What is a "positive attitude" anyway?!

Most people, including psychology "experts", will tell you to maintain a "positive attitude". But what does that actually mean? When you have spent hours studying, are tired, and have hours more to go, someone saying "try positive thinking" is just not going to help.

When you are feeling any of the following:

1) Tired

2) Bored of studying

3) Scared of how much you have to learn

4) Can't understand the material

5) Just generally feeling low?

It's very difficult to "have a positive attitude". And willpower alone won't get you through. The phrase "positive thinking" is so meaningless as to be completely useless to you.

Attitude strategies

Rather than using willpower alone you can use specific strategies that have been proven to affect and improve motivation, and, more importantly, results.

These strategies are based on psychology of success and motivation and include:

1) Changing how you think - or talk to yourself in your head

2) Getting rid of false beliefs you have about yourself or your exams

3) Setting a clear end point

4) Focussing on reasons why you are doing this

5) Creating accountability with other people

6) Using what you associate pain and pleasure to motivate you

7) Realising what you control and letting go of what you do not control

Focusing on strategies means that you are doing practical things that will actually have an impact on your accountancy exam preparation - rather than wishful thinking!

For more on this please check out the Attitude Videos

Why a Positive Attitude Doesn’t Work is a post from: Pass 1st Time

Control of result versus process

This is a principle that has a very powerful positive effect on me, not just for exams but for life in general.

Imagine Tiger Woods about to take a golf shot. He's focused on his breathing, his posture, how he holds the club, how he swings the club, how he's thinking - the "process". After he hits the ball, he no longer has control of where it will land - a gust of wind might blow it off course. This is the "result"

The same is true for exams. The result, the actual final pass or fail, isn't within your control. But everything up to that point is. For example, for your next exam it might be that your most-feared topics come up. If you feel nervous, focus on what you can control: the process to prepare for them.

How to Use This

When you feel stressed or nervous about passing your exams write down the following question: "What can I control to help me better prepare for my exams?" Then brainstorm the answers.

That alone will make you feel more in control; taking the actions you've written down will make you feel even better.

Control of Result versus Process is a post from: Pass 1st Time

Creating Accountability

We keep most of the challenges that we take on as individuals to ourselves - we don't tell anyone about them. Why? Usually we're worried that we might not succeed and we'll look like failures.

The truth is that telling people about what we're aiming to achieve can help us massively. They can hold us accountable for the things that we say we will do; just like holding up a mirror to us as if to say "Are you really doing what you said you would?"

Sometimes having the truth reflected back at you isn't easy, but it's very effective.

How to Create Accountability for Accountancy Exams

Choose supportive people you know, especially loved ones, and share with them a written statement of your study aims, such as "I will study three hours every Saturday".

Ask them to hold you accountable by checking back with you every few weeks. If you haven't achieved all your aims don't worry, talk through the challenges you have faced and together figure out how to deal with them.

Creating Accountability is a post from: Pass 1st Time

This section will cover information on ensuring you have the right attitude to take on and pass your exams.

These posts will cover how to "re-write your story"; program yourself for success; and control of the result versus the process.

Attitude – Introduction is a post from: Pass 1st Time