This video seriously made me tear up, guess it hit close to home. I went from no cares in grade 9 to an extremely high achieving student in grade 10, and I've found that it's horrible to make such massive goals and forget to acknowledge all the small good things I've done. Now I'm in grade 11 and in horrible shape for exams... But I don't want to let this bad set define me. I have a week to make improvements and I'd like to change how I've been viewing this semester. It's a learning process, not a reflection of my worth at all. Good luck everyone x
When I was a student I found out that those persons who got "depressed" from bad grades, they never made it to the top. Some of them stressed so much that they got burn out (and after that drop out). If you sense that you understand the material, then you are just fine, but of course you need to make sure that your grades are good enough to enter PhD program.
I failed 2 exams back then in my first year because i didn't try as well as i thought i would, i got into depression mode, a uni classmate didn't really supported me whenever i felt depressed, just left me to be sad. So i had to repeat it again in the following semester, but this time i broke my arm, i got depressed even more but overtime i accepted it and decide to move on with my life. On the 2nd year, i did my repeated subjects by studying hard everyday, as well as exercise and eating healthy and ended up doing well in my exams then what i didn't earlier. What kept me going was the support of my family and my friends of high school. Just never give up and you'll eventually be there.
Thank you ^_^ I am studying engineering. Last year, I failed some major subjects. Obviously, I am somewhat behind regular students. At first, I felt really disappointed of myself.The common trend that people do is that students go to a different degree program. Well, in the end, I stayed in engineering even after those failures. And I had thought the same two things you mentioned on how you view failures: to define you or to be an opportunity to improve. I chose the latter. Somehow, I did come to the conclusion that I just need that push or "a big slap in the face" to improve more. I believe that I am more determined and more focused in my degree program. ^_^
This video touched my heart because I went through similar experience. I failed my first year of uni in biochemistry, and the worse part is that I actually got " kicked out"!!!! At the start of the year I had that mindset that others were better than me in the course and was shocked of how clever they were, so I was stressed all the time. It was a very very painful experience but you know what, I decided to turn this pain into a positive energy that I can use as a fuel to go on and improve myself. Am now studying biomedical science and spent my year reflecting on my experience and changing my mind set. I learned so much from going through this experience because I decided so, and i have started seeing a positive change in my life.
I failed my first test at uni. I'm studying Arabic and I've been thinking of dropping out for awhile, because I've been feeling not good enough. I started comparing myself to others, and everyone seemed to be doing better, be smarter, more confident and generally great, so I became stressed and depressed. Your video helped me to look at my situation a bit differently. Thank you!
Thank you. My parents told me that I shouldn't compare myself with others, but _you_ finally gave me a handle to understand that opinion. When you compare yourself with others, you can feel like a failure and really down. But I should compare myself with my previous self and the self I want to be, because then I can focus on Thank you so much!
+SimonOxfPhys I recently started my Master's degree in Physics. I didn't do well in my senior year of my physics bachelors. I'm now in classes without having developed good study habits or research skills. I recently found your video on effective study habits and started implementing those techniques. I'm anxious of what lies ahead. However I'm determined to not only score high but learn much to become a valuable researcher. This video has certainly struck a cord in me! Thank you for posting it and please send me some positive vibes.
Your video actually helped me out :) I'm currently a sophomore at an American high school (so ages 15-16 for those of you who are curious) and right now my grades are not as good as I really want it to be... I'm currently struggling in three out of seven classes right now (math, chemistry, and college/university-leveled world history) and the workload is overwhelming for me. I've had a few crying spells for the past few days, thinking that it wouldn't get any better, but now I'm noticing that my grades are slowly starting to go up. After all, I can't be obsessed over school forever, right? I feel like you should be careful with choosing your friends as well. I have many friends who just have a negative outlook on life in general, and I feel like they're taking a toll on my education and health. It may not be the case for others, but it's definitely the case for me. Life's too short, we should lighten up and live to our greatest potential. Anyways, thanks for the video, it really helps. 😊👍🏻
Kristen K. I completely agree with your point about friends. I have long been (for years) in a situation in which my friends struggled with depression and decided to take it out on me (by being overly judgemental) and on others (by gossiping cruelly about them), and so I ended up being pretty insecure and depressed as well. At the moment I don’t really have a fixed friend group, but have a few people in my life that I feel really close to and who would never judge me and always support me, and I feel like this has made a huge change in my outlook on life (including my studies)!
I just had a bad mark in algebra and I am a first year engineering student, this is motivating, I defintely feel better after I watched the video and more willing to work on my mistakes. Thank you Simon
I didn't do well in my A levels at all. I had no idea what I wanted to do and was rather naive about higher education. I got a lucky break with a company called Bombardier, they took me under their wing for around two years and during that time I decided that I wanted to go in to Engineering. I decided to take a foundation year studying Maths, Further Maths and Physics at Carmel College in Liverpool. I suffered with a lot of anxiety at that time so it took a lot to pack up and head to halls. After no prior experience other than Foundation GCSE maths and science I came out with 83% average for the year. Considering that I was utterly terrified of anything numbers before that, I am pleased with what I did. I'm now at the University of Liverpool studying first year Aerospace Engineering. I've followed your channel for a long time now and your enthusiasm and energy have really spurred me on. I would like to say thank you and keep on doing what your doing.
I failed a lot during my 1st 3 years in uni. I was too distracted and not motivated. I failed in different circumstances, I don't like the teacher, I've been playing computer games, I don't know whats the purpose of me studying this degree. Last school year was my first of actually passing all my subjects, tho 1 subject still pending for a requirement. I always think that I can do more, but its just that I don't have the drive to do it. School yr. 2015-2016 will be different I did some realization and come up a motivation. Lately I was fascinated by all of these vlogs from different people studying a top notch universities, all the fun, dilemma, living in a college and studying they do. The type of education is really different from ours which I'd like to have the opportunity to experience and study there. My goal is to become a excellent this might be too late but I'd like to take the risk, and rely more to curiosity to learn and aim that maybe if I graduate I'd like to continue studying at some universities in UK/US and proceed to Material Science and can meet these intellectual people and learn more. #LifeGoals
I was so down after getting my fall grades and was looking for something to just lift me up. Thanks a lot. I will try my best to improve in the future.
I experienced my own fair share of academic failure too, to the point of nearly getting kicked out by the school and having nowhere to go.. But in desperate situations, i stopped being "afraid" that i would fail, I just told myself to believe in myself and worked harder and smarter, somehow that confidence just came, and I did reasonably well in my finals with mainly 'A's and some 'B's. It was a fight or flight situation and i chose fight. this experience humbled me because i used to be a high achiever with straight 'A's and put my self-worth on my grades.
