HAVING SELF-CONFIDENCE BRINGS SUCCESS

The experts emphasize that as the time shortens for “Transition to Higher Education Examination” (YGS), the first step to become a university student, students need to stay calm and positive and control their excitements and worries. Clinical Psychologist Merve Yavuz, IUE Psychological Development and Counseling Centre Coordinator, who made  recommendations to students who will take the exam on March 15, stated that students needed to stay away from negative and pointless thoughts, and that having self-confidence in their knowledge would bring success.  

Yavuz wanted students to ‘block’ negative thoughts, and she said that experiencing negative feelings such as anxiety, excitement, panic, and stress to a point that would keep them from using their knowledge and skills decreased the level of success. Yavuz said, “Exam anxiety is a common concern for each age group. Right amount of exam anxiety is useful. It motivates the person to do their best. Therefore, instead of getting rid of it completely, one needs to keep it at a level to have positive effect on their performance.”
‘The War of Useful and Useless Thoughts’

Yavuz stated that factors such as pessimism, high expectations of the family and friends, lack of plans, poor time management, worries, etc. increased the level of anxiety, and students needed to tell apart the useful thoughts from the useless ones. “Having thoughts such as, ‘I won’t succeed’, ‘This information is useless and nonsense’, ‘I don’t have enough time to get ready for the exam’, ‘There are too many subjects to study’, before the exam has negative effect on individuals. These thoughts should be replaced with ‘I will do my best’, ‘I know that I don’t have enough time but how can I use the time I have efficiently?’ ‘I can give priority to the important subjects even if I can’t study the entire resources’”, said Yavuz.  

‘Focus on Yourself and Questions’

Yavuz, who pointed out the importance of feeling comfortable and peaceful before the exam, stated the following:
“Not the exam itself but different meanings associated with the exam and exam results and the negative feelings about the exam cause the students to be anxious. Your self-confidence in the knowledge you have is very significant in terms of coping with the anxiety. Identify your exam habits, such as putting a check mark next to the question you are sure about. Establish these habits at pilot tests. Think positive, encourage yourself. Take deep breaths and exhale slowly. Read the instructions carefully. Do not watch others during the exam, seeing their pace would only make you more worried. Pay no attention to anything that distracts you, focus on your questions. If you feel anxious, try to do breathing exercises.”