Last Updated on January 25, 2024
Let’s face it. Most people are not excited about taking the GMAT Focus Edition. In fact, for many of us, preparing for and taking the exam can be extremely stressful. Now, some stress is good; it heightens our awareness and sharpens our thinking. Nevertheless, too much stress can lead to poor performance.
Some stress is good; it heightens our awareness and sharpens our thinking.
So, how do we limit the deleterious effects of stress and even use it to our advantage? You may be pleasantly surprised to learn how readily available a solution to this problem is.
One method of limiting GMAT-related stress is to simply get excited about taking the exam. That’s right — get excited! Research by Alison Wood Brooks, professor at Harvard Business School, supports the notion that simply getting excited about a stressful task can improve your performance.
According to Brooks, many people think that the best way to heighten their performance under stress is to try to calm themselves down. To the contrary, Brooks’ research showed that people who got excited before a stressful task performed better than those who tried to calm down.
According to Brooks:
Individuals can reappraise anxiety as excitement using minimal strategies such as self-talk (e.g., saying “I am excited” out loud) or simple messages (e.g., “get excited”), which lead them to feel more excited, adopt an opportunity mind-set (as opposed to a threat mind-set), and improve their subsequent performance.
In one experiment, Brooks looked at how graduate students performed under strict time pressure on difficult math problems. Sound familiar? Before solving any problems, one group of students said the phrase “try to remain calm.” The other group exclaimed, “try to get excited.” Interestingly, Brooks found that the “excited” group’s performance on the math problems was significantly better than the “calm” group’s.
KEY FACT:
Research by an HBS professor showed that students who got excited before a stressful task performed better than students who tried to calm themselves down.
In another experiment, Jeremy Jamieson, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, studied college students preparing for the GRE. Jamieson divided the students into two groups and had each group take a practice GRE exam.
He told one of the groups about new research suggesting that stress could actually improve exam performance. Additionally, he told the group that if they experienced stress, they should remind themselves that the stress may help them perform better. The other group (the control group) did not receive this pep talk. Jamieson found that the group that received the pep talk scored higher on the practice GRE than the control group.
About a month later, both groups of students took the official GRE. Jamieson then reviewed both groups’ official score reports. In keeping with the prior experiment, the “pep talk” group significantly outperformed the control group on the GRE Quantitative section.
KEY FACT:
Some research has shown that test-takers who are told that stress helps performance score higher than test-takers not given that information.
Key Takeaways
If you’re feeling stressed about taking the GMAT Focus, it may help to tell yourself that what you’re feeling is actually excitement, not stress. Each time you sit down to practice solving GMAT problems, try saying something like:
I am excited to master these GMAT Focus questions.
I’m pumped about studying for the GMAT!
I can’t wait to score high on my GMAT!
Whatever it is, find a mantra that works for you. Then, repeat that mantra prior to taking your actual GMAT Focus. If you find yourself stressing out during the exam, remind yourself that the stress is likely working in your favor and ultimately helping boost your score.
TTP PRO TIP:
Find a simple mantra that works for you, and repeat it throughout your GMAT Focus preparation and on test day as needed.
What’s Next?
While some stress can help us succeed, to perform at our best on test day, we need to keep our stress levels under control. In addition to reappraising stress as excitement, learn how to channel stressful thoughts into productive thinking, and consider trying some stress-reducing mindfulness exercises.