You don't know how much you've affected my life Simon. I thank you from the very bottom of my heart and please please keep doing what you're doing, you rock at it. I know this is an old video but it still keeps me going.
I can totally relate to this! I failed my first year of sixth form as I chose the wrong subjects for me and this was a complete confidence knock. But after thoughtful consideration, I chose different subjects which I knew I would enjoy and were ideal for me. I am now doing an MA in Medieval History and I have learnt from my mistakes - you can only improve from failure and it only takes confidence in yourself! You should also never compare yourself to your friends - what they excel in may not be your 'thing' - you should always work for you, you're allowed to be a little selfish :)
This video has greatly increased my motivation levels for my mathematics exam tomorrow. This is my resit and I was feeling a bit hopeless about the whole situation but you're totally right, this is the time to improve and not the time to dwell in self pity.
I just got out of my programming exam, and all i have to say is, you are so right about what you said. I'm a physics student, and sometimes these subjects seem impossible. But with the right amount of hard work, they are manageable. Portugal*
ive been an A student all my life. i worked so hard for my alevels and i ended up with Cs n Bs no one could believe those were my grades. im torn down.
you're not the only one ! I would previously top my class back in school..and now I'm at the bottom of my university class in spite of trying hard . I really hope things work out for you :) All the very best
sara simmer same.I was the best out of my group.They all used to ask me to explain concepts to them....Today I came to know that they passed an exam we were giving and I didn't qualify.....I feel so torn...
I completely relate to you. I'm in the same situation. It doesn't help that with those grades my stepdad tells me I'm not good enough, and that I should go as far as to rethink my future plans. This almost really got into my head, but I had people around me saying the process is about improvement. Even though I've passed my A level mocks, I want to redo them and give myself a chance to improve and prove my stepdad wrong.
This is so strange because I came onto TH-cam as a break from maths homework.. And I couldn't of stumbled across a better video! I recently took my first 2 exams in November in which I got a C in maths and an A* in English Language. I need a B desperately in maths and I was so gutted that I was 16 marks off. I get to retake this exam in the summer with the rest of my year and this video has really inspired me to go and get better. I'm going to look failure in the face and fight it.. I can do it! :D
In year 10 i was predicted an E in maths and a C/B in physics for my GCSEs with the hope that i could study physics at uni, after driving myself insane i ended up getting the highest in physics, maths and chemistry come alevel! Now i'm getting unconditional offers ... hoping on an offer from oxford though! :p
I'd been a topper at school and was so used to just getting good grades that I'd set impossibly high standards for myself which basically determined who I was as a person, at the time. I enter medical school, and omg my grades dropped, I didn't know what I was doing wrong and essentially put myself through so much, my self esteem dropping to an all time low as I pretty much lost interest in everything. I thought I was "useless" as a person purely due to my academic setbacks. Luckily I managed to pass somehow but still felt really low and hopeless. From second year though, I began experimenting with newer study styles and techniques and the change was remarkable! The effort I put in was probably the same , but I shot up in terms of my grades . To anyone going through a similar experience, I suggest you talk to a senior/ teacher/ do ur own research on study techniques , adapt it to suit your course, your year etc. it's all about the technique ; addition of a simple method which so many around you would be doing and ur unaware of ! I also learnt I'm more than just grades, like said in the video it doesn't define you. I took so long to digest and accept that fact, but I'm glad I did . And great video, Simon you're brilliant and inspiring as always :)
I currently study at uni and I'm in my second year. The first year was pretty fun and exciting, but really tough and I had to deal with the "man, all my mates are so much better at this than me"-mindset since the first lecture in math I think. Not that I didn't feel it in other courses as well but math was worst. Ended up failing most of my courses (80% of them) and over the summer I decided that instead of sticking to my class and starting 2nd grade I had to redo some of the 1st grade courses. Halfway through my second year (or 1,5 year, whatever you call it) today, I realize 2 things: 1) I have improved my study technique a lot... 2) ...but it will not be enough to make the exams. Without going into too much boring details, like most other human beings I have ups & downs in all different aspects of my life, but I have felt a lot this last year that I tend to let those areas kind of spill over to each other. For example, if something happened at home and made me frustrated/sad, I'm having big trouble with isolating that problem to home only, and instead I end up staring at the book I'm supposed to read without getting anything done. And the other way as well, if (when) I get a bad result in school I get down and just putting on a smile gets difficult. These are things that I know that I am better at now than I was before, but it's a bit too late to say that now. If I had learned what I have learned today (about attitude overall, studying technique etc) at the beginning of this semester, I honestly think that I would have made it, passed my exams and all. But since I can't even do that, this has become a problem that stretched over time and that consumes a lot of energy and mood from me. In one way I really wish to push through and get on with my studies but I have to be realistic as well: Fact is that if I continue like this, I will not finish my education at uni in 15-20 years. That bad, I wouldn't want that. I'm curious if there's other people who have had similar experiences and if so how'd they cope with it? Taking a break and working for a year before continuing to study maybe? Sorry for long comment, but thank you very much for making this video. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who says that!
I failed the first year of medical school because of the same reason; I found it hard to motivate myself when I felt everyone around me was always easily one step ahead. Tomorrow I start my resits and I know one set of exams (RCR) will be extremely tough. But with this mindset I hope to go into the exam ready to do my best. Wish me luck.
Thank you, I really needed this message! I've just started A levels and my grades have gone downhill from GCSE (I know I'm not alone in this at all but I've always been an A/A* student and it's my own personal goal to try and keep this up) but I hold hope that if I keep trying and responding to failures then my grades will soon improve😂
This was only in grade 11. I got a d for a math exam that I studied hard for. I was shattered and thought I was an idiot.. I moved up to the harder maths class just to try it out, worked hard as I saw that d was something to improve on as you said.. I got a b+ in the more difficult maths class. :)
Thank you SO, incredibly much for this video. I just went through a whole week where I felt like failure tore at me at every chance it could get. This helped remind me that success is possible, and that I should never lose hope.
This is an important discussion and video to get out there! Your 'improvement,' or 'growth' mindset doesn't come naturally to everyone, so thank you for sharing your story and your insight. I am familiar with Dr. Carol Dwek's work, also. Something that stood out for me from her TEDtalk, was the power of simply utilizing the words, "yet" and "not yet." When students, she observed, referred to what they are struggling with (academically and personally), added the words, 'yet' and 'not yet,' they turned fixed-mindset phrases such as, "I'm not fluent in Spanish," or, "I'm not a good public speaker," into statements with an opportunity for growth, such as, "I'm not fluent in Spanish, 'yet,'" or "I'm 'not yet' a good public speaker." These subtle additions to self-talk give a path toward improvement. It has worked for me -- try it yourself!
