Celebrating the Small Wins: The Importance of a Healthy Mindset

I’m sure this semester has been a struggle for many students, myself included, as we are all dealing with the consequences of the pandemic.

This semester has been extra stressful for me because I’m taking a math course (Calculus to be exact). It’s my senior year of undergrad, I haven’t taken a real math course since high school, and I’m a communications major. Clearly, math isn’t my strong suit. Obviously I wouldn’t be taking it if it wasn’t for a requirement, and alas, it’s required for me to be able to take graduate courses next semester. 

The semester started out pretty rough for me considering my lack of math knowledge (even though I was miraculously placed into the course), but mainly, my negative attitude towards myself was affecting me more than I realized. 

For the first few assessments, I would get really anxious because my negative mindset told me I couldn’t do it. This affected my performance directly as I spent the whole time during the test undermining my efforts and degrading myself. So, I pretty much failed my first exam, and I finally realized my mindset wasn’t doing me any favors. I decided to change that so if I fail, I’d at least fail knowing that I tried.

I realized asking for help was an option and there were so many resources that I could rely on. My professor and TA were more than welcoming to help me and other struggling students. I’ve invested more time in practicing and applying my skills, which helped boost my confidence. I’ve communicated my struggles to my friends, family, and professor, who have all supported me with open arms. This has helped me realize that I need to support myself and give myself credit for all of my effort. I’ve gotten less anxious for tests which helped me concentrate on doing the actual problems to the best of my ability.

Now, this isn’t a miracle story; I am still not a math genius, but I’ve definitely been proud of the work I’ve been putting into strengthening my knowledge for this course. I’m proud that I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone and reached out to others for help. Honestly, I still might not even pass the course, but I now know I’m capable of doing more than I thought I could, and that’s a win for me.

Don’t knock yourself for failing to do something right the first time, or being a little slow compared to your peers. What matters most is that you tried and believed in yourself! Celebrate the lessons you learned from failing because although it was tough, you made it, and you came out a stronger person.