Hello everyone. Welcome to today's video.
Has it ever happened to you that you have been preparing a lot for an exam
Maybe solving a thousand mock questions and answers
But, right on the day of the exam, in front of your paper or computer screen
Your mind has gone totally blank
or maybe during an interview for which you were preparing a lot for the last couple of months
But the moment you entered the interview room
and the interviewer asks you a very simple question
You have lost track of your thoughts and flunk the whole interview eventually
Guys, such kind of situations or scenarios are very common for PMP or CAPM exam takers
and I myself know a lot of exam aspirants
who had really good, really awesome preparations
but, right on the day of the exam, they got unnecessarily stressed out and flunk the entire exam
In today's video guys, I am going to teach you a very simple but very effective trick
by which, you can train your mind to not get into that dumb state
during your PMP or CAPM exams
and retain your calm and poise, during the entire exam
by doing so, you'll not only be able to do well in your PMP or CAPM exams
but also, you'll get the courage to face
highly stressful situations in your life with calm and objectivity
just like a monk
because, you know guys as aspirants of PMP or CAPM exams
it is less important that how well you've prepared for the last 2-3 months
but, it is more important how well you are able to apply
whatever you've learned over the last 2-3months
in those 2-3 hours of the exam
So, let's get started
right, do you know the reason guys,
why our mind goes totally blank when we enter in stressful situations like an exam or an interview
this can be explained by the design of the central nervous system in our body
essentially, the human nervous system consists of two parts
the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system
while the sympathetic nervous system or SNS
drives our most primitive survival instincts such as fight, fear and combat
the parasympathetic nervous system or the PNS
drives the intellectual instincts such as calm, creativity and logical reasoning
in other words, our human brain has two operative modes
in situations of stress, emergency, fear or danger
it behaves like a primitive ape
whose instincts tell it to either fight the situation or flight from there
this is our SNS or the sympathetic nervous system kicking into action
the SNS doesn't know reasoning or logic or mathematics
it just knows how to survive like an ancient caveman
let's call this instinct the chimp instinct
However, when you are in a state of calmness or when you are relaxed
the PNS or the parasympathetic nervous system takes over and it makes you think critically and logically
the PNS is also referred to as the rest and digest system
and it functions to conserve the body's natural activity
and relaxes the individual once the emergency has passed
you are more creative now, and you are now able to make rational decisions
let's call this instinct the Newton instinct
by engaging the PNS you are like the scientist Newton
Now in light of the chimp instinct and the Newton instinct that we have just learned
let's apply this principle for an examination hall, okay
for casing point, let's take the example that you are writing your PMP exam
now, since this is an unknown situation for you
let's say for example you are writing an online examination for the first time in your life
and on top of this
let's say you don't know the exam center
don't know the invigilators
you also are not fully aware how the exam interface functions
so, there are many uncertainities right?
so your mind immediately goes into the state of stress
and as soon as you enter the state of stress
subconsciously, your SNS or the sympathetic nervous system kicks in
which means, your chimp instinct kicks in
and when that happens guys, you start loosing your reasoning abillity
and all your logical thinking ability
you stress out even more, your muscles start contracting
and subconsciously, your SNS or the sympathetic nervous system
is preparing your body for a flight or fight situation
now this is where the challenge lies okay
so this is the reason why many of us flunk an exam inspite of having a solid preparation
now the question is, can you train your brain to operate with the Newton instinct rather than the chimp instinct
in the examination hall
the answer is fortunately YES
but, before I tell you how to do that, let me tell you a small story
Ruby is a nice young girl, but she is very afraid of dogs
whenever she sees a dog, she is terrified and wants to get out of the situation as soon as possible
she is not able to relax or behave rationally when there is a dog is around her
so, what's happening here is, when Ruby sees a dog,
or a dog around her
the SNS of Ruby kicks in
her chimp instinct gets engaged
and she gets into a situation of fight or flight
now, to overcome Ruby's fear of dogs
Ruby's mother gifted her a puppy on her fifth birthday
Initially, Ruby's mother helped her to be with the pup for 15 minutes under supervision
gradually, moving up to 30 minutes and then for over an hour
after a few days, Ruby starts spending time with the puppy independently
after a few more weeks, Ruby can't even spend a minute at home without her puppy
the dog which initially terrified her
now gave her peace and calmness
