Avoid Imagining Worst-Case Scenarios to Stay Positive During Your GMAT Prep

Imagining test-day disasters and the resulting B-school rejections can take anyone’s mind to a pretty dark place. So, if you’re one of those GMAT students who spends a lot of time thinking about how things could go wrong, you’ve probably found that maintaining focus while studying is tough. You may even feel as though stress management during GMAT preparation is a lost cause.

Fortunately, there is a simple way that you can harness this negative energy and put it to productive use.

Game Out Your Fears

If spending time imagining worst-case scenarios makes maintaining a positive mindset for studying feel impossible, there’s a counterintuitive but highly productive fix. Play those scenarios out to their logical conclusions in your mind, and then put contingency plans in place to deal with them!

For example, if you don’t hit your score goal on test day, do you have a backup plan in place? Have you left yourself time for a GMAT retake, or two, or three?

If you’re worried you won’t have enough time each week to study, have you sat down with a calendar and actually “penciled in” study times for yourself? What will you do if you really don’t see enough time in your schedule? What other activities can you set aside for the time being to make room for GMAT prep? What steps do you need to take and who do you need to talk with to reprioritize?

By gaming out your fears and creating contingency plans, you take negative thoughts and turn them into positive actions. The great benefit of doing so is that then you’re prepared for whatever happens. Moreover, you don’t have to worry about those things anymore. You’ve planned for the worst-case scenarios, so what else is left to do but work toward the best-case one!

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep