Do you feel nerves and lack of confidence stop you from performing your best in tests and exams?

You are not alone.  Many students find exams intimidating and become a bit like rabbits in headlights, unable to think straight.  It doesn't have to be that way.  Visualisation can help you to prepare yourself to do your best.  It works by programming your subconscious which will then work to make what you have imagined come true. 

Sceptical?  Then try this little experiment to see the effect of what you say to yourself on your physical body. 

• Find a friend who doesn't have any problems with their arms.
• Ask them to raise one arm in front of them with their fist clenched.
• Tell them you are going to try to pull their arm down but they must resist you.
• You should find that you can't really make much of an impact.
• Now ask your friend to repeat the following to themselves 10 times: I am a weak and unworthy person. It works best if they close their eyes and if they are brave enough to say it out loud.
• Now try again to pull their arm down and you should find that you can easily move it.
• Get your friend to repeat the following 10 times: I am a strong and worthy person.
• Try to pull their arm down again and you won't be able to. You can repeat this as often as you like. Even when your friend knows what is happening they can't control it because their subconscious has been programmed to respond to what it's told regardless of whether they believe it or not.

Hopefully you are now willing to believe that visualisation could work and to give it a go.  Here are instructions:

• Find somewhere quiet and comfortable to sit or lie down.
• Close your eyes and listen to your breathing to help you relax.
• Imagine you are waiting to start your exam feeling confident and prepared and a little excited. How are you standing? What do you look like? How do you feel? What are you saying to yourself and others? Try to imagine it in as much detail as possible and as vividly as possible. If, like me, you find it hard to conjure up actual pictures, use words instead to paint the scene.
• Now you have been told you can start and you know exactly how you are going to work through the paper (In most cases, it is best to start by looking for the questions you find easiest and then go back to the more challenging ones.) You smile to yourself when you see that most of the questions are ones that you have prepared for and you eagerly set to work. Your mind is clear and active and you find it easy to recall the appropriate facts and processes. Again imagine what you will see, hear, feel and do in as much detail as possible.
• Time to tackle the more challenging questions but you feel confident that if you remain calm that you will be able to find a way to answer them and you do. Imagine yourself overcoming whatever obstacle or problem you worry might arise without getting flustered.
• The invigilator tells you that it is time to stop and you feel confident that you have done more than enough to pass. Notice your body language and how you speak about the exam with your fellow students.

You will need to repeat this daily and the earlier you start doing it before the test the better.  What have you got to lose?  It doesn't take more than a few minutes once you've got the hang of it.

I'd wish you good luck but if you have done your revision and use this visualisation technique you won't need it.