I was a brilliant student in my bachelors ..got prestigious scholarships and such much to the surprise and angst of my then teachers..(as I did it without there help) Naturally I wanted to continue my streak in masters but with a new hostile surrounding..bad health ( due to it.. N some rough football)..n a new set off pissed off teachers..hv lost my direction Dunno how will I find it..the direction but I will find it...Your videos are truly inspiring ...thanks a million. The nature of our academics is so much result and recommendations oriented ( tough for me as all my teachers hate me ) tht it is tough not to get demotivated by them..especially when you want to go big places like Oxford .. But thanks a ton for this..I'll go through this book.. N ur quiet quotable when u put forward inspiring thots..( be it in the comments section or other wise ) kudos!!!
I'm firmly convinced that things I know best are the ones I learnt from my failed oral exams. You never ever forget them! Oral exam it's actually the best class a person can attend. That being said, I'm still so anxious about it, even after 5 years of university! But anyway, I try to see it as a private lesson that you can always learn something from. Great video! Ciao :)
The amount people that have challenged me is absolutely countless. I got told by a teacher that I'm not 'as smart as I think I am'. My Chemistry teacher used to give me a D and tell me 'I know you're working very hard but not everyone can do this'. Ended up with an A*. Still got loads of people to prove wrong! My favourite ever quote that keeps me going is 'O Eagle don't get frightened of these furious, violent winds! These blow to make you fly even higher'. And I've experienced the truth in this quotes, defeats are indeed steps by which we climb.
This was especially helpful, because I've got my physics finals tomorrow and lately, I haven't been doing too well at the subject. Physics has never really been my favourite subject, so it's quite the big leap for me, choosing to do it for a levels. I always end up comparing myself to other people in my class who put half the efforts I put in, and still get better grades! I really want to know how they do it, but now I understand that we all have different abilities and that comparing myself to others, who are different from me in every way possible, can only lead to my downfall, again. Thank you for the advice.
I love the concepts of physics. I got my back first physics test on mechanics today and got a 51/100. I was totally crushed. My professor did tell us that the test would be composed of problems we've never seen before, not online or in any textbook, but if you understand the concepts, you will be able to solve the problems. I realized I had lied to myself in that I didn't actually fully understand the concepts.
Having just failed a first year subject (and done pretty poorly on the rest), and needing to repeat, here at university in Australia, your story and advice has made me feel much more confident! Thanks a lot man :)
I got D in AS Level Human Bio, but retook and got an A at A level overall. With 97%UMS for HBIO4 one of the hardest units ever! I worked my ass off and it paid off in the end :D
I've just received a D in an AS Chemistry mock that I was predicted an A in. I've basically been sulking for the last week and watching this video has totally changed my mind set and my attitude, thank you so much!
So here we go - this year it's time for some academic failures of my own) Last week my uni results came in and they were mixed: I had passed one exam but failed the other, the first time I ever did not pass :(. But I am taking this in the spirit of this video - I will make sure I improve and pass it next time with a good grade! Thanks for the video Simon, it's a great source of inspiration!
Hello Simon! Thank you so much for this helpful video. I've read Carol Dweck's research and found it so effective in shifting my paradigms towards life in general. I'm a freshman studying Chemistry at the University of the Philippines and for so many moments I thought I'm just not competent enough to keep up. But then again, you reminded me that failures are a part of learning and it's up to us how we're going to act upon them. Trust me, I've thought of dropping out of the premiere state university a lot of times too! Come to think of it, we're both so blessed to be learning in these institutions. Let's work harder! Thank you so much for all of what you do, more power!!!
I had a really bad set of exams this semester- it is a huge set back in my career because I am in professional school. I have kept it together for a long time but I just fell apart this semester. It's so refreshing to hear you talking about your experiences, and remember that I have a lot of life left to live and I just need to KEEP ON SWIMMING.
I really find this video more than useful cause I have been there , i failed my first year in engineering school and now am doin my best to exceed in electrical engineering major , even though this new mindset is only few weeks ago got into my life and I had problems with my studying lately but am doin my best to overcome it and do whatever it take to do it better ! Thank you for this video
I was never the "Hard working", "A-Student", but in Spring 2013 (last semester), i worked really hard and it was a really rough semester but i got really amazing grades in all classes and the feeling of accomplishment was unbelievably awesome, this semester, i took more classes than usual, worked outside the university and i was doing student club work in campus, My grades are worse than ever. I failed 2 courses and got a d and a d+ among other bad grades... it was purely my fault for not prioritizing... next semester i WILL do well again, i will organize my time better and take a course load that is more suitable for me. and most importantly, i wont let ANYTHING interfere with my academic life....Sorry for the long story...I wish everyone and me a successful semester ahead. :)
Thank you for this video. I am actually overcoming failure right now as I prepare for this Spring semester here in the States. It was a case of too many eggs in one basket where I was taking too many classes, working in a research lab 3-4 days a week and working a part time job. As a result, I earned an F in second semester chemistry and in C++ programming. I am majoring in physics and am excited to begin my first physics class and calculus 2 and have thus significantly reduced my hours. In other words, I'm being more particular about how I divvy up my time and am applying the study tips you gave in your other video. Thanks!
This video has given me a lot of hope! In my AS exams last year I got BBCCE and having got straight A's prior to this it was a bit of a wake up call. Since then, I have worked even harder than I did last year in my A2 subjects, and using your study tips have improved how effectively I work. Consequently, I am now working at an A grade in History, English Literature and Biology and have been told my coursework for English Literature is an A* and top marks! So all I can say is thank you so much for your videos, you've really helped me get closer to my dreams! :)
When doing my GCSE's, I failed quite a lot of subjects. I retake them as a private student. After hard work, i managed to finish the year with all A*s and As which let me to proceed to A levels. During my A levels, A level Biology and Chemistry put me down because I achieved a D (AS) but after hard work i managed to get A, A, A, A in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. This let me to proceed to a top university studying Natural Science. Hopefully when finishing my degree, i hoped to do a PhD in Computer Science. After gaining that failure experience in my first attempt in my GCSE's, i became a stronger person.
Today, I had a bad mock exam in AS level chemistry and was feeling really demoralised and fatigued. Your words have motivated me and changed my mindset on how to deal with failure. Thank you so very much, Simon.
