It is very common to feel lack of confidence before the examination time. Panicked parents, nervous peers, and so much hype in everything around you can surely make you feel no bigger than a teeny weenie worm. And to add on to that your friends may have prepared better than you. But now you need not worry, as you have landed at the right page.

It would be interesting to know that confidence is a skill, and it can be acquired. Yes, everyone who is confident around you may not be as thoroughly prepared as you might believe. On the other hand, there may be some really nervous guys who may know everything. So what should be done in order to gain confidence before exams? Here are a few practical tips-

1. Mute the negative inner voice: There is always a part in us which would constantly try to pull us down. You may seen you inner conscience sometimes popping up with conclusions such as- “this time it is not to happen” or “however hard I may try, I will not be as good as him”. What you have to do is- do not listen. Instead always remind yourself that you have cracked exams many a times and have worked wonders with even much lesser preparation.

2. Understand you are not alone: Students tend to feel that everyone has been preparing well in advance and they are the only ones who lag behind everyone. Relax, that happens with everyone, it is just that no one tells. Almost every student around you would be feeling the same. If today it is your day to get scared, then tomorrow someone else would be in your shoes. So be assured that your friends and peers are experiencing the same exam fear.

3. Start with a subject you like: If you dread maths and begin with its preparations when you are already feeling low, it is not going to help. In fact it will worsen your stance. So start with something you like, may be English, or physics? Study it for a little time to feel fresh and make yourself realize that it is not as bad as you think. Then you move to maths as well. You will feel much more confident.

4. Ask questions: if maths is your problem area, raise one or two questions in the class. This is called breaking the ice. If you would constantly run away the problems, you would never get through. When you would get answers to your questions you would feel much more confident. And there might be other students too who would get benefit from your query!

5. Treat yourself: Occasionally treat yourself to a big cheesy burger or a cup of cappuccino. Try doing this when you have successfully solved a series of 15 problems which you dreaded earlier. This positive enforcement would motivate you to work more and the efforts would thus look easier and much rewarding!

6. Make it a point to attend all the classes: Students tend to lose confidence more when they miss those important chunks taught in the class. So never do that. Even if you miss a class, take notes immediately and ask questions as earliest as possible. Being up to date would never get you panicked during the exam time.

7. Join a small tuition class: Sometimes a group tuition class becomes so huge that it reminds you of the classroom itself. Tuition is worthless if the tutor is unable to pay individual attention on you. Instead join some place where the group is compact. This way the tutor will pay more attention on you and would work individually on your problem areas. such a support will imbibe a lot of confidence n you.

8. Get constant feedbacks: If you even think that you are going in the right direction, ask feedback from your teacher and the tutor. They will be able to guide you better. They can even give you some pointers to do preparations in a much sorted way. This will also get you in the teacher’s eye and in the future he or she will give you more attention and support. And I need not tell you that there is nothing more motivating than being a teacher’s pet!

9. Avoid people who pull you down: You would always find some people around you who will try to pull you down. It’s always better to maintain a safe distance from such people. No matter how good you perform, they will find something or the other to take a dig at. Adopt an “ignore” policy towards them. Don’t ask them anything, don’t tell them anything.

10. Practise a lot of test papers: There is no bigger confidence than knowing it all. Practice a lot of previous years’ sample papers to understand what pattern and portions you can expect. Make it an important part of your study schedule.

11. Study in a serene environment: Whenever you study, make it a point that you do so in a quiet place which is free from any hassles or hindrance. If you are in a room where TV is constantly playing, guests would keep coming and going or phone would keep ringing, then you are just losing out on your precious time. In the end when you will compare the time taken against the portions studied, you would suffer heartbreak.