Got a bad grade and asked yourself why you didn’t work harder? Well, you are not alone. As a student, getting bad grades from time to time is very normal. We experience it multiple times throughout the years, but it seems like it’s impossible to get used to. Guilt, feeling left out, stupid and most importantly being worried about your future are just some of the feelings one may feel after receiving poor results. However, it is too late. The examination is already over, and we can only tell ourselves to do better next time.
Below are some of the things you can do to make yourself feel better after receiving bad grades:
Step 1: Be kind to yourself
Give yourself some time to process this piece of information before trying to find solutions. People may tell you that there’s no use dwelling on the past, but wallowing in sorrow for a short while might help some people develop motivation and gain insights on how to ace the next assignment or examination.
If you know you’ve tried your best, you might be feeling frustrated. Be kinder to yourself: give yourself some space to vent your frustrations.
Step 2: Keep calm and carry on
Take a deep breath and move on from the self-wallowing. Forgive and forget, because one bad grade isn’t that bad. You can still redeem yourself by doing well on the next examination! Don’t let the poor results have control over you. Move forward, don’t look back consistently and don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.
Step 3: Evaluating and improving
Eventually, you’ll probably stop feeling sad about your grades, and now it’s the time to evaluate the paper to see where you went wrong. Learn from your past mistakes. Redoing the questions also helps to remind yourself not to make the same mistake again.
Set a target score that you would like to achieve for the next examination to make up for the grades this time. Keep practising and work hard towards achieving your goal!
Step 4: Tackle the paper
Sitting for the next examination might remind you of the horrendous grades you got previously. However, if you’ve learnt from it, there is nothing you need to be afraid of. Keep calm and tackle the paper! The time and effort that you’ve put in will surely bear fruit.
