Research by Alison Wood Brooks, professor at Harvard Business School, supports the notion that getting excited about a stressful task can improve your performance on that task.

According to Brooks, many people think that the best way to heighten their performance under stress is to calm down. But Brooks uncovered something interesting: People who got excited in anticipation of a stressful task, rather than trying to calm down, actually performed better. Brooks says: “Individuals can reappraise anxiety as excitement using minimal strategies such as self-talk (saying ‘I am excited’ out loud) or simple messages ( ‘get excited’), which lead them to feel more excited and improve their subsequent performance.”

In one experiment, Brooks looked at how reappraising anxiety as excitement helped students perform better on a timed math assessment. (Sound familiar?) Before the test, one group of students stated “Try to remain calm” out loud, while the other exclaimed, “Try to get excited.” Brooks found that the students instructed to say “try to get excited” performed significantly better than those in the other group.

Key takeaways? First, if you’re feeling stressed about taking the GMAT, it may help to tell yourself that what you’re feeling is actually excitement. Each time you sit down to study, try saying something like, “I’m excited about mastering these GMAT questions” or “I’m excited about scoring high on the GMAT.” Find a mantra that works for you. Use that same mantra before taking your actual GMAT. Then, if you find yourself stressing out during the official GMAT, you can take a moment to remind yourself that the stress is likely working in your favor by keeping you on your toes.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep