When it comes to high school, especially Year 11 & 12, it can be difficult to avoid comparing yourself with your peers around you. This comparison can come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes doesn’t even feel particularly harmful. Sometimes it can be as simple as asking yourself the questions;

  • “Are my marks good enough?”
  • “Am I falling behind?”
  • “How hard is everyone else actually working?”
  • “Are they noticing a difference between us?”

It can be really difficult to get rid of these thoughts once you start having them, so we wanted to put together some tips on how to reset your brain and keep you focused solely on what you can control.

1. Most comparisons are based on incomplete or misleading information

It’s likely that when you hold yourself up to someone else academically, you are comparing your internal struggle to their external results. You don’t get to see how much they might have struggled, failed or crammed in order to get to that final result. This means that not only is it an unfair and inaccurate reflection of you, but also them.

2. “On Track” can only be defined by your specific goal, there is no universal standard

Now this one might seem inaccurate, because you are judged by a criteria, of course there are universal standards! Those criteria judges the merit of each piece of work you hand in, they are not actually reflective of how well you are doing as a whole. In reality, on track is better understood in the context of those long-term goals, like a specific target ATAR, course/pathway or even personal improvement goals. If you have a target ATAR of 75, it’s not a useful practise to compare yourself with someone who’s target is 65 or 95.

Without a defined goal, it’s easy to default comparing yourself with the top student, which isn’t relevant or helpful.

3. Progress matters more than a current rank or raw marks

A student who is consistently progressing from 60 -> 75 is in a stronger position than someone stuck at 85 and plateauing. Long-term performance is a better indicator than a single mark, from a single piece of assessment.

4. Everyone has different starting points and circumstances

Some students work 3-4 times a week with a tutor, some have stronger foundations from earlier years, some have more time or fewer responsibilities outside of school and some have high (unhealthy) pressure from parents which pushes them. Comparing outcomes without context ignores the natural unevenness of an academic playing field.

5. The most reliable measure is controllable habits, not other people

Ultimately, the only person you have control over when it comes to academics is yourself. Instead of asking, “How am I doing compared to others?”, better questions might be;

  • “Am I consistently completing practise exams?”
  • “Am I reviewing mistakes properly?”
  • “Am I improving weak areas?”

These are the factors that can actually predict results, and you have all the power to influence them.

Brains are weird, and we understand that just because you logically know something to be true doesn’t automatically mean you can just stop comparing, even though it isn’t helpful. It’s important to recognise what triggers your comparing muscle and what is effective in distracting yourself from that. It’s possible these thoughts come to you while you are studying, maybe that means you take a timely study break.

Look after yourself scholars!