How to manage stress in Year 12 next year

[evandowsett]

How to manage stress in Year 12 next year
Hey guys, I haven't been that active on AN recently, but I'd love to change that and provide some great advice/value to students in the coming 12 months. So, I've decided this week I'm going to write a bit about how to manage your stress in Year 12 next year (or Year 11, either way).

Why do 'smart people' do poorly in tests?
I was a great student when I was at school, and I think I can mainly put that down to natural talent and a willingness to learn, but also my ability to manage stress leading up to SACs and exams. Regardless of how talented and 'intelligent' you are, stress can affect even the best of us and it's important to get on top of that before it's too late. I saw so many students in my cohort at school do poorly on SACs simply because they let the pressure get to them, so I thought I'd run you through how I managed stress at school.

External expectations are horrible...
In my earlier years of school, I really struggled with stress because I had always been a good student and there was always pressure on me to perform to a really high standard (like, results of 95%+). This made it really stressful coming into tests/SACs/exams because everyone had the expectation of me that I would smash it, so I projected their expectations of me onto myself as well. Of course I liked achieving high marks, but there was always the thought in the back of my mind "what if I don't achieve what everyone/I expects of me". This brings me to my main piece of advice if you're a stresshead like I once was.

...and so are internal expectations
I learned very quickly that in order to manage stress, I had to rid myself of all internal expectations (yes, it's easier said than done, but you'll thank me later). Instead of setting yourself an expectation, what you want to do is set yourself a standard.

Expectations VS Standards
An expectation is saying to yourself "I want to get a 90% in this SAC because I need that to get a 40 study score".
A standard is saying to yourself "I'm going to put 100% of my effort into this SAC and whatever the outcome is, I'll be happy with it because it was my absolute best and I physically couldn't have done better".

What you want to do is take control of your stress by basing your success off your input rather than the outcome. If you base success off your effort and input, you've already succeeded before you even do the SAC. It's a really effective technique for dealing with stress. Obviously this requires a bit of mental training and strength, but it's sooooooo much better in the long run, even in the 'real world' once school is finished - I still use this technique in my social and business life now that I've been graduated for a while.

Why set yourself up to lose?
The last thing I'll say to you is this: Why would you create an expectation for yourself when it simply sets you up to lose? If you have an expectation, you stand to lose at three different points in time:
1. You don’t reach your expectation and are disappointed in yourself.
2. Your expectations are reached, but inevitably think that you could have done better, and are disappointed in yourself.
3. You stress out before the SAC, worrying that you won’t reach your own expectation and you anticipate the disappointment in yourself.

Notice a trend in those three situations? DISAPPOINTMENT. Disappointment comes from not smashing goals, or not reaching an aspiration, or creating an outcome that you didn't expect. If you can erase the element of the unknown (i.e. whether you're going to reach a certain mark) and instead replace it with a feeling of accomplishment before you've even done the SAC or exam, you'll win every time.

No more stress, no more disappointment, just a willingness to try your best and know that it's going to be enough.

Try and start the process of altering your attitude towards success and what that means for you, because if you can do this before Year 12 starts next year, you'll be a machine.

Got any thoughts or questions on this? I'd love to hear them below! I hope this helps some of you.

[Bri MT]

I definitely share your thoughts regarding celebrating effort rather than outcome.
Sometimes people are scared to try and fail, but it is much worse to not try (regardless of the outcome). If you are one of these people, remember that you can change this attitude with persistence, and that reflection and talking to others may help.
Adopting an attitude of effort>outcome will significantly fight procrastination, and aid emotional welfare

[Vaike]

Solid advice! I really like the way you dichotomise 'standards' and 'expectations'. I personally think it is perfectly okay to have internal expectations on outcomes or results, I almost think its unavoidable to consider and intrinsically aspire to certain scores or goals. Throughout my VCE experience, it was these 'expectations' that provided the motivation and desire to set 'standards', a reason to remind myself why I had to keep going when I was feeling tired or lazy. However, I do absolutely agree that it is imperative to change attitudes towards the importance of achieving expectations. Walking into an exam or SAC feeling confident and proud that you've done your best to prepare is an awesome way to approach VCE; and I'd suggest the decreased stress is likely to result in a better outcome too.

[abbeyrose]

A standard is saying to yourself "I'm going to put 100% of my effort into this SAC and whatever the outcome is, I'll be happy with it because it was my absolute best and I physically couldn't have done better".

This. I dealt with really bad stress this year due to a mix of perfectionism and placing high expectations on myself, ultimately because I thought I was always competing with everyone else. For example, I actually made it an aim of mine to get 100% on a SAC one time and when I got a (still incredibly good) score of 92% I was unreasonably hard on myself. I would always get so caught up in SAC scores and class rankings that I would often invalidate my own achievements because they didn't seem as good as someone else's. Future year 12's please don't let the notorious "VCE is a competition" attitude interfere with your peer relationships and mental wellbeing - the only person you need to be better than is your past self. It was only really until exams (where I realised my hard work during year 12 had given me everything I needed) that my stress really took the backseat and I began feeling satisfied in that my best is good enough, irrespective of how I score compared to others.