Hey there +SimonOxfPhys! I've started watching your videos recently and I find them very inspiring :) I'm a first year graduate student in applied math and today I had my first ever exam in grad school. It was supposed to be relatively easy, but I suppose I studied the wrong way and I only got half of the given questions. I'm still quite down but I just want to thank you because this video cheered me up a lot today :D (bookmarking this btw XD) Thanks so much!
You're very welcome - and thanks for the kind words! The change to grad school is a huge one, so it's only natural that you'll find the transition a little difficult. Don't give up, you're going to be fine :)
I'm so glad that I got to watch this video at this point. I'm about 3 months away from a series of exams I have to take to get into Medical College and this is my second year taking them. Last year I did so poorly that I had to take a gap year to study for them. And off late I began questioning whether this is the right thing for me to do since I didn't do well the first time I took the test. Though I don't' think that I initially handled the situation well and began resenting all my friends who went to college and took "easier" courses, I now see that even though I took a gap year I've learnt so much that I might not have if I had chosen to study something else. I can say failing those first set of tests taught me that there were things I needed to better at and now I can say that I've become more disciplined and interested in what I learn. Even though I haven't taken the tests yet, I hope to get into a decent enough college with all the competition out there. So, thank you Simon for reminding me that one failure does not not need to define how my future turns out to be.
Thought I would share my short story. Well I Underachieved at school due to problems in my Family and a bad social group. I went down the mind set that you spoke about Simon, regarding letting it define me. I ended up in prison briefly and now at 24 i'm going back to education to resit my GCSE's with an intention to go onto engineering. Thank you for your video was very inspiring to say the least.
I've been feeling so down on myself for failing my last physics exam, even though the class average was so low for that test. I'm only first year on mechanics, but my professor and my classmates have such high hopes of me. I don't know what went over me during the exam, I put in so much effort into it and I got so anxious during the test even though I understood the concepts. I always get really anxious to take physics test because I love it so much and if I failed, I would think to myself that "I'm not good enough.. physics isn't right for me." Thank you for your words of inspiration. After hearing someone share their experience.. I really want to work on my failures and improve.
This is exactly what I needed. I am one week of my university exams and this video has given me the motivation to persevere, but also the mindset I can go into my exams with! Thank you, best wishes :)
At the start of my A level Chemistry I got a C on a mock and As in everything else. I was unhappy with this grade so for the next set of mocks I did extra chemistry revision and I got an A and over 90% as well. A positive attitude when faced with failure really does help me improve :)
This video has helped me a lot. I failed my first year at Oxford studying chemistry, and have my resits in just over 2 weeks. I've been working, but I'm so afraid I will fail once more and end up 2 years behind in my life. I mentally gave up on myself before my first set of exams, and didn't show what I was capable of at all, and I really want to prove to everyone i CAN do it, but I'm so scared that mindset will return, I haven't worked hard enough and I don't have enough time. I'm a perfectionist, so I've been trying to know absolutely everything about everything but I'm realising that may not be the best way to revise this close to the exams. Do you have any tips on how to revise most effectively at this point? And ways to stay calm about everything, as I sometimes experience waves of fear which just result in me being extremely unproductive. Thanks a lot!
+Tatiana Kochevsky Hello! I'm studying Chemistry too. :) I realized the best way to conquer memory work is via spaced repetition (I learned this from Barbara Oakley's "A Mind for Numbers"). With revising that close to exams, I'd say to just be thorough with every convention and method of problem solving, to choose from problem sets the items that use at least one convention you need to know so you'd be able to review all of them within the time you have left. I used to have panic attacks too, my pen used to shake in my hand as I'm taking the test! I realized after a failed exam that reviewing weeks earlier would definitely lessen the stress and anxiety! :) Anyway, your emotions are all under your control so train yourself to be strong! You can do it!! Good luck and cheers, fellow future Chemist!
Hi Simon :) I'm a student majoring in Physics and minoring in Statistics, wrapping up my first year at University. I am constantly fighting to change that exact defeatist mindset ever since I have failed Calculus II (which is Integrals by the way and part of first year maths). Thanks for making this video, watching it right before my first lecture retaking Calc 2 :D Cheers!
Well, I was never really academically inclined in high school or in college so I failed my second year in college due to a set of bad grades. Needless to say, that served as a huge reality check for me and I made a conscious decision not to let my failure define me as a person. When I got through the second year, I wasn't given a full major in the subject of my choice (6 papers Psychology) due to my past academic record and instead was given the option to choose a double major (3 papers Psychology/3 papers English), which actually turned out to be blessing in disguise because I loved both subjects. However, I was even more determined to prove that I was capable and had deserved a full major, and scored fairly well that semester. So, I totally get what you mean when you say that you decided to use your failure as an opportunity to improve yourself because that is exactly what I told myself, and it worked. I have learned a great deal from my failures and just want to say that it is truly possible to make the best of a bad situation. Work hard, and keep your head up. :)
Nice words of advice! Honestly, I failed my first year of med school and was held back. at the moment I am retaking the class and have noticed strides of improvement just with this mindset.
Thanks for your perfect advice Simon :). Whenever I got a bad mark or performed poorly in anything I always told myself (and others also) that I "didn't fail" , I simply "never fail" , I just find "ways" (of studying , playing,etc.) that don't work, and what I have to do now is find new ways that can make me improve :) . This mindset helped me a lot throughout and is still helping me till today .
Thank you sooo much for sharing this video , I am currently doing my A2's and I am not as motivated as I should be, although I know exams are around the corner and being a 3rd year student at college as I retook my AS year because I wasn't happy with what I got . But I turned this failure around and did really well the second time around , constantly having the mindset and reminding myself that I can achieve my aspirations and go to kings college to study child nursing is my main motivator.
