The Student Room Group

how can i deal with failure better?

hi, i'm a yr 12 student and I feel like no matter how hard I try I don't always get the results I want.

I know everyone tells me this is the process, you should learn from your mistakes, and I do. But, even after I do, I keep getting it wrong. And then there are ppl in my class who 'barely revise' and get very high scores.

Let me give you an example. I had a test and revised for it so hard, I did so many past paper questions and marked them. I found them fairly straightforward, even when I did them I would generally get quite good scores. But then in my test I didn't do as well. Someone in the class got 100% (which is rare for tests like this btw) and said they just looked at the previous test and that's it.

This isn't the first time ppl have said they barely did anything and then get such high scores.

I had a similar thing in GCSEs, i wanted to get all 8s and 9s, that was my dream. I worked my butt off, so so much. But then I got 2 7s, one of which I was one mark off an 8. I then got it re-marked and dropped down a mark.

Anyway, ig im generally happy with my GCSEs, don't get me wrong. But still what can I do? I'm so attached to my results and then I feel devastated and unmotivated to revise for the next one, for instance I have a psych test next week and I feel like im not gonna do well if a 16 marker comes up (i always get10/11), which will bring down my score even lower.

I've been told things my friends or teachers in the past, like unless u have '1% talent' you won't get there, or its 95% hard work 5% luck. Will my life always be like this? Me constantly working hard and not achieving what I want to achieve? Why?

What advice do you have?

Reply 1

Original post
by livie019
hi, i'm a yr 12 student and I feel like no matter how hard I try I don't always get the results I want.
I know everyone tells me this is the process, you should learn from your mistakes, and I do. But, even after I do, I keep getting it wrong. And then there are ppl in my class who 'barely revise' and get very high scores.
Let me give you an example. I had a test and revised for it so hard, I did so many past paper questions and marked them. I found them fairly straightforward, even when I did them I would generally get quite good scores. But then in my test I didn't do as well. Someone in the class got 100% (which is rare for tests like this btw) and said they just looked at the previous test and that's it.
This isn't the first time ppl have said they barely did anything and then get such high scores.
I had a similar thing in GCSEs, i wanted to get all 8s and 9s, that was my dream. I worked my butt off, so so much. But then I got 2 7s, one of which I was one mark off an 8. I then got it re-marked and dropped down a mark.
Anyway, ig im generally happy with my GCSEs, don't get me wrong. But still what can I do? I'm so attached to my results and then I feel devastated and unmotivated to revise for the next one, for instance I have a psych test next week and I feel like im not gonna do well if a 16 marker comes up (i always get10/11), which will bring down my score even lower.
I've been told things my friends or teachers in the past, like unless u have '1% talent' you won't get there, or its 95% hard work 5% luck. Will my life always be like this? Me constantly working hard and not achieving what I want to achieve? Why?
What advice do you have?

hi, i've got a few things to say that might be helpful:

> you should learn from your mistakes, and I do. But, even after I do, I keep getting it wrong

i mean, maybe you aren't actually learning from your mistakes? feeling like you've learned something doesn't actually mean anything in the face of objective evidence that you haven't (if you're getting the same things wrong)

> And then there are ppl in my class who 'barely revise' and get very high scores.

yeah i used to be this guy, but i was actually sweating hard outside of lesson - thankfully i grew out of it after like year 10, but if i were you i wouldn't pay any attention to these people lol

> I had a test and revised for it so hard, I did so many past paper questions and marked them. I found them fairly
straightforward, even when I did them I would generally get quite good scores. But then in my test I didn't do as well.

well, depending on what "didn't do as well" means (i.e. if it was just a deviation of a few marks then i wouldn't worry),
this is usually a sign that your revision methods aren't working for you. You say you did past paper questions which is great, but your score was low, so what gives? Are you doing these past paper questions under timed conditions with no help? Are you making sure you understand the ones you got wrong, even if there aren't many (in my experience, the questions you get wrong in practice and think "ah w/e that'll never come up" are ALWAYS the topics coming up). It could be the exam setting that's getting you, etc. . If you tell me what subject this is I might be able to help more.

> I had a similar thing in GCSEs, i wanted to get all 8s and 9s, that was my dream. I worked my butt off, so so much. But then I got 2 7s, one of which I was one mark off an 8. I then got it re-marked and dropped down a mark.

At GCSE, I worked so hard to get a 9 in maths, ended up with an 8 and one mark off a nine, remark also got me nothing so I kind of get your pain.

> I've been told things my friends or teachers in the past, like unless u have '1% talent' you won't get there, or its 95% hard work 5% luck.

lol, complete nonsense, I was an academic trainwreck up until year 10 when I started sweating hard, and I just got 3A*s and an A at A-Level, anybody can do anything as long as they work not only hard, but also efficiently and in the optimal way for them

good luck

Reply 2

thank's for ur message! i was feeling a bit emo a few days ago lol, better now but thanks, I think ur right, sometimes I don't really 'learn' from my mistakes. I understand them but i guess i don't rlly 'apply' it into practice later on. tyy ❤️ and gl whatever ur doing now too!

Reply 3

btw, it was psychology a level research method topic test that I did.

Reply 4

Original post
by livie019
hi, i'm a yr 12 student and I feel like no matter how hard I try I don't always get the results I want.
I know everyone tells me this is the process, you should learn from your mistakes, and I do. But, even after I do, I keep getting it wrong. And then there are ppl in my class who 'barely revise' and get very high scores.
Let me give you an example. I had a test and revised for it so hard, I did so many past paper questions and marked them. I found them fairly straightforward, even when I did them I would generally get quite good scores. But then in my test I didn't do as well. Someone in the class got 100% (which is rare for tests like this btw) and said they just looked at the previous test and that's it.
This isn't the first time ppl have said they barely did anything and then get such high scores.
I had a similar thing in GCSEs, i wanted to get all 8s and 9s, that was my dream. I worked my butt off, so so much. But then I got 2 7s, one of which I was one mark off an 8. I then got it re-marked and dropped down a mark.
Anyway, ig im generally happy with my GCSEs, don't get me wrong. But still what can I do? I'm so attached to my results and then I feel devastated and unmotivated to revise for the next one, for instance I have a psych test next week and I feel like im not gonna do well if a 16 marker comes up (i always get10/11), which will bring down my score even lower.
I've been told things my friends or teachers in the past, like unless u have '1% talent' you won't get there, or its 95% hard work 5% luck. Will my life always be like this? Me constantly working hard and not achieving what I want to achieve? Why?
What advice do you have?

Hi @livie019,

I'm sorry to hear you've been struggling with feelings of failure. Try to focus on how you've improved with each result rather than what other people are doing; instead of comparing your scores to those of others, compare to them your previous tests. You may not always achieve the score you want, but remember that your subject knowledge is still improving with each past paper question and revision session you do. 🙂

Best of luck with your A-Levels,
Eve (Kingston Rep).

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