Turning Exam Failure into Confidence: A Candid Post-Mortem

So, after dragging my feet for a few agonizing hours, I finally mustered the courage to revisit my trainwreck of a practice exam from yesterday. Let's not sugarcoat it; I was dreading this like a dentist appointment. But deep down, I knew that facing my failures head-on is the only way to level up.

Surprisingly, I'm glad I did it. The first slap in the face was realizing that I barely used half of the time they'd given for the actual exam. Seriously, why was I in such a rush? Sure, there could be a million reasons for it, but the bottom line is that I didn't give the questions the attention they deserved because I had this self-imposed "time constraint" hanging over me.

Next up, I discovered that I had a bad habit of peeking at the multiple-choice answers way too early. Now, you might think, "Hey, isn't that the whole point of multiple choice questions?" Well, not quite. It hit me that coming up with my own answers before even glancing at the choices is like leveling up in understanding. It shows I truly grasp the concept, not just the superficial recognition. Sure, it might not be necessary for multiple-choice questions, but here's the kicker: sometimes those sneaky, subtly different answer choices can mess with your head if you're not crystal clear on the concept. I was basically getting misled left and right.

And the grand finale: I never bothered to review my answers after my initial go-through. I guess I was afraid of falling into the "overthinking" trap. You know, that old belief that your gut instinct is often right, even when you can't explain it logically. So, I've been avoiding post-exam reviews like the plague for years. But for a test I'd never tackled before, like the one yesterday, maybe it's time to rethink that strategy. After all, there's a learning curve in understanding how questions are framed, and looking back at yesterday's debacle, I can spot some glaring misunderstandings. If I'd just taken a second look, maybe I'd have felt more at ease with the question format.

Who would've thought that this dreaded post-mortem would actually boost my confidence?