Test Prep Books/Effective Study Skills for Test Taking Anxiety

The web is offers an infinite number of valuable suggestion for students. The latest is from a blogger named Jannelle Martel who shares her thoughts on reducing test anxiety. She suggests three stages: strategize, plan and practice. Good and comprehensive. I’d add one more thing: learn how to keep yourself calm.  Janelle is covering two of the “legs” in our three legged stool model: confidence and focus. To keep things balanced we need the third leg: calm. Staying calm during the study phase and calm on the test. You can get a thorough explanation and useful tools right on this website. Use the tools and let me know what has helped you and what questions you may have. Thank you Jannelle!

Feeding the fire within

Every spiritual tradition teaches stopping.  It’s a way to break habits, a way to let space into your otherwise overcrowded life, a way to restore balance.

So this is my break.

I am at a remarkable retreat called vaidyagrama, a healing village, in the south of India. Until January 10, I will be away from computers and emails and telephones.

During times of retreat we can reflect on what has happened and what is to come.  But mostly, we can consider the great gifts we have, right now. 2011 was an extraordinary year. 2012 holds many promises.

I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year. I hope it is off to a good start in the direction that will most bring balance and fulfillment into your life.

Are you all tied up?

As I write this I am in south India at an Ayurvedic retreat.  Ayurveda is the oldest system of healing arts known to man. It dates back thousands of years to the writing of the Vedas, or ancient texts.

One of the pillars of this remarkably comprehensive and far-reaching system is to establish and maintain balance of body, mind and spirit. Since this corresponds so directly with the work I do as a stress psychologist I want to take a moment, at year’s end, review this foundational aspect of good health.  Let’s start out with  Read the rest of this entry »

Come down to the LA Times Festival of Books!  Fantastic opportunity for May 1, USC Campus, from 10 am-2 pm. Lots of interest in my book. Especially since the LA Public Library System bought 798 copies! Come to the Sunbelt Books booth, 092. This book festival is amazing, My brother Andrew is also here, signing the book he co-authored with Phil Jackson about the LA Lakers. Here’s a video of the two of us…

A close friend of mine — a nurse at an inner city high school –  told me the following story…

“I was in my office and an 11th grader came in all distraught worked up.  This is one tough kid– she’s had many troubles in her life, and has gotten into a lot of trouble too. She’s usually closed down and angry.  On the day she came into my office she was very upset — she’d had had a bad fight with a close friend who rejected her. She was angry and ready to strike out. I didn’t know what to do with her. She couldn’t sit still.  When I glimpsed The Workbook for Test Success …

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The President and perseverance

President Obama delivered the commencement address at Kalamazoo Central High School on June 7.  His speech roused the graduates to consider the future they are holding in their hands.  Here’s what the President said:

Now, graduates, all these folks around you, I have to say, though, with the cameras and the beaming smiles — they’ve worked hard to give you everything you need to pursue your dreams and fulfill your God-given talent.  Unfortunately, you can’t take them with you when you leave here.  (Laughter.)  No one is going to go

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Los Angeles Public Library Main Branch

Albert Johnson, Senior Librarian for the Los Angeles Public Library, spearheaded the purchase of 498 copies of The Workbook for Test Success, for the LA Library system. 73 copies went to the different branches, and 425 were given away to middle school students at motivational events hosted by the library.  Mr. Johnson wrote a glowing letter of recommendation to other librarians

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Today a college student came to see me for the first time. She is having a lot of trouble with tests. She studies hard, but a few days before the test a mounting self-doubt takes over and by the night before a test her head is whirling around, she’s tossing and turning in anxiety and she can’t sleep. She’s consumed with thoughts that she won’t pass, and that doing poorly will shoot her chances to get into a good graduate school.  As she spoke I noticed a few things…..

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Calm, confident, focused

On November 4, 2008, 66 million people elected Barack Obama the 44th president of the United States.
How did he, a young man with a brief resume, make this dream come true?

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Barack Obama faces big tests daily:  the economy, the war, international crises, opposition in Congress… the list goes on.  Whatever you think of his politics, one thing we can all agree on is that he possesses the three traits necded for success in any stressful, test-type situation: He is calm, he is confident, and he is focused.

He never loses his cool, he never seems dejected or bitter at a loss, and it certainly doesn’t make him lose steam and he is never off-message.

He is a good role model for facing important tests: staying calm, keeping confident, and being focused is the key.

These are the skills that should be part of any leadership training. Leaders are constantly tested. They have to face moment-by-moment challenges, and we trust that they will do that. Have you ever considered that we are really trusting them to stay calm, confident and focused?  Imagine a leader who is tense, doubtful and distracted.  That doesn’t define “leader.”  Calm, confident and focused do.

If you are in a leadership position, or you are training others to be leaders, consider that for the vitality of the organization and the well-being of its members, you want to cultivate the three qualities in The Workbook. We want, and value, leaders who stand on a sturdy three-legged stool. Leaders who are calm, confident and focused.

What are the qualities you value in a leader?