How to STORM THE TEST

III. Let this Mentality Prevail!: Optimistic Momentum

The good news: we CAN consciously choose our prevailing mentality for the day. We can coax it out of ourselves, and we can maintain it once we have established it. If we execute this process enough times, it becomes an ingrained habit that is unstoppable in the most wonderful way. The prevailing mentality we want to engender on test day is what we will call OPTIMISTIC MOMENTUM.

Optimistic momentum implies the following: a healthy, balanced understanding of the stakes of the test; a confidence that everything will work for the good in the big picture, regardless of results; a high sense of emotional energy and optimism; a razor-sharp, disciplined strategy for how to attack the test as a whole; and, above all, an enlarged sense of joy for the grand, wonderful opportunity to take this test—because it is going to be so much freakin’ FUN! This last point, of course, sounds especially laughable for most people, but it is achievable—and when people train themselves to view a challenge as fun, keeping in mind that the stakes are not as big as they think anyway, true breakthrough scores are feasible. Truly, people should look forward to test day, rather than loathe it—this test is one of many, and life goes on afterwards. Why not prepare well and then go in and storm it??

During the test, a person employing optimistic momentum sticks to strategy, technique, and pacing without over-thinking any of these; he cares more about maintaining his unflappable mentality than getting any particular question correct; he is resilient, recovering from temporary setbacks by breathing, smiling, retaining perspective, and giving himself a pep talk. When optimistic momentum is properly executed, quality and time management are naturally taken care of—there is no need to focus on them. Focus instead on enjoying the test, on being emotionally present and self-confident, and these good things will follow naturally.

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