Silly Mistakes?
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Silly Mistakes?
I was dispirited today because I wasn't happy with my midterm score and knew I could've done better. Then I searched on the internet "why do I make silly mistakes on the exam?" I found this answer from quora and it really gave me a different perspective, I hope this helps those who feel the same way:
"What about your grades being low makes you depressed? If I had to hazard a guess, you associate a sense of worth with high grades, which of course means low grades means less worth.
There are multiple ways to try to help you out here, and only you can figure out which one helps the most. I would argue against “stop making silly mistakes.” Everybody will make mistakes. Ask yourself if you would be as hard on someone else for making the same mistakes as you are on yourself. If you wouldn’t, then ask yourself, why not treat yourself the same way you treat others? Don’t fear mistakes. Show compassion to yourself. By focusing on your mistakes you lose sight of how to fix them or get it right the next time around.
Or you could look at it this way — exams in school are meant to be a measure of your knowledge, and proof that you paid attention in class. But it’s not necessarily a perfect measure. Some people just aren’t great at taking tests. The fact that you call them “silly mistakes” tells me that ordinarily you know the answer. That’s the reason why you view them as silly, because you shouldn’t have gotten it wrong when you know the right answer. So, if you know the answer, that’s what is actually meaningful. Tests and exams are tools to measure something, and like all tools they aren’t always accurate. The grade isn’t the proof of your knowledge, it is the measurement, if that makes sense.
In general, what I would suggest is you figure out what you think low grades mean about you as a person, and start examining and questioning those thoughts and whether they are true. If they’re false, then you have to remember that for the times you feel badly again. And tell yourself that it’s false and why it’s false."
https://www.quora.com/I-made-a-silly-mi ... et-over-it
"What about your grades being low makes you depressed? If I had to hazard a guess, you associate a sense of worth with high grades, which of course means low grades means less worth.
There are multiple ways to try to help you out here, and only you can figure out which one helps the most. I would argue against “stop making silly mistakes.” Everybody will make mistakes. Ask yourself if you would be as hard on someone else for making the same mistakes as you are on yourself. If you wouldn’t, then ask yourself, why not treat yourself the same way you treat others? Don’t fear mistakes. Show compassion to yourself. By focusing on your mistakes you lose sight of how to fix them or get it right the next time around.
Or you could look at it this way — exams in school are meant to be a measure of your knowledge, and proof that you paid attention in class. But it’s not necessarily a perfect measure. Some people just aren’t great at taking tests. The fact that you call them “silly mistakes” tells me that ordinarily you know the answer. That’s the reason why you view them as silly, because you shouldn’t have gotten it wrong when you know the right answer. So, if you know the answer, that’s what is actually meaningful. Tests and exams are tools to measure something, and like all tools they aren’t always accurate. The grade isn’t the proof of your knowledge, it is the measurement, if that makes sense.
In general, what I would suggest is you figure out what you think low grades mean about you as a person, and start examining and questioning those thoughts and whether they are true. If they’re false, then you have to remember that for the times you feel badly again. And tell yourself that it’s false and why it’s false."
https://www.quora.com/I-made-a-silly-mi ... et-over-it
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Oh wow thank you so much for posting this it actually really helped me feel better about my mistakes on the test too :)
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I knew right after the midterm that I made a silly mistake on one of the problems
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
This was actually one of the most helpful posts I've seen on chem community to date, thank you!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I never really thought about "silly mistakes" in this way before. Thank you for sharing this. I think a lot of people (including myself) are too hard on ourselves for those types of mistakes.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
This was actually really good to hear. Thank you for sharing this! It made me feel a lot better!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for sharing this. After the midterm, it was very important for us to hear. I too share your sense of dispiritedness but I hope everyone feeling the same way is able to rid themselves of this mindset soon!
Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for sharing this, this was really a good time for me to hear something like this.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for sharing this. I feel like sometimes I am hard on myself for getting certain things wrong when I usually get them right, so this made me feel a lot better.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Garmani Kyaw wrote:I was dispirited today because I wasn't happy with my midterm score and knew I could've done better. Then I searched on the internet "why do I make silly mistakes on the exam?" I found this answer from quora and it really gave me a different perspective, I hope this helps those who feel the same way:
"What about your grades being low makes you depressed? If I had to hazard a guess, you associate a sense of worth with high grades, which of course means low grades means less worth.
There are multiple ways to try to help you out here, and only you can figure out which one helps the most. I would argue against “stop making silly mistakes.” Everybody will make mistakes. Ask yourself if you would be as hard on someone else for making the same mistakes as you are on yourself. If you wouldn’t, then ask yourself, why not treat yourself the same way you treat others? Don’t fear mistakes. Show compassion to yourself. By focusing on your mistakes you lose sight of how to fix them or get it right the next time around.
Or you could look at it this way — exams in school are meant to be a measure of your knowledge, and proof that you paid attention in class. But it’s not necessarily a perfect measure. Some people just aren’t great at taking tests. The fact that you call them “silly mistakes” tells me that ordinarily you know the answer. That’s the reason why you view them as silly, because you shouldn’t have gotten it wrong when you know the right answer. So, if you know the answer, that’s what is actually meaningful. Tests and exams are tools to measure something, and like all tools they aren’t always accurate. The grade isn’t the proof of your knowledge, it is the measurement, if that makes sense.
