The period after examinations can be difficult. The revision is over, the papers have been sat, and there is nothing more you can do to change the answers. There is a feeling relief but you may find yourself reviewing the questions and your answers.
When we do not know the outcome of something important, anxiety can feel overwhelming and lead to catastrophising.
Optimism can be helpful during this uncertain period not denying worry but keeping uncertainty in perspective. Optimism is not convincing yourself that you will achieve the results you want but recognising that there are multiple possible futures.
You cannot change the result now. Analysing your examination answers cannot change your marks.
Concentrate on what you can control and what you cannot. You can control the way you spend the days leading up to results day, how you look after yourself, who you speak to, what information you avoid, and how you prepare to respond when the results arrive.
Optimism is not the same as positive thinking, but it is realistic. “I hope I’ve done well, but whatever happens, I’ll work out what to do next.” This type of optimism does not depend upon a particular outcome. It is based on confidence in your ability to cope.
You do not need to know exactly what the future holds to believe that you can manage it.
Exam results are important, especially when they are linked to university places, apprenticeships, employment or other plans.
But a result is a measure of performance in a particular set of circumstances. It is not a measurement of your intelligence, character, potential or worth.
People can achieve things despite disappointing results. They can change direction, resit exams, take alternative routes, discover interests they had not previously considered or find opportunities they did not know existed.
Be careful of comparing yourself to others or your peers, this can make results anxiety worse. People may say how little revision they did, how confident they feel or how brilliantly they expect to perform. It is easy to compare their apparent certainty with your own doubts.
After months of studying, it is tempting to spend the waiting period continuing to think about examinations. Give yourself permission to do things that have nothing to do with results, see friends, exercise, go outside, watch something you enjoy, read something light, play sport, listen to music and sleep properly.
Have a plan for results day, uncertainty can become easier to tolerate when you have considered what you will do next. Before results day, it can be helpful to think through a few possible scenarios. If the results are better than expected, how will you celebrate and who will you tell? If they are what you expected, what is the next step? If they are disappointing, who could you speak to and what alternatives might be available?
Having a plan does not mean expecting the worst. It means reminding yourself that there will be options.
Consider what you have already managed to do, study, manage pressure, completed examinations and kept going.
What you will do if you do not get the result you hoped for is an important part of preparation and optimism. Allow yourself to be upset, angry or disappointed and when you are ready ask what are your options.
There may be more possibilities than you initially realise. If things do not go according to plan, you will work something out.
When you have invested years of effort into examinations, results day can feel like a definitive judgement. It is one moment in a long education journey.
The results may open some doors and close others. They may confirm the path you wanted to take, or they may encourage you to consider a different one. Either way, they do not determine the entirety of your future.
While you wait, try to resist the urge to mentally live through every possible outcome. The exam is finished. The result will arrive when it arrives.
Give yourself permission to live your life rather than constantly rehearsing the future.