practice EVERY time would be great.
Get the brain warmed up and ready to work for you just like you would if you were using your muscles. Well, you may be young enough where you don’t need to warm up yet, but me, I need a warm-up routine these days.
When you follow a routine and use that routine on test day, you will feel like Emperor Palpatine as you steeple your fingers and think, “Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design.” Exhilarated and confident that you have prepared perfectly for this challenge.
I told you I’d give you a second piece of advice today on staying calm and confident during the exam, so here it is: Get and USE The Final Step. (Didn’t see that coming, did you?)
Jayna wrote in just this morning (thankfully giving me an idea for this e-mail)
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Brian,
I just found out I passed my PANCE!! I wanted to let you know how grateful I am to you for creating The Final Step. That along with your podcasts made studying convenient throughout rotations and left me feeling confident for the exam! I really want you to know how much I appreciate the time you’ve taken to create such helpful resources.
Again thank you so much!
Jayna, PA-C
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Did you catch the key phrase in there? “…left me feeling confident for the exam!” Who says that? “I felt confident during my exam.” I didn’t think anyone.
Amazing. Tell you what, maybe you should consider Jayna’s advice and get yourself a copy.
Brian Wallace
P.S. If you’re willing to run a group order for your classmates, I can offer a significant discount on The Final Step. Shipping is a huge part of the cost, and group orders are much cheaper to ship. You don’t need to set up the whole group – you just need to be willing to let people know about the discount.
If you’re interested, hit reply and I’ll send you the details.