I realised a while back that the reason for why I didn't start a math course was out of fear of failure. Your video really helped me viewing failure as something you can grow by. Thanks! :)
Hi Simon! Thank you so much for this video (over 3 years after being made)! It's incredibly helpful to hear this message especially after a PhD interview which in all honesty felt disastrous but let's hope I'm wrong. Fortunately it isn't my top choice of a studentship so I suppose it's made for good interview practice. My Asperger's syndrome can make me incredibly anxious in a variety of situations (especially interviews) and that has a massive effect on my ability to communicate with others. I was only given a morning to prepare for it and consequentially I just didn't feel ready for it at all. At some points in the interview I actually said some things that were factually incorrect and very often made myself unclear of what I was saying, and a large part of that came from my lack of ability to relax during the interview. In retrospect this was my first ever PhD interview but I definitely felt foolish and defeated this morning. I am trying my best to push away from these feelings, especially considering that I definitely want to research in the future and I believe no amount of failed PhD interviews will change that (I'd also face similar challenges if I weren't to take an academic route so logically I have no reason to give up on what I want to do). Thank you so much for making this video. It's been amazingly helpful to have someone say things as they are! I'm set to have a PhD interview for Cambridge towards the end of next week so hopefully that will be better than the last one! Thank you again! :-)
That's the spirit! Thanks for your thoughtful sharing. Everyone trips and falls, but different reactions could probably result in different future. Influenced by my past experience, sometimes I just suffer too much from perfectionism, which inevitably results in fault finding. But there's definitely no point of blaming yourself too much and keeping stuck in the failures. One should look forward and work harder to become a better person. 👍
This video just made my week! (3 rejections, one of which was from Oxford, in the space of 3 weeks) Thanks Simon, you always seem to make the right videos at the right time :)
I recently failed a presentation with the goal of presenting and debating a controversial topic in science. The primary literature was heavier than I thought it was and during the presentation I realized I didn't understand it as well as I thought. There was no failing grade but I could feel the disappointment from my director and partner. Your inspirational words will motivate me to work harder. Thank you.
It was always my dream to go to Oxbridge but after putting an enormous amount of effort into my application and interviews, I was rejected outright. It crushed me at the time, especially telling everyone at my school alongside others who got places. People didn't understand why I was so disappointed but the idea of going to Cambridge is what drove me throughout my entire school life. Anyway I got A*A*AA in my A-levels and I'm now studying physics at St Andrews :). I could not imagine a better experience at uni. The town and atmosphere are awesome! It really is a unique uni experience and suits me so much! I think the flip side of such a crushing failure is that you've been through the worst and no longer fear failure at all. It was also an important lesson in not letting being smart define me. In hindsight, it was really a blessing in disguise. Sometimes not getting what you want is the best luck you'll ever have ;)
Today I got a failing grade for a final assignment on the last day of class. It really affected me to the point that I couldn't stop crying. To cope with my feelings, I started cleaning and I could feel myself wanting to numb the hurt and embarrassment. I did feel like the lowest of lows when the teacher approached me and said can I see you after class. Well this failure has open my eyes to see where I need to improve. Its hard to receive comments that challenge your academic skills, when you know what you are capable of.
I did awful in physics during my junior year despite me telling people how much I wanted to major in theoretical physics or engineering physics in a years time. This year (senior year) I've worked ten times harder and have done substantially better and I'm hoping to get accepted into either of those programs. I'm writing my physics final in a weeks time, wish me luck!
was in bottom set for GCSE maths, put the effort in and beat a large proportion of people in the highest set. Now taking Further Maths as an A level which I really never thought I would even consider doing!
Thank you so much for this video. i recently failed my exam and its real bad and i felt like I wasnt good enough for this but your video helped a lot . Now i'm going to challenge my failure and get past it . Thank you so much for this
I bought the book after Simon featured it on his other video - it also talks a lot about how you can change your character. In lower secondary school I was fairly rebellious, smart but not achieving my potential if I didn't get something I would just become depressed and give up. I rarely got involved with anything at school. I'm now head boy of my school and hoping to do History at Oxford, great video Simon :)
Well I am no where as close to the academic success as you because I am just going into high school however I am always striving to improve my academic marks. This year I have been trying to achieve the best marks I can by putting extra time in on projects others deem as pointless and studying hard just so I can get the opportunity to go to the high school I have my eyes set on with advanced placement courses. I struggle with confidence in myself and self worth and always saw myself as an okay student. I put all of that to the back of my mind and worked my butt off. This term I received my report card and I can proudly say that I have received marks I have never thought I would achieve. My highest being in Geography, Science, Math, English and surprisingly Art. I have received marks that have surpassed the students that are seen as the most intelligent in my class. Those marks along with many other standardized testing, teacher assessments and written pieces I have applied to the high school of my dreams that upon gradation I will have university credits and be a recognized National AP Scholar. I wouldn't get the opportunity to strive for that without my setbacks in math and science that made me want to prove myself as successful. I now love science particularly biology and math is a very close second. :)
Thanks Simon! This video was extremely helpful as I myself had my fair share of struggles in my exams. Studying in a one of the top schools in the country, I'm always thinking that I'm not worthy of this place that I have here. Now, I know that it's ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. This truly was an eye opener! Thanks again, love Xx :)
Thank you so much for this video. I am now in my first year of physics (in Belgium) and i seriously failed my first set of exams. Its not that I did not work for it (in fact I worked my ass of) but i think I just did not work effectively. Now I pass my hours at the library instead of at home and make a very strict planning shedule. This video gave me hope that all my efforts may not be for nothing :D
um I remember that one time I worked for months on a physics project of mine for my science exhibition.and i failed so bad at the end due to a small misunderstanding of my circuit, that judges panel laughed at me 😁 after that same day i started reanalyzing and learning more about why things went wrong.this went one for a year and I remember at one point i was like that's it, it will never work but i still continued and lo and behold who got the first position that next year,it was me.and that same judging panel that laughed at me were quite impressed. while this was not somewhat an academic achievement i hope that it may inspire some people out there to never give up after a failure :)
Just finished my first year of college, and failed both Chemistry and maths. Second semester, I failed the same math class again but just barely passed Chem. It never really got me down for some reason, I guess I just knew I could've tried harder/studied more. (I guess I was whittling instead of studying) Mid-second semester I changed my major, from electrical engineering to Manufacturing Technology Management, which is a far more hands on major than engineering which is heavy on math. Now I really know what I'm getting into, and I'm even excited to start this next year in my new classes, learning about the properties of materials rather than figuring equations. If I fail completely and have to drop out, I guess it was a nice learning experience where I learned more about myself, what I can and can't do, and what I like. Best of luck to me next semester! So, update two years from my original comment. My god did I pick the right option then. I'm now in the upper level courses, and only have a year or so left here and I'm confident I made the right choice with this major. I'm getting a minor in metals processing and maybe in drafting and product development. The Big one is metals. I've joined up with the American Foundry Society, and will be their secretary for the upcoming academic year, and I also got a scholarship through the Foundry Education Foundation, and have an internship at a foundry this summer. It's more than just school, I've even got my own coal forge at home and that has been lots of fun, and I really want to get better at forging knives. I plan on making my own butterfly knife, oil quench tank, and 2x72 belt grinder this summer, I have so many plans for things I want to make from metal. Overall, I struck gold failing math and chem. (Also my job position is engineering intern and I haven't taken any engineering courses, even though my college doesn't consider people in my major engineers but we really are)
I have an academic problem right now. I go to 7th grade and getting into a specific high school is VERY immportant to me. But this school accepts only students that have passed from 5th to 8th grade with maximum grades possible. Unfourtenetly for me, I wasnt really that close to maximum(5th grade 4.69/5.00 and 6th grade 4.92/5.00) and here is literaly no way for me to get in. That is really immportant to me so I developed a VERY hard plan to achieve(4 to 5 state compititions) and its almost impossible but I try really hard to achieve it. Thank you for this video it really helped me not to be angry at myself for those fails. It really means a lot to me.
