Now the title may sound rather clique, but it’s true. Don’t let grades get you down. There used to be a time when, if I happened to receive anything less than a 90% of an A I would be extremely unsatisfied and I would feel low constantly for the next week or even longer than that. Sometimes I wouldn’t even feel satisfied with an A. It had a drastic effect on my mood and self esteem. If I didn’t receive an A that mean I was stupid. If I scored 89% on a test that meant I would never be able to improve. Grades only affected me because I let them. My fixed mindset only remained because I told myself that I would never have a growth mindset. But now, if I receive less than 90% or an A, I don’t care. Well, at least not in the way that makes me feel down. Instead I look at it as something that I WILL be able to improve with enough practice and effort.
Here are some of my tips for changing your mindset towards your grades.
1. Don’t read the number as a number or the letter as a letter
This was me in the past. As soon as I saw the grade that I had received that was it and, depending on what it was, I would feel either extremely sad or extremely happy. I told myself that I would improve next time without really meaning it. Even if I did, I didn’t realise that in order to improve, I had to know what I had to improve. Next time you receive your grade don’t just look at the number or letter, actually look through the test and:
- Find the mistakes that you have made and ask yourself why before making a note with a sticky note of coloured pen next to it.
- Read any comments your teacher has given you
- Ask your teacher if you want any further feedback or if you don’t understand the comments or if you want to know what you could have done better. Don’t be shy, take charge of your learning if you want to improve.
2. Don’t compare with other people
Or at least don’t let the comparison put you down. Sure you can use the grades of others as those that you aspire for but don’t think, Oh that person is better than me, I’ll never be better than them so I shouldn’t even try. If you want to improve compete against yourself not someone else. Set goals based on how you did and what you want. Remember, you are improving for yourself.
3. Don’t procrastinate
Don’t study the night before the test, study ad soon as you receive the first notice of the test. Or, even better than studying as soon as you receive the first notice of the test, have regular study sessions weekly. You can study one subject a day e.g an hour of maths on Monday, an hour of science on Tuesday etc. or you can mash some together on the same day. Also, remember to review everything you have studied in class that day when you finish school. Set achievable goals for you’d study sessions such as, today I have to finish this practice test, or this chapter of my textbook.
4. Remember the results will not be immediate
Your mindset will not magically change overnight nor will your grades. But with effort and time they will. Be patient with yourself, allow yourself time, don’t give up and eventually receiving a grade you do not find satisfactory will not feel like the end of the world.
So there you have it, my four tips about changing your mindset towards your grades. Comment below and let me know what you think.
I’ll leave you with one final cheesy bit of wisdom:
Think of tests or assignments like the sunrise, each one is a new opportunity to try your hardest.
H.C.A Agate 