Self-Confidence

[PhuturePriest]

Can someone help me to build self-confidence? I'm not confident in my scholastic abilities, and I feel that the day I take the GED test I'll utterly fail. And to make it worse, I don't know how to build it up. How can I build the confidence I need in order to do well?

[SaintOlaf]

Confidence is something that can come with age. I know you're only 15 or 16, and that can be a very awkward time for anyone.

You practice martial arts which are a great way to focus yourself and rely on your training during times of stress. As a side note both of my parents are 3rd degree black belts in Tae Kwon Do (Chung Do Kwan), and have talked repeatedly about having to rely on their training, not on their mind or their skills but what they've been taught. If I were you I would try to leverage your abilities and your training in the gym towards other things. Use the same techniques, repetition, self discipline and focus.

Trust in the training (the schooling) and in God, I'm sure you'll do just fine.

As another side note, I was homeschooled as well, I actually found the self-teaching style that I used throughout a good portion of my homeschooling career to be very helpful at the college level, when a lot of times you're on your own for things.

Good luck!!

[rhetor4christ]

Practing what you know and studying in productive ways that suit your learnings styles helps, too. If making note cards to memorize concepts helps you, then do that, if not, find another way to learn (like writing things out and then typing them, etc.)
Being organized is good, too. Having a set time to study or to learn or read (or whatever else) is a good habit to get in to.
Having a good support system is always good. Parents, siblings, friends, and teachers can be good cheerleaders, too. When these things align (usually) then your self confidence will become stronger.
And prayer. Oh the wonders of prayer. Trust yourself and your confidence to God. Let go, and let Him help you. Ask of Him to help you to become confident, ask him to help you get past your doubts/worries/frustrations and help you get through your writing and your math!

I say this to you because of a couple of things:
1. I know what it's like feeling the pressure of being a teenager and wanting to do well (especially in school, and thinking about college and the future). I also know what it's like not having some of the stuff I wrote to you above and quite literally failing (almost out of college [the first time around! God does give us second chances!], disappointing my mother, etc.). I learned a lot from that difficult time in my life, and I'm thankful for it. I learned so much about myself, how I am as a student, friend, sister, daughter, and most importantly, how I am with myself.
2. I'm a teacher, and I've mentored a few students in my short, just-starting-out career. I've listened to many students' concerns over the last couple of years, so rest assured that what you're feeling is normal. Even just talking with someone about your concerns (like you are here!) or a parent or friend can help a great deal.

PS. We all fail. It's part of our human condition. God has a plan for you, it just isn't always clear. When I was 20, I thought I'd failed at life completely--missed my only chance, lost out on so many opportunities. Little did I know that when one door shut, another door opened. I found my way, even if it took a little bit longer than others around me

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='rhetor4christ' timestamp='1330660877' post='2395229']
Practing what you know and studying in productive ways that suit your learnings styles helps, too. If making note cards to memorize concepts helps you, then do that, if not, find another way to learn (like writing things out and then typing them, etc.)
Being organized is good, too. Having a set time to study or to learn or read (or whatever else) is a good habit to get in to.
Having a good support system is always good. Parents, siblings, friends, and teachers can be good cheerleaders, too. When these things align (usually) then your self confidence will become stronger.
And prayer. Oh the wonders of prayer. Trust yourself and your confidence to God. Let go, and let Him help you. Ask of Him to help you to become confident, ask him to help you get past your doubts/worries/frustrations and help you get through your writing and your math!

I say this to you because of a couple of things:
1. I know what it's like feeling the pressure of being a teenager and wanting to do well (especially in school, and thinking about college and the future). I also know what it's like not having some of the stuff I wrote to you above and quite literally failing (almost out of college [the first time around! God does give us second chances!], disappointing my mother, etc.). I learned a lot from that difficult time in my life, and I'm thankful for it. I learned so much about myself, how I am as a student, friend, sister, daughter, and most importantly, how I am with myself.
2. I'm a teacher, and I've mentored a few students in my short, just-starting-out career. I've listened to many students' concerns over the last couple of years, so rest assured that what you're feeling is normal. Even just talking with someone about your concerns (like you are here!) or a parent or friend can help a great deal.

PS. We all fail. It's part of our human condition. God has a plan for you, it just isn't always clear. When I was 20, I thought I'd failed at life completely--missed my only chance, lost out on so many opportunities. Little did I know that when one door shut, another door opened. I found my way, even if it took a little bit longer than others around me
[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. I suppose my fear is utterly failing the GED test, not being able to pass it ever, and thus making me ineligible for Seminary. If you don't have a GED, they won't take you. It's the same for just about every Religious Community except the Franciscan Brothers Minor (Whom I love, and they are my favorite Community anyway). I think it's simply the thought of never being able to become a Priest, really. When I think I can maybe get my GED, I fear I'll flunk out of Seminary. The worry just goes on and on.

[dUSt]

Humility builds confidence.

