Instead of thinking of it as a failure, think of it as a problem. Problems are there to be solved; a problem can be fixed. Most importantly, everyone has problems, even the most successful people. Consider whether you need to adjust your expectations. Ask yourself what your priorities are and how academics fit into them. If you find academics aren’t your strength, consider adjusting your goals to fit your strengths.
If you think you might have adopted a failure identity, then the first step is to practice self-compassion. Stop thinking of yourself as a failure, and think about yourself as a person with a fixable problem. The existence of the problem itself is neutral with respect to success and failure. The problem is an opportunity, because how a person responds to a problem is what creates success or failure. Remember that you can be intelligent in more than one area. Many people have intelligence in some areas and deficiencies in others. Think about the areas of intelligence where you could be successful.
This kind of analysis can be difficult. Because people in close personal relationships mean a great deal, it is difficult to admit that those relationships may cause problems in other areas. But just because you have relationship problems doesn’t mean that the relation is a bad person. The point is to separate relationship problems from academic problems so that they can both be solved.
There are only 24 hours in a day. A person sleeps for eight hours and a full-time student goes to school for another eight. How you spend the remainder can determine the outcome of an academic problem. Be sure to plan some time in each day for self-care to help keep yourself mentally and emotionally balanced.
Everyone won’t remember everything off the top of their head. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are disorganized. But if you can’t remember due dates, guidelines, and assignments, and you can’t find the notes or handouts that describe them, you probably have organizational issues. Especially if you understand the subject matter, but have trouble keeping up with assignments, dates, and procedures, disorganization is probably at the root of your trouble.
Everybody gets nervous from time to time. The question is whether you are getting so nervous that it makes you unable to do things that you otherwise could. If test-taking causes you such extreme anxiety that it impacts your performance and grades, talk to your teacher to see if other accommodations can be made for you.
Try some problems in a textbook, ask your teacher for a sample test, or go online to find some problems that you aren’t already familiar with. Although it seems counter-intuitive, this is the easiest academic problem to fix, because it doesn’t require a major change in behavior to fix. Almost anyone can understand almost anything if they are given the proper explanation and sufficient practice.
If they slowly declined, this probably indicates an ongoing but worsening external problem or a lack of proficiency in a foundational skill set. Foundational skills often start out as small portions of your grades but increase in importance as time goes on. If your grades suddenly plummeted, then that can be indicative of the sudden presence of a very troublesome external factor. If your family was evicted or homeless, a parent went to prison, or you moved to a new school or a new class, these would all qualify. Alternatively, the subject matter in that class may have abruptly changed, and you might struggle with the new material.
Enlist someone to help you stay accountable to your plan of action. Talk to a friend, family member, teacher, or counselor about helping you stay on track.
Study at a library, a coffee shop, or even at a friend’s house. Even if you have to face those same problems when you get home, find a space where you can learn in peace. [7] X Research source
Set phone and email alerts so you don’t forget about them, and set them at the times you need to start working on them.
There is a wealth of additional help available online. Youtube. com and http://www. khanacademy. org all offer free services to help students on nearly any type of subject matter.