Oh wow, I have to admit I got pretty emotional watching this video. I've had a terrible year in many aspects, having absolutely failed my sophomore year in physics. At first I lost a semester due to a physical injury and subsequent depression, which in turn brought me to fail most of the next one. Just like you said, I had just basically decided that I was not smart enough for this, that I didn't study maths enough before college, and that I was going to transfer to a easier subject. But then I find myself watching this one video where you reccomends science books and suddenly I remember why I used to be so interested in physics of all things. These past two years, I had been so focused in getting good grades, so worried about not disappointing family and teachers, that I hadn't learned anything for the long term. Sadly, turns out I spent most of that time learning to do set examples... Anyway, I really just wanted to thank you for creating this channel, it is really helping me to reaccess what I want to do with my life.
Hang in there! It can be incredibly disorienting going through a time of such upheaval, but you can do it. Just stay true to yourself - ask yourself what makes you happy, and follow that. Not what other people expect of you. That will lead you to real passion and understanding. I hope that my channel can be useful in some way, but whatever you do please, please stay true to yourself. That is the most important thing of all. You've got this :)
I was in the top students of my year in early high school, then managed to get into a specialised mathematics and science academy, where I bombed to a ridiculous degree (Was (accurately) told by staff that I was the train wreck of my year). Kept trying and failing, waiting for motivation in me to kick in and actually do the work that needed to be done, just got into uni for maths and physics, continued to bomb (dramatically) until I realised that my extreme lack of self confidence and a fear of feeling stupid had stopped me from putting myself out there and asking for help. Now I am trying (semi-successfully) to change procrastination habits and to always remind myself that I'm doing this because I love physics and science and that it is worth the pain I've gone through in the past and that I can only go up from here. Am now going into my fourth year of my dual degree and am actually excited to get to work :)
Thanks a lot Simon! All your videos motivate me throughout a year to set goals and achieve them! You are great! Keep making videos, and good luck with your studies!
Thank you for this video it really motivated me, im in year 8 and i did a maths test yesterday and didn't think i did it to the best of my abillity( i missed the higher level questions because i ran out of time) and i was very annoyed and frustrated and i looked on the bright side on how i can improve on this and simon basically agrees with this as well. I maybe a year 8 test but it still meant a lot to me as little subtle things like this could draw me a prosper future. :)
it had been really hard for me lately. I compared myself to one of my friend who once i regard as not a good student suddenly overcame me. Now i lost my motives and almost gave up. It became harder when you are stressed and have anxiety. But your videos are very useful to me, helping me bouncing back up. Alright now i gotta open the book
He is right. I firstly didn't excel in academics by first two years in high school; then I tried harder ( despite me having doubts), I started to excel. Now I am going to Berkeley after my high school graduation.
Started watching your videos recently, but I just failed my accelerated calculus class this semester and this video became relevant. Thank you for pulling me out of my pit of self-loathing :)
VERY USEFUL VIDEOS. I RECENTLY SCORED 95+ IN ALL SUBJECTS EXCEPT MATHS WHERE I GUESS I WOULD BE GRATEFUL TO RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE.HARD TO COPE WITH IT BUT YOUR VIDEO REALLY HELPED THANKS
Simon, i remember watching one of your vids like 4 years ago and I thought that going to oxford was unreal. I can't believe I will be applying for the dream that I have had for the last 4 years of my life in just 8 months. I don't want to screw up! I always go by the mantra happiness=reality/expectations yet I know that my expectations will be so high that if I don't get it I cannot see any future in my life
Can I just say that besides how inspiring this video is, your handsome face greatly lightens up my bad day :D I just had a low mark on my exam last week, but this video inspires me to do better! Thank you so much :)
Thanks so much for this video. That´s what I needed to hear today. I did not fail an exam, but I did something wrong in an experiment today so I have to do it again. My supervisior was kind of disappointed and I started questioning myself. I always want to do practical things perfectly so I get very upset with myself when I am not. But your view of dealing with failure enlightened my evening. Thank you! :)
Great video! I was in the same position where at the beginning of GCSE I got a D in English and a C on geography, but I learnt from my mistakes and so far have gotten straight A* in both, getting full marks in the English exam
Really what I needed! I just failed one of my A level mock. And this really demoralised me! However after listening to your video, I know I can I do it if I just push myself a bit more . Thank you for your videos
I am a student of applied mathematics and i failed one class this past semester, this video was extremely helpful for me to overcome the disappointment that i was felling. Thank you!! (sorry if there is any english mistake)
So yeah, I failed my driving test yesterday and I was ready to pack it in, but after having watched this vid, I have rebooked it (fingers crossed!!) Thanks Simon :D
I still remember how my grades went crashing down in 9 th grade ( specially in maths) I even got depressed for quite some time . But I started to work after I realised I was wasting my time thinking about what was past.Gradually that became hard work and I fared well in my finals and the best part was that I had started to like maths unlike before.
Im currently struggling with coming to terms with failure. I failed 3rd year by 2% in 1 exam. I lost my part time job around the same time. Im currently trying to apply for jobs whilst attempting to find motivation to study for this 1 exam in may. Ive spent so much time out of uni ive lost all confidence in my academic abilities! Loved this video, it seemed to stir up a little motivation and hopefully its the start of my comeback!
REMEMBER:
Winners focus on winning,
losers focus on the winners.
This video seriously made me tear up, guess it hit close to home. I went from no cares in grade 9 to an extremely high achieving student in grade 10, and I've found that it's horrible to make such massive goals and forget to acknowledge all the small good things I've done. Now I'm in grade 11 and in horrible shape for exams... But I don't want to let this bad set define me. I have a week to make improvements and I'd like to change how I've been viewing this semester. It's a learning process, not a reflection of my worth at all. Good luck everyone x
Melanie See ♥♥♥♥♥♥ how are you nowadays darling?