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='dUSt' timestamp='1330661841' post='2395237']
Humility builds confidence.
[/quote]

Let's see... I have had to build my scholastic knowledge from the ground up in the past few years, and it takes me forever to do math equations. For about fifteen or twenty times in a row I took twenty to thirty minutes in the Confessional because I just had that many things to confess, I lost my house and town completely by an EF5 tornado in 2007, and I have had just about all the pride I had kicked in the shin, and then I was continued to be kicked while I was down. I should be the most humble man on the planet by now. I wonder what's wrong with me?

[SaintOlaf]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1330665446' post='2395243']


Let's see... I have had to build my scholastic knowledge from the ground up in the past few years, and it takes me forever to do math equations. For about fifteen or twenty times in a row I took twenty to thirty minutes in the Confessional because I just had that many things to confess, I lost my house and town completely by an EF5 tornado in 2007, and I have had just about all the pride I had kicked in the shin, and then I was continued to be kicked while I was down. I should be the most humble man on the planet by now. I wonder what's wrong with me?
[/quote]

Humility isnt something you just obtain through poor circumstances or a tough life, its something you learn through grace, strength and knowledge

[Groo the Wanderer]

yer good enuff, yer smart enuff, and doggone it, peeps like you!

[homeschoolmom]

Take a practice test.

[rhetor4christ]

When I struggled with school work, my mom and I put forth all the extra cash we could and I took a summer-long "course" at a local Sylvan learning center. It helped in so many ways. I learned how to read more efficiently, to remember concepts, things like that. I know they also helped students with math equations of all kinds. If there's one in your area, and you're able to, you might check it out this summer as a way to prep you for the next grade and even college-like studies.

[Seven77]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMFVnlxRlJw&feature=related

might help.

[Blackthorne]

1. Go into the woods.
2. Lie on the ground. Don't fall asleep.
3. Get up after 30 minutes.
4. Walk in a random direction for 2-4 miles.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for 72 hours.

At the end of it, you'll have a bunch of self confidence or be really tired. Maybe both.

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' timestamp='1330696073' post='2395292']
Take a practice test.
[/quote]

I've taken tons of practice tests. Few were heartwarming and many were disgraceful. I'm afraid to even try a math one. So far I have done science and social studies ones. I absolutely rock at history, as this is my favorite subject, but I lack in geography and government and civics. I'm okay with economics, but I'm lacking in some areas. When it comes to science, I'm okay at earth and space science and biology, as well as physics, but chemistry isn't even a subject I like to think about. When it comes to the essay I'll have to do, it's a handwritten essay, and my writing is terrible and slow. I have forty-five minutes to write a 250 word minimum essay, varying from 3 to 5 paragraphs. Sounds simple, right? Well, I clocked myself, and it took me seventeen minutes to write twenty-five words, barely making a paragraph. I know it's pitiful, but I have always been terrible at handwriting. When I attempt to write in cursive, it takes even longer, though people have lied to me and told me it was faster. Time to get praying...

[4588686]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1330659123' post='2395221']
Can someone help me to build self-confidence? I'm not confident in my scholastic abilities, and I feel that the day I take the GED test I'll utterly fail. And to make it worse, I don't know how to build it up. How can I build the confidence I need in order to do well?
[/quote]

Practice until you get it. When I was in middle school I hated math. I was actually afraid of taking a math class. Like looking at a bunch of equations would freak me out. I just had no self confidence. I was used to getting things quickly and math required patience and focus. I'd go to class and follow along and do what was necessary to do alright in the class but I hated math. So I went to the library and started going through math books until being hit with a bunch of equations wasn't psychologically jarring. Then I started reading about the theory of math. I didn't like numbers but I was always a very strong reader. So I kept at that my senior year. By the time I got to college I was comfortable with math. I even took mathematical logic, game theory, and stats classes, and was consistently at the top of the class.

You can do this. You just need to be disciplined and focused. You can master anything if you work at it hard enough.

[SaintOlaf]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1330750893' post='2395579']


I've taken tons of practice tests. Few were heartwarming and many were disgraceful. I'm afraid to even try a math one. So far I have done science and social studies ones. I absolutely rock at history, as this is my favorite subject, but I lack in geography and government and civics. I'm okay with economics, but I'm lacking in some areas. When it comes to science, I'm okay at earth and space science and biology, as well as physics, but chemistry isn't even a subject I like to think about. When it comes to the essay I'll have to do, it's a handwritten essay, and my writing is terrible and slow. I have forty-five minutes to write a 250 word minimum essay, varying from 3 to 5 paragraphs. Sounds simple, right? Well, I clocked myself, and it took me seventeen minutes to write twenty-five words, barely making a paragraph. I know it's pitiful, but I have always been terrible at handwriting. When I attempt to write in cursive, it takes even longer, though people have lied to me and told me it was faster. Time to get praying...
[/quote]

How long did it take you to write this post? 250 words isnt a ton, easy in 45 minutes, chances are they arent even looking at the content but that you know how to structure a paragraph or sentence.

Sounds to me like you need to stop stressing about it right now, take a step back, eat some bacon, go for a run, chop some wood etc... The more you tell yourself youll fail at something the faster youll give up at it.