Making Mistakes
Most of us have a view that we are moderately good at many things. We become acutely embarrassed if we make unavoidable mistakes. This video describes the best way to avoid the fear of errors. It explains how to improve confidence. Basically, it works by letting go of your glued on sense of your own dignity and telling yourself you are an idiot. Fun to watch and a very successful strategy I have found.
Braveheart tutoring will help students with anxiety and low self-esteem over time. This is through a number of evidence-based interventions. Several of these are on-line. The first of these is the Brave program which uses cartoon characters to engage learners. It is aimed at two different age groups – the Teen program and the Child program. In addition, Mood Gym is an excellent resource for older students.
Test and Exam Anxiety
Anxiety is increasing in our students. It is not uncommon for them to panic in a test or exam. Brave Heart Tutoring gives students tools to deal with test and exam anxiety explicitly. It also helps deal with anxiety in a broader sense. The program uses two evidence-based approaches: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness. CBT involves looking at thinking styles and challenging unhelpful thoughts. One example is “should statements”. These are used to beat yourself up and provide no productive outcomes.
Anxious thinking is usually habitual and takes time and practice to overcome, just as it has taken time to develop. It is as though you are walking down a road. You don’t notice there is a big hole with a downward anxiety spiral that you fall into every time. With practice, you can learn to spot the hole and walk around it. With even more practice you can chose to be free and walk down a different road.
