How to Overcome a Lack of Academic Confidence

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HomeArticlesCommunityMy Profile WH.translationData = {};WH.mergeLang({'navlist_collapse': '- collapse','navlist_expand': '+ expand'});EditHome » Categories » Health » Emotional Health » Assertiveness & Self Esteem » Building and Maintaining Self ConfidenceHow to Overcome a Lack of Academic ConfidenceEdited by LEA80, Maluniu, Flickety

Pin ItArticle EditDiscussAcademic confidence is something that can rapidly decrease with a single bad mark or occur over a long period of time with average or sub average grades. Either way it is easy to fall into the trap that your grade represents your academic ability and subsequently your confidence can wash away. Here are some steps to help build back up that confidence.

Edit Steps

Facing Previous Disappointments1Face reality. Before you can rebuild something, to give yourself the best shot at success in the future, you have to face the charred ruins of your academic life in the past. This can be really painful because it represents a lot of disappointment and anger in you, either directly at yourself or indirectly at the system that graded you. Or, it may be some other external influence that contributed to the problem. You may easily identify why you have not performed the way you wanted to in the past, but look anyway because it may highlight something you overlooked.2Look at your past attempts chronologically from the time you received the assignment/started the subject. Look at your performance along the timeline as you move along the timeline towards completion and attempt to identify missed chances or roadblocks to use in the future.3Remember that above all else, no matter the pain you are feeling, be it anger or disappointment, what is done is done. Your swelling emotions won't change it but you can use them to drive you forward.

Starting Over1Wipe the slate clean. Now that you have gleaned all the useful information from the charred ruins of your academic performance in the past to help you move forward, take out a big giant chalkboard eraser in your mind and wipe the board clean. This means wiping the memory and feelings about your past successes. This sounds easier than it is, but you need to forgive yourself for your past performance and accept it. And no, it doesn't define your future, the only thing that does that is you.2Rebuild. It is time to get back on that horse. This old paradigm of getting back into it as soon as possible is true. This means picking up your next assignment or enrolling in another course. If you have been out of school for a period of time because this lack of academic confidence has eroded your interest or motivation, prepare yourself to give it another go.Look at a course unrelated to the area that you wiped out in but that interests you. It doesn't have to be at the same college or even the same type of college––it could be at a community college, TAFE or a different university course.It will be hard to start with depending on the time you have spent away from academic life, so accommodate this difficulty and cut yourself some slack––but not too much!3Identify the roadblocks. This is the time to use the information you gained from your analysis of your past wrecks to better yourself. Identifying the road-blocks should help you identify ways around them. The exact information you gained from your past is as unique to you as your abilities, so only you can answer how to move past them.If you didn't study as hard as you should because your kids were overwhelming, your relationship took precedence, you had depression or you lost a family member during that period, you'll know that the cause from that time has since passed. This can help allay some of your concerns about being distracted previously.If you procrastinated in the past, deal with it now. Did you always leave things to the last minute? Now is the time to take a proactive step and start this one early to give yourself the best shot.4Seek support. Ask for assistance from a family member or friends to help share the load and give yourself the best chance.If you feel that your past roadblocks are truly so permanent that you find it impossible to move past them, talk to the student support services at the institution running the course. Seek out strategies to assist you. The important thing is whenever you are struggling do not struggle alone, you don't have too.

Breaking Down the Workload1Success breeds success. As you move through your new timeline towards completion, set yourself mini goals about the readings, class work, assignment milestones. As you complete each goal, you will build a positive association in your mind and will increase your positive feelings about the task and course. If you don't meet a mini-goal, move on and don't dwell on it. There is no point in associating current trip-ups with your previous failure––they are not connected, so do not make that connection or you risk dooming your mindset.2Review. It's important to learn from your errors and less-than-stellar performances. Fortunately, the point of constructive criticism in the form of essay comments, exam results and peer assessments is aimed at just this. Ask yourself:How did you go in the assignment with your different approach or how did your grades go?Did you perform at a more disappointing level than you did before or did you perform better?If you did perform at what you perceive to be a more disappointing level, then do not give up. Every single human is capable of learning but you'll need to work harder at identifying what helps you to learn best. Perhaps you need better notes, more video lecture reviews, testing concepts in the real world, etc. rather than simply sticking to one method that is sheer hard work for you!Research deeper. If you didn't perform better this time, read up on different learning styles or talk to some professional students about their learning systems. Gather as much information as you can about learning, study, time management. This research can provide insight into ways to move forward.3Value effort. To achieve something important and amazing in your life won't be easy. And it isn't easy on purpose––otherwise everything would be amazing and handed to you on a platter! These amazing challenging moments are what they are because they require hard work and dedication from you. They require the strength to stand up and try again in the face of disappointment.4Keep trying. No attempt is a useless attempt. You can use every opportunity to learn something, not just the course material but about yourself and the wider world, so keep at it. Learning can also benefit from practice as well. Treat each new assignment/course as a new opportunity and repeat this process for each new chance. After all, it is said that for anyone to be good at anything, it takes a good 10,000 hours of repetitive effort!

Edit TipsRemember above all that a grade does not define you; rather, you define yourself. If you do get disappointing results, it is not because you are not smart enough to succeed. It means you need to keep looking at ways that allow you to follow your right path, to discover the more constructive ways of getting your learning to stick and work for you.

Edit WarningsDwelling on the past and making connections where they don't exist contributes to the mindset of "Why bother?". Make the proactive decision to not give food to that dog in your mind; feed the dog of success instead. Give it food of positive affirmations and success from mini goals.Article Info

Categories: Building and Maintaining Self Confidence

Recent edits by: Maluniu, LEA80

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