When I was a student I found out that those persons who got "depressed" from bad grades, they never made it to the top. Some of them stressed so much that they got burn out (and after that drop out). If you sense that you understand the material, then you are just fine, but of course you need to make sure that your grades are good enough to enter PhD program.
I failed 2 exams back then in my first year because i didn't try as well as i thought i would, i got into depression mode, a uni classmate didn't really supported me whenever i felt depressed, just left me to be sad. So i had to repeat it again in the following semester, but this time i broke my arm, i got depressed even more but overtime i accepted it and decide to move on with my life. On the 2nd year, i did my repeated subjects by studying hard everyday, as well as exercise and eating healthy and ended up doing well in my exams then what i didn't earlier. What kept me going was the support of my family and my friends of high school. Just never give up and you'll eventually be there.
@@khadijafayyaz6184 just put pressure on his way ↕️ and a few others are doing it is not the only one who has
Thank you ^_^ I am studying engineering. Last year, I failed some major subjects. Obviously, I am somewhat behind regular students. At first, I felt really disappointed of myself.The common trend that people do is that students go to a different degree program. Well, in the end, I stayed in engineering even after those failures. And I had thought the same two things you mentioned on how you view failures: to define you or to be an opportunity to improve. I chose the latter. Somehow, I did come to the conclusion that I just need that push or "a big slap in the face" to improve more. I believe that I am more determined and more focused in my degree program. ^_^
This video touched my heart because I went through similar experience.
I failed my first year of uni in biochemistry, and the worse part is that I actually got " kicked out"!!!! At the start of the year I had that mindset that others were better than me in the course and was shocked of how clever they were, so I was stressed all the time. It was a very very painful experience but you know what, I decided to turn this pain into a positive energy that I can use as a fuel to go on and improve myself. Am now studying biomedical science and spent my year reflecting on my experience and changing my mind set. I learned so much from going through this experience because I decided so, and i have started seeing a positive change in my life.
Thank you so much , really needed this positive message
+Catherine Casola you're very welcome :)
I failed my first test at uni. I'm studying Arabic and I've been thinking of dropping out for awhile, because I've been feeling not good enough. I started comparing myself to others, and everyone seemed to be doing better, be smarter, more confident and generally great, so I became stressed and depressed. Your video helped me to look at my situation a bit differently. Thank you!
Thank you. My parents told me that I shouldn't compare myself with others, but _you_ finally gave me a handle to understand that opinion.
When you compare yourself with others, you can feel like a failure and really down. But I should compare myself with my previous self and the self I want to be, because then I can focus on
Thank you so much!
+SimonOxfPhys
I recently started my Master's degree in Physics. I didn't do well in my senior year of my physics bachelors. I'm now in classes without having developed good study habits or research skills. I recently found your video on effective study habits and started implementing those techniques. I'm anxious of what lies ahead. However I'm determined to not only score high but learn much to become a valuable researcher. This video has certainly struck a cord in me! Thank you for posting it and please send me some positive vibes.
Thank you for such a lovely comment! You go and kick some studying ass :)
Thanks :D
Your video actually helped me out :) I'm currently a sophomore at an American high school (so ages 15-16 for those of you who are curious) and right now my grades are not as good as I really want it to be... I'm currently struggling in three out of seven classes right now (math, chemistry, and college/university-leveled world history) and the workload is overwhelming for me. I've had a few crying spells for the past few days, thinking that it wouldn't get any better, but now I'm noticing that my grades are slowly starting to go up. After all, I can't be obsessed over school forever, right?
I feel like you should be careful with choosing your friends as well. I have many friends who just have a negative outlook on life in general, and I feel like they're taking a toll on my education and health. It may not be the case for others, but it's definitely the case for me. Life's too short, we should lighten up and live to our greatest potential.
Anyways, thanks for the video, it really helps. 😊👍🏻
Kristen K. I completely agree with your point about friends. I have long been (for years) in a situation in which my friends struggled with depression and decided to take it out on me (by being overly judgemental) and on others (by gossiping cruelly about them), and so I ended up being pretty insecure and depressed as well. At the moment I don’t really have a fixed friend group, but have a few people in my life that I feel really close to and who would never judge me and always support me, and I feel like this has made a huge change in my outlook on life (including my studies)!
I just had a bad mark in algebra and I am a first year engineering student, this is motivating, I defintely feel better after I watched the video and more willing to work on my mistakes. Thank you Simon
I didn't do well in my A levels at all. I had no idea what I wanted to do and was rather naive about higher education. I got a lucky break with a company called Bombardier, they took me under their wing for around two years and during that time I decided that I wanted to go in to Engineering.
I decided to take a foundation year studying Maths, Further Maths and Physics at Carmel College in Liverpool. I suffered with a lot of anxiety at that time so it took a lot to pack up and head to halls. After no prior experience other than Foundation GCSE maths and science I came out with 83% average for the year. Considering that I was utterly terrified of anything numbers before that, I am pleased with what I did. I'm now at the University of Liverpool studying first year Aerospace Engineering. I've followed your channel for a long time now and your enthusiasm and energy have really spurred me on. I would like to say thank you and keep on doing what your doing.
I failed a lot during my 1st 3 years in uni. I was too distracted and not motivated. I failed in different circumstances, I don't like the teacher, I've been playing computer games, I don't know whats the purpose of me studying this degree. Last school year was my first of actually passing all my subjects, tho 1 subject still pending for a requirement. I always think that I can do more, but its just that I don't have the drive to do it. School yr. 2015-2016 will be different I did some realization and come up a motivation. Lately I was fascinated by all of these vlogs from different people studying a top notch universities, all the fun, dilemma, living in a college and studying they do. The type of education is really different from ours which I'd like to have the opportunity to experience and study there. My goal is to become a excellent this might be too late but I'd like to take the risk, and rely more to curiosity to learn and aim that maybe if I graduate I'd like to continue studying at some universities in UK/US and proceed to Material Science and can meet these intellectual people and learn more. #LifeGoals
I was so down after getting my fall grades and was looking for something to just lift me up. Thanks a lot. I will try my best to improve in the future.
I experienced my own fair share of academic failure too, to the point of nearly getting kicked out by the school and having nowhere to go.. But in desperate situations, i stopped being "afraid" that i would fail, I just told myself to believe in myself and worked harder and smarter, somehow that confidence just came, and I did reasonably well in my finals with mainly 'A's and some 'B's. It was a fight or flight situation and i chose fight. this experience humbled me because i used to be a high achiever with straight 'A's and put my self-worth on my grades.
You don't know how much you've affected my life Simon. I thank you from the very bottom of my heart and please please keep doing what you're doing, you rock at it. I know this is an old video but it still keeps me going.
