This May saw the start of my first-born go through her GCSE exams. Just the thought of it takes me back to my 16 year old self and fills me with anxiety. I really do feel for her. As a parent, we always try to protect our children from upset, distress, sadness and disappointment so all I wanted to do was wrap her up in cotton wool and tell her everything will be okay. This approach would have given her a false sense of security as the real world exists and unfortunately so do examinations.
After discussing with other friends who had been through GCSE’s with their children and listening to their suggestions, as well as, talking to my daughters teachers, I decided to help her in the best way I could, by supporting her. So together, 14 weeks ago we sat down and made a revision plan, some parents probably thought I was over bearing and some agreed with the idea. I know my child and she does NOT do last minute stress well (we learnt that lesson during the Mocs, when I had left her to her own devices). We looked at all 12 GCSE’s and broke each subject down into topic areas and then worked out how many hours revision each topic would require. It took us about 2 hours to put this plan together but it has certainly been worth it’s weight in gold. Colour coded and stuck to the back of our front door it has been a well used point of reference each day of every week, it even had time allocated to fun activities – like seeing her boyfriend. Okay, so there have been some days where it has gone a little awry but mostly, my daughter has stuck to it.
Those 14 weeks have gone by (some slower than others – come on we are dealing with teenagers and that is a separate blog post altogether). We are now in the second week of exams and my daughter has approached every exam so far with positivity, calmness and a prepared state of mind – exactly what I wanted this exercise to achieve.
Don’t re-invent the wheel
In my job as a Nutritional Therapist, I recognise forward planning as being the solution to many problems. Whether my client is trying to lose weight or follow an elimination diet for IBS, success always comes to those who prepare ahead. The art of chaos and last minute really does not help an individual focus on the end goal and stay in control. When we are stressed out, our emotions drive our behaviour and that behaviour can be detrimental to the task at end. So don’t re-invent the wheel – utilise planning for anything that you wish to achieve – whether it is weight loss, cutting down on alcohol intake or just feeling healthier, a plan will certainly guide you and keep you on track for success.
In my Nutrition clinic in Hitchin, my approach always starts with asking my clients what they wish to achieve. We look at how they have got where they are today, what obstacles might be in the way in order to move forward; what resource or support they have in place to help them achieve their goal. For further motivation, we look back on what they have achieved before and what their approach was and perhaps why it was not sustainable and how we can try a different approach this time. This is goal and action planning at it’s best and by writing it all down it confirms exactly the action my client needs to take in a simple format.
So, work out what it is that you would like today, write down what is it and take some action towards it every day and see what you can achieve.
Written by Karen Shields, Nutritional Therapist at Life Practice Nutrition