At one of my study skills classes last week, I taught about the importance of developing and strengthening the mindset in order to achieve academic goals. In my opinion, this is something that’s often neglected or overlooked in education, at both primary & second-level.

A few weeks ago, I was listening to David Goggins speak about how he created a pre-training programme for Navy Seals candidates because there was such a high failure rate – about 75%! He hoped that this training programme would increase the number of candidates who completed the Navy Seals programme (BUDS) but, unfortunately, it didn’t. Upon reflection, Goggins realised that even though the pre-training programme was incredibly rigorous, it failed to train the candidates’ mindset. As he said, “We were creating bigger, stronger, faster quitters.”

What Are Study Affirmations?

One of the ways to strengthen the mindset is to use positive affirmations. Very often, we use negative affirmations, often subconsciously, to train our mind to believe that we cannot be, do or have certain things. For example, we might say/think things like “I hate school”, “I always fail Maths”, “My teacher hates me”. These affirmations will have a negative impact on your life and ultimately prevent you from achieving your full potential. This is why it’s important to re-frame these affirmations in a positive way.

How To Create A Study Affirmation

One of the easiest ways to create a positive study affirmation is to write a list of all the negative things you say/think about yourself on one side of a piece of paper. When this is done, on the opposite side of the paper, re-write these affirmations in a positive way.

For example, “I hate Maths” could become “I am becoming better at Maths every day”.

How To Use Study Affirmations

Positive study affirmations should be repeated to yourself every day. Don’t worry if you don’t believe them at first – overcoming negative beliefs is a process that takes time.

While repeating positive study affirmations alone will not enable you to achieve 625 points in the Leaving Cert (I wish!), having a strong, positive mindset is the foundation to succeeding in absolutely any area of your life, including school, exams and education.

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