Board Exams 2019: A letter to students on positivity

Dear students

Your board exams are near. You are probably spending hours cooped up inside your homes with books in one hand, and a notebook in another. Half the time you are reading, other half you are writing and practicing. Everybody tells you to study, study, all the time. But has anyone told you to sit down and relax for a little while? Well, I will. Parents, teachers, don’t get me wrong. Read on.

I too want all the students to succeed. To score high in their board exam results. To have a bright future. And to do that, positivity plays a vital role.

Barbara Fredrickson, a distinguished professor of psychology, is an established name in the field of how positive emotions play an important role in a human being’s success. According to various researches by her, and others in the same field, people, when induced with positive emotions, become more creative, develop skills quickly, take better decisions, and have better performance.

Usually board exams are related to fear, stress, anxiety. Our brains are hardwired in such a way, that when exposed to negative thoughts, it shuts down to all external functions and focuses only on survival. In such cases, you do not take any right decisions or do anything else; you just keep running.

Students also create strict timetables for themselves while studying for board exams. A lot of times these timetables are so water-tight, that one is not able to accomplish it all. Then once again the student enters into a state of panic and cannot get anything done ahead too.

Instead, if a child, after all a board exam appearing student is just a child, explores the little pleasures in life with studies, he or she can do so much more.

So if you are preparing for board exams, then I will ask you to study hard, but also sit down, relax, meditate, play. Meet your friends. Talk to your family. If you have a hobby, take time out for it too.

The three ways to develop positive emotions are playing, meditating, writing. You can maintain a diary or an e-journal to write down your thoughts.

When you are studying also, try to enjoy your subjects. Enjoy all aspects of studying be it reading, practicing, solving sample papers.

Be a sponge that can soak in all that knowledge instead of a box that crams all of it in one place. Education is a beautiful thing that changes a way a human being thinks, acts, and exists. Education is important and tests are only designed to let you know your strengths and weaknesses.

I would just like to conclude by saying, you are amazing and destined to do great things in life. Best of luck.

News Source (Indian Express)