Dear Reader,
I’ll be brief today. This week, American high schoolers are preparing to take AP Exams, and many are struggling with anxiety. Likewise, university students are completing finals and either preparing for graduation or readying themselves for summer and the coming fall semester. So they are nervous, perhaps a bit too much. However, I have something I tell my students if they share their concerns with me: You know what you did to prepare.
You were there when you reviewed your notes. You were the one who took those notes. You watched the review videos, listened to the study podcasts, and read the texts. You took the practice exams, did the quizzes, and flipped through the flash cards. You wrote that outline and memorized the key terms. You did it all. Or, you did not.
You see, the issue is that impostor syndrome should be thrown in the garbage if you did the work. If you studied, you must have confidence in the efforts you made. And if you chose not to study, to not do the work, then yes, you should be nervous. I have advised folks in the past that if you choose to go out with your friends all night rather than study, then you better have done the work beforehand, otherwise you will get what is coming to you. Sometimes it is hard to say no to the sports game, or the concert, or the date you have been waiting for, but that exam is not going anywhere, and it is coming at you on time and on schedule. Your advantage is that you know it is coming; it is not a surprise. Use your foreknowledge. The lack of surprise is your avenue to calmness.
The point is for those of you who have done the work that you had to do, it is okay to take a breath, it is okay to relax. You know that you put in the work. It is important that you acknowledge yourself. That quiet confidence is not arrogance; that is preparation. Preparation should help you find that inner peace before the examination or the final papers. Or whatever life has for you. That job interview, or perhaps the presentation that makes your career, will all go smoother if you are trained up for the spot. Nothing takes the place of honest and thorough preparation.
The basis of that peace is your hard work, the merit of your actual efforts. Think of it as earning your tranquility and peace of mind. Again, if you know you have done what was required to prepare, then you have done all you could, and worry serves no purpose. Nothing. It is not helping you; it is another distraction. If you did not do the preparation, then of course you will worry. But if you did it, why torture yourself? It is like this in life beyond the classroom. Did you prepare for what you had to do? Yes? Then move with confidence. Arrogance is when you expect things to fall into place without doing the steps to get there; it is a form of superstition.
Now let’s acknowledge something to get it out of the way. It is likewise true that you can do everything right, to the best of your ability, and something still does not go your way. But that reality, the imperfection of life, does not cancel the wisdom and necessity of developing your plan of success, honing your skills, and challenging yourself before the moment you must perform. So here is a reminder to pursue your goals with tenacity, with realism. If you know you must prepare, then you prepare. There is nothing else to do.
But after you have done it, rest in the knowledge that you did the correct and wise thing. You did the work, you earned the right to reject impostor syndrome.