she's able to relax when the pup is around her
even a few weeks later, Ruby can't even step out of the home
without carrying her pup with her
so what's happening here is guys is very interesting
you see, initially, upon seeing a dog
Ruby's sympathetic nervous system always kicked in due to the fear of unknown
however, gradually with some help
when she consciously started to spend more time with the pup
her mind came out of the state of immediate emergency
when she saw a dog
at this point, her PNS took over her SNS
in other words, her Newton instinct took over her chimp instinct
and that's where the magic happened
now the same Ruby who earlier couldn't even stand a second with a dog around her
now cannot even relax a second without her own puppy
now, isn't this transformation amazing guys
and you know what the best part is
you can use the same principle to eliminate your fear
for PMP exam CAPM exam or let's say any exam in your life
now let's discuss how to get that done
but before we start, if you're liking the video guys make sure you hit that like button
and help this video reach out to as many exam aspirants as possible okay
you might spend a ton of money on exam resources ,but you know what likes are free
right, so with all the discussion we had about Ruby and her pup
you now understand that during an exam
you'll get stressed only if you let your chimp instinct take over your Newton instinct
so you should consciously train your mind to not engage your sympathetic nervous system during an exam
rather, you should send signals to your brain
to always engage your parasympathetic nervous system in an exam environment
and you'll only be able to do that
when your subconscious knows that the situation you are in
is not stressful
everything around your surroudnings are familiar
you do these kind of stuff all the time
and you have solved PMP and CAPM exam questions in such scenarios multiple times
because basically through these thoughts, you are telling your chimp instinct that
hey, stop. This is not a situation to get stressed
i do this all the time, right
and as you have rightly guessed, the moment you start doing that consciously
your Newton instinct will start taking over your chimp instinct
and you'll be a calm, relax, logical, intuitive and analytical perosn
just what you need to ace an exam
and these are the three ways I suggest that you prepare during your PMP and CAPM exam
to train your mind to behave like this during the exam
number one
write at least three to four mocks during your exam preparation in timed conditions
simulate the whole process of the PMP or CAPM exam
in terms of the overall duration, breaks etc.
if possible, write these mocks during the time of the day when you've actually booked your exam slot
for example, if your actual exam starts at ten o'clock in the morning
and continues till 2 pm
write your mocks within this time of the day as well
this way, your brain will start familiarizing with the situation
and start negating your chimp instinct and let your Newton instinct dominate the situation
secondly
if you're writing the final exam in a exam center
don't write your mock exams at home
try to book some remote working locations or co-working spaces
over wework, regus, smartwork, hubble hq etc.
check on google what's available around your location
and try to write the mock exam from an unfamiliar location
you can also try any remote work locations which you can manage within your friends and families as well
basically, get out of that familiar surroundings of your home
on the other hand, if you're writing the final exam from home
practice your mock exam in that exact room
using the exact workdesk, laptop, webcams etc.
that you'd be using during the actual exam
because essentially what you're achieving by doing this
is to train your brain to perform analytically and logically
even in unfamiliar situations, surroudings or in a stressed environment
and finally guys, the last and the most important tip
if you're writing the exam from a test center
visit that location a week before your exam and
and familiarize yourself with the area
maybe spend a couple of hours within that same building or at least near the same building
where you'd be taking your actual test
also use the same mode of transport to travel to the location
which you'll use during the day of the exam
so this way you are sending signals to your brain as well
that the travel and the location of your exam center
is not something unfamiliar to you
and you've been there and done that okay
you can apply the same principle if you're taking the exam from home
by spending as much time as possible in your work from home setup
which you'll be using on the exam day
by following these three simple method guys
you'll be able to engage your parasympathetic nervous system
rather than your sympathetic nervous system during the exam day
thereby triggering your Newton instinct rather than your chimp instinct
when you're writing your PMP or CAPM exam
just how Ruby overcame her fear of dogs
and the same animal which initially used to give her goosebumps
now gave her peace and comfort
hope you liked today's video guys
let me know in the comment section below
whether I should keep on making such tips and trick video for your PMP and CAPM exam
don't forget to like the video
and I'll see you again soon in another awesome video like this
thank you and have a nice day