How to Be a More Zen Test Taker

Last week, we discussed non-attachment with regard to goal-setting.

There are specific action steps along the way to pursuing a goal. And a non-attachment philosophy helps us to perform those action steps to our highest potential.  Today, I'm focusing on one such action step in your goal to perform well on your SAT or ACT: the moment when you're taking a test (practice or official) and you come across a question that you don't know how to begin answering.

Of course, not knowing how to answer a question is not the position in which you want to find yourself. 

So you try. And you keep trying. And, when that doesn't work, you try a little harder. 

Or, you freeze, like a deer caught in headlights. Your stomach sinks, your breathing catches, your heart skips a beat. 

However you react, it isn't good. You are left frustrated, frazzled, or a combination of the two.

Every question you don't know how to answer feels like a fail. Because no one likes to fail, every question then becomes a potential freakout waiting to happen—not good when taking a timed test.

Rather than trying to answer every question correctly, try to answer as many questions correctly as possible.

When you make this quick shift in perception, you realize that attaching to answering any given question correctly creates stress and costs time. Time lost leads you to feel rushed. Feeling rushed leaves you feeling even more stressed. 

If this question isn't clear to you, maybe the next one will be. Keep moving and find out! 

Every question—not just the one you are looking at—is an opportunity to answer a question correctly.

When you free yourself up to skipping questions, you also free up time. You can use the time at the end of the section to circle back and try to answer challenging questions again. On your second pass, you might understand the question more clearly than you did the first time around.

Remember, non attachment doesn't mean that you don't want to perform well. It doesn't mean that you aren't focused, centered, or motivated. Quite the opposite.

Freeing yourself from attachment helps you to direct your energy and maximize your efficacy. {Tweet It!}

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