In general, what I would suggest is you figure out what you think low grades mean about you as a person, and start examining and questioning those thoughts and whether they are true. If they’re false, then you have to remember that for the times you feel badly again. And tell yourself that it’s false and why it’s false."
https://www.quora.com/I-made-a-silly-mi ... et-over-it
Thank you for posting this! I definitely associate my self worth, confidence, and esteem on grades because its a concrete number that tells me how well I'm doing. My favorite compliment to receive is "you're so smart", but when I get terrible scores, I invalidate all those compliments and get so sad. This really helps to reframe how I think.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you so much for sharing this! It's really upsetting that we associate our worth with our grades and it's normalized to sacrifice our mental health for numbers. This perspective you posted really needs to be shared.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thanks a lot for sharing this with us! This is a great way to look at mistakes. I feel better reading this.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thanks for sharing this! It made me feel better about my mistakes on the test too!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I always forget coefficients in chemistry because I am going too fast. Talking myself through the problem as I go really helps me.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Late to this post, but thank you for this! This is making me more confident about the next midterm.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Extremely positive chem community post! Thanks for sharing this vibe with everyone in the class.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I just feel like it can be hard to disconnect the two, when you work super hard and end up still doing bad and worse than a large portion of the class. Oh well, I suppose.
Re: Silly Mistakes?
I totally need this :( This is how I felt about MT1 as well. Overall I thought I knew/ prepped the material well, but I made so many silly mistakes. I need to work on 1) Slowing down to read the question better and 2) Being more forgiving of myself. Thanks for posting this!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Ah, thank you for posting this! I recently watched a video on youtube talking about how the Simpsons expose the problem with grades and the school system, but the biggest take away I got from the video was that we need to celebrate our small wins in our academics as well. It talks about how Bart got all Fs but once he got that one D (passing for his grade), he celebrated it like it was an A+. I think I would want to treat myself kinder and find celebration in the small accomplishments as well.
Here is the link to the video, it is short: https://youtu.be/1CpanQiK5Jo
Here is the link to the video, it is short: https://youtu.be/1CpanQiK5Jo
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you so much for posting this. It really helped me examine my state of mind and how hard on myself I sometimes get. Exams are always stressful for me, so this provided some insight on my worries.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I'll try to keep this in mind as I study for the upcoming midterm. Thanks for posting:)
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thanks for posting this. This gave me motivation for the next midterm and gave me a new perspective on test taking.
Re: Silly Mistakes?
this was great insight! Especially during online test taking, it is so easy to make silly mistakes and not be in the zone. I think it is important we stay positive!
Re: Silly Mistakes?
Usually, if I make a silly mistake, then I probably was not paying attention to the problem that much. Making a list of things you need to focus on right before taking the test has helped me keep those things in mind while taking the test. Writing things down helps!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for this post! I felt really down about my midterm score as well, but this honestly made me see it from a much more different and positive perspective.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I made so many silly mistakes on the midterm and this really helped!! Thank you!!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I feel the exact same way sometimes! thank you for sharing this reminder, it’s really helpful and helps me to remember that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t do too well on a test :)
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
This is great! I feel like a lot of adapting to higher education is realizing how what matters most is what you're getting out of a class and not necessarily your graded result.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for sharing! I feel much better after reading this and knowing I'm not the only person feeling this way!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thanks for sharing. I honestly make the same silly mistakes and I just think more and more practice problems will help!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
This was really great to read. I think it's so easy to be really hard on yourself for a subpar test score, but it helps to put things in perspective.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I really appreciate that you took the time to post this and address this topic. Often times I put myself down when I don't achieve a certain grade on my exams. This really helps ease the stress for midterm 2.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
This is so true!!! I used to (and still do sometimes) be so hard on myself for making those little mistakes. I would somehow feel worse making those mistakes than missing a question I just did not understand. With coming to college I realized that they're inevitable and now to combat any of those harsh feelings I tell myself that I did know and understand the material but maybe I went a little to fast when reading the question or I did a small mistake in calculating the answer but now I know for next time to read slower and minimize them for next time
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for posting this :) It definitely gives me a better perspective on how I view tests and grades.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for sharing this, it gives me new motivation for the upcoming midterm!!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
WOW, this saved me. I was am stressing for this midterm since I didn't do as well as hoped for the last midterm.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Ahh, thank you for this. I haven't even looked at my score for the previous one because I get too anxious thinking about it, and now I'm stressing over the upcoming one. This helps a little bit; I really appreciate it!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Omg thanks for this I hate taking exams, they make me so anxious. We need to remember that our grades don't define us! And a bad score isn't the end of the world :)
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
This was very motivating and made me feel better for midterm season. This is a great mindset to have in order to maintain good mental health!! I will definitely looking back on this at a reminder if I ever feel bad about my grades. Thank you!!
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
wow this really helps me! I'm learning that its okay to make mistakes and the importance of learning from them so they don't repeat themselves.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
Thank you for sharing this! It's really reassuring to know I'm not the only one out there.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
That's quite an interesting perspective to take. Constantly throughout high school, I would always make "silly mistakes" on math problems, and I realized that the score I got wasnt because I didn't know what I was doing but more of that I just needed to slow down and take my time.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I like this post, thanks. Was so mad at myself cuz I know the EM spectrum like the back of my hand, but for some reason on the test I did it backwards and chose the wrong answer. But it's ok, I know what I know :)
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
huh. I've never thought about it that way before. This was really helpful and made me feel better about making those careless, silly mistakes.
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Re: Silly Mistakes?
I am so glad I saw this after taking the final for this class this made me feel better.
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