You've provided some really solid advice. I highly rate this! 

[evandowsett]

I definitely share your thoughts regarding celebrating effort rather than outcome.
Sometimes people are scared to try and fail, but it is much worse to not try (regardless of the outcome). If you are one of these people, remember that you can change this attitude with persistence, and that reflection and talking to others may help.
Adopting an attitude of effort>outcome will significantly fight procrastination, and aid emotional welfare

Absolutely - I completely agree with you. At the end of the day, emotional welfare is so much more important than whether you get 80% or 90% on a maths test.

Solid advice! I really like the way you dichotomise 'standards' and 'expectations'. I personally think it is perfectly okay to have internal expectations on outcomes or results, I almost think its unavoidable to consider and intrinsically aspire to certain scores or goals. Throughout my VCE experience, it was these 'expectations' that provided the motivation and desire to set 'standards', a reason to remind myself why I had to keep going when I was feeling tired or lazy. However, I do absolutely agree that it is imperative to change attitudes towards the importance of achieving expectations. Walking into an exam or SAC feeling confident and proud that you've done your best to prepare is an awesome way to approach VCE; and I'd suggest the decreased stress is likely to result in a better outcome too.

I actually do agree with you that it's important to have internal expectations, but only to drive your standards. Without a certain level of expectation, we as humans can't create standards to move forward in a positive way, especially in regards to our attitude towards achievement. Thanks for your input Vaike, love it!

This. I dealt with really bad stress this year due to a mix of perfectionism and placing high expectations on myself, ultimately because I thought I was always competing with everyone else. For example, I actually made it an aim of mine to get 100% on a SAC one time and when I got a (still incredibly good) score of 92% I was unreasonably hard on myself. I would always get so caught up in SAC scores and class rankings that I would often invalidate my own achievements because they didn't seem as good as someone else's. Future year 12's please don't let the notorious "VCE is a competition" attitude interfere with your peer relationships and mental wellbeing - the only person you need to be better than is your past self. It was only really until exams (where I realised my hard work during year 12 had given me everything I needed) that my stress really took the backseat and I began feeling satisfied in that my best is good enough, irrespective of how I score compared to others.

You've provided some really solid advice. I highly rate this! 

I had such a similar experience, abbeyrose. I actually did exactly the same thing in Unit 3 Methods one time, aimed for 100% and lost one mark, was so shattered! That was probably one of the defining moments where I told myself I wasn't going to be that way anymore. Funnily enough, that one mark was the only SAC mark I lost in Methods that year (thanks to my standard-setting). Completely agree with your advice that the only person you need to be better than is your past self. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for jumping on the thread

[K888]

I began feeling satisfied in that my best is good enough, irrespective of how I score compared to others.

I love this. VCE is all about doing the best that you can do, not the best that your mate's mother's second cousin's sister-in-law's friend can do. If you try your best and give it a red hot crack - then that's all you can do, and you should be proud of yourself.

Just wanted to mention that if anyone is struggling, don't be afraid to see a counsellor at school or go see your GP. If you're really stuck on where to go, speak to a trusted teacher and they can probably point you in the right direction.
Seeing a professional about your mental health doesn't make you weak or a weirdo, and you'll be happy that you've sought out help for it. Mental health issues are (sadly) really common in young people - you're not alone.

[Yertle the Turtle]

Thank you so much for this! I have had a weird combination of issues with stress. I tend to stress about the less important things, but when it comes to exams or anything I just don't get stressed at all. I really found this useful as well. I love what you said about not saying 'I need a 90%', instead saying 'I'm going to give 100%', and I guess VCE is all about what you put in rather than what you get out of it. I get more upset with myself in English when I get an A+ when I thought I hadn't tried (true story) than on the exam when I got a B because we hadn't got any revision time in class, so I was unprepared.
Just remember guys, your mark depends on 2 things: your natural talent, and how hard you work.
Your enjoyment of the work and how you went depends on one thing only: How much work you put into it.

[evandowsett]

Thank you so much for this! I have had a weird combination of issues with stress. I tend to stress about the less important things, but when it comes to exams or anything I just don't get stressed at all. I really found this useful as well. I love what you said about not saying 'I need a 90%', instead saying 'I'm going to give 100%', and I guess VCE is all about what you put in rather than what you get out of it. I get more upset with myself in English when I get an A+ when I thought I hadn't tried (true story) than on the exam when I got a B because we hadn't got any revision time in class, so I was unprepared.
Just remember guys, your mark depends on 2 things: your natural talent, and how hard you work.
Your enjoyment of the work and how you went depends on one thing only: How much work you put into it.

No worries Marvin! Completely get where you're coming from as it's what I struggled with for ages. Absolutely agree with you in that sense.