I can totally relate to this! I failed my first year of sixth form as I chose the wrong subjects for me and this was a complete confidence knock. But after thoughtful consideration, I chose different subjects which I knew I would enjoy and were ideal for me.
I am now doing an MA in Medieval History and I have learnt from my mistakes - you can only improve from failure and it only takes confidence in yourself! You should also never compare yourself to your friends - what they excel in may not be your 'thing' - you should always work for you, you're allowed to be a little selfish :)
Life is a balance of...
'you can't be good at everything'
and
'you are as good as you think you are'.
This video has greatly increased my motivation levels for my mathematics exam tomorrow. This is my resit and I was feeling a bit hopeless about the whole situation but you're totally right, this is the time to improve and not the time to dwell in self pity.
I just got out of my programming exam, and all i have to say is, you are so right about what you said. I'm a physics student, and sometimes these subjects seem impossible. But with the right amount of hard work, they are manageable.
Portugal*
ive been an A student all my life. i worked so hard for my alevels and i ended up with Cs n Bs no one could believe those were my grades. im torn down.
same
you're not the only one ! I would previously top my class back in school..and now I'm at the bottom of my university class in spite of trying hard .
I really hope things work out for you :) All the very best
lol unlucky mate
sara simmer same.I was the best out of my group.They all used to ask me to explain concepts to them....Today I came to know that they passed an exam we were giving and I didn't qualify.....I feel so torn...
I completely relate to you. I'm in the same situation. It doesn't help that with those grades my stepdad tells me I'm not good enough, and that I should go as far as to rethink my future plans. This almost really got into my head, but I had people around me saying the process is about improvement. Even though I've passed my A level mocks, I want to redo them and give myself a chance to improve and prove my stepdad wrong.
This is so strange because I came onto TH-cam as a break from maths homework.. And I couldn't of stumbled across a better video!
I recently took my first 2 exams in November in which I got a C in maths and an A* in English Language. I need a B desperately in maths and I was so gutted that I was 16 marks off. I get to retake this exam in the summer with the rest of my year and this video has really inspired me to go and get better. I'm going to look failure in the face and fight it.. I can do it! :D
In year 10 i was predicted an E in maths and a C/B in physics for my GCSEs with the hope that i could study physics at uni, after driving myself insane i ended up getting the highest in physics, maths and chemistry come alevel! Now i'm getting unconditional offers ... hoping on an offer from oxford though! :p
I'd been a topper at school and was so used to just getting good grades that I'd set impossibly high standards for myself which basically determined who I was as a person, at the time.
I enter medical school, and omg my grades dropped, I didn't know what I was doing wrong and essentially put myself through so much, my self esteem dropping to an all time low as I pretty much lost interest in everything. I thought I was "useless" as a person purely due to my academic setbacks.
Luckily I managed to pass somehow but still felt really low and hopeless.
From second year though, I began experimenting with newer study styles and techniques and the change was remarkable! The effort I put in was probably the same , but I shot up in terms of my grades .
To anyone going through a similar experience, I suggest you talk to a senior/ teacher/ do ur own research on study techniques , adapt it to suit your course, your year etc.
it's all about the technique ; addition of a simple method which so many around you would be doing and ur unaware of !
I also learnt I'm more than just grades, like said in the video it doesn't define you. I took so long to digest and accept that fact, but I'm glad I did .
And great video, Simon you're brilliant and inspiring as always :)
I currently study at uni and I'm in my second year. The first year was pretty fun and exciting, but really tough and I had to deal with the "man, all my mates are so much better at this than me"-mindset since the first lecture in math I think. Not that I didn't feel it in other courses as well but math was worst. Ended up failing most of my courses (80% of them) and over the summer I decided that instead of sticking to my class and starting 2nd grade I had to redo some of the 1st grade courses. Halfway through my second year (or 1,5 year, whatever you call it) today, I realize 2 things:
1) I have improved my study technique a lot...
2) ...but it will not be enough to make the exams.
Without going into too much boring details, like most other human beings I have ups & downs in all different aspects of my life, but I have felt a lot this last year that I tend to let those areas kind of spill over to each other. For example, if something happened at home and made me frustrated/sad, I'm having big trouble with isolating that problem to home only, and instead I end up staring at the book I'm supposed to read without getting anything done. And the other way as well, if (when) I get a bad result in school I get down and just putting on a smile gets difficult.
These are things that I know that I am better at now than I was before, but it's a bit too late to say that now. If I had learned what I have learned today (about attitude overall, studying technique etc) at the beginning of this semester, I honestly think that I would have made it, passed my exams and all. But since I can't even do that, this has become a problem that stretched over time and that consumes a lot of energy and mood from me. In one way I really wish to push through and get on with my studies but I have to be realistic as well: Fact is that if I continue like this, I will not finish my education at uni in 15-20 years. That bad, I wouldn't want that.
I'm curious if there's other people who have had similar experiences and if so how'd they cope with it? Taking a break and working for a year before continuing to study maybe?
Sorry for long comment, but thank you very much for making this video. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who says that!
I failed the first year of medical school because of the same reason; I found it hard to motivate myself when I felt everyone around me was always easily one step ahead. Tomorrow I start my resits and I know one set of exams (RCR) will be extremely tough. But with this mindset I hope to go into the exam ready to do my best. Wish me luck.
Thank you, I really needed this message! I've just started A levels and my grades have gone downhill from GCSE (I know I'm not alone in this at all but I've always been an A/A* student and it's my own personal goal to try and keep this up) but I hold hope that if I keep trying and responding to failures then my grades will soon improve😂
This was only in grade 11. I got a d for a math exam that I studied hard for. I was shattered and thought I was an idiot.. I moved up to the harder maths class just to try it out, worked hard as I saw that d was something to improve on as you said.. I got a b+ in the more difficult maths class. :)
Thank you SO, incredibly much for this video. I just went through a whole week where I felt like failure tore at me at every chance it could get. This helped remind me that success is possible, and that I should never lose hope.
This is an important discussion and video to get out there! Your 'improvement,' or 'growth' mindset doesn't come naturally to everyone, so thank you for sharing your story and your insight. I am familiar with Dr. Carol Dwek's work, also. Something that stood out for me from her TEDtalk, was the power of simply utilizing the words, "yet" and "not yet." When students, she observed, referred to what they are struggling with (academically and personally), added the words, 'yet' and 'not yet,' they turned fixed-mindset phrases such as, "I'm not fluent in Spanish," or, "I'm not a good public speaker," into statements with an opportunity for growth, such as, "I'm not fluