The 10 Commandments To Pass Your Exam

Preparing to take a licensure examination can produce a great deal of anxiety. You may be thinking that your examination is the most important you will ever have to take, and that it reflects the culmination of everything that you have worked so hard for. Licensing exams means a lot because receiving your license means that you can begin your career. Your success involves getting rid of all your thoughts that allow this examination to appear overwhelming and intimidating. Such thoughts will take control over your destiny. A positive attitude, a structured plan for preparation, and maintaining control in your pathway to success will ensure achievement in reaching the peak of your success.

10 commandments for passing your exam:

I Thou shall think positive:

Success begins with a positive attitude, the belief that you will achieve success. Rid your life of negativity, start by getting rid of the negative people in it. Learn to focus on the positive things that you are doing and let go of the negative ones. There is the positive aspect in everything. In every person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not all that obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard.

II Thou shall set your personal short- and long- term goals:

Your pathway to success leads to nowhere and has no end point without these components. You will expend energy and valuable time in your journey, lack of control over where you are heading, and experience exhaustion without any accomplishment. Therefore, it is imperative that you take the time to establish your short- and long-term goals.

III Thou shall have a convenient study space:

Did you know one of the easiest ways to get higher grades is by improving your learning environment? When you manage your physical space, you can avoid needless distractions and improve your concentration dramatically. It is sometimes said that each space has its sacred purpose. The best place to study is one that you have dedicated entirely to study. The temperature should be well balanced not too hot or not too cold. Choose a spot where you have natural lights, rather than artificial lights. Because you will be sitting most of the time, choose the best chair you can afford.

IV Remember to balance personal and work obligations:

As an adult, you have obligations. You’ve got a job. You pay bills. You may even have a family — a spouse and/or children. You need to work, but you’d also need to study. Balancing your study and work is not easy, if possible don't commit to working a lot of hours (choose a part-time job instead of a full time job). If you have children, make sure their needs are met. You'll have to take them to daycare/school. Some jobs even provide daycare for their employee. They'll need to be fed and you'll need to spend as much time as possible with them. Make sure that you don't neglect your children during your study.

V Honor thy study schedule and thy personal needs with others:

Plan your study and work schedule ahead of time, to avoid conflict use a calendar, smart phones (to-do-list) and also share your schedule to your friends and family so that they know when are you free to be with them.

VI Thou shall implement a study plan:

Before throwing yourself into studying, you should make a study schedule. Creating and following a study schedule can help you concentrate, better retain course material, and effectively manage your time. What to do: 1. List all the subjects you need to study, once you have your list rank your subject which one is least, moderate, or most important (remember to focus more on topics that you are weak). 2. Schedule study sessions in 20- or 30-minute blocks. Shorter time blocks are easier to find and to schedule than 1-hour or longer times. By doing 20 and 30-minute limits, you automatically create breaks. This way, you can rest your tired eyes, stretch your legs and maybe get a healthy snack. 3. Stick to the schedule, establised a routine. There's no point in making a study schedule if you don't stick to it, but it can be hard to start. Try to get into the habit of looking at your calendar/planner on a regular, preferably daily basis. This will help keep you away from the "out of sight, out of mind" trap.

VII Thou shall pamper yourself:

What is positive pampering? This means that you must continue to care for yourself holistically by including exercises, diet, and positive mental stimulation are critical to achieving your goal to pass your exam. Just as you have developed a schedule for study, you should have a schedule that includes fun and some form of physical activity (i.e aerobics, yoga, running or walking exercises, and sports), whatever makes feel good for yourself.

VIII Thou shall have confidence:

IT’S A WONDERFUL FEELING going into a situation thinking; “Whatever happens, I can handle it”. Feel good about yourself and have faith in your own ability. It may sound cheesy, but having confidence can change the way you approach an exam, help to relax you during an exam, and give you less anxiety after the exam. During the actual exam itself you can maintain your confidence, instead of saying "I don't know a single thing of these questions! This is insane!" DON'T panic but you need to reshape your thoughts, you have stay focus and say "Okay, this is looking tricky, but I know at least something about the subject. I’m going to give the easy questions my best shot first.” Give yourself a message like "I'm okay, I can pass this exam". If possible answer all questions, in cases that you don't know the answer, do write an educated guess.

IX Thou shall have a healthy and nutritious diet:

Establish a healthy eating habits. Stay away from fatty foods because they will slow you down. Eat lighter meals and eat more frequently. Include complex carbohydrates in your diet for energy, and be careful not to include too much caffeine in your daily diet. Make sure to eat breakfast the actual day of your exam. Healthy food choices on exam day include eggs, nuts, yogurt, and cottage cheese. Good breakfast combinations might be whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk, eggs and toast with jam, porridge, or oatmeal. Avoid brain blocking foods. On exam day, stay away from foods made of white flour, such as cookies, cakes, and muffins, which require added time and energy to digest. Also avoid foods that are high in refined sugar, such as chocolates, desserts, and candies.

X Thou shall pray:

Believe this is your day. You're in command. You studied so hard. Breathe, inhale deeply and have a positive thoughts, you followed what I wrote from 1-9, but above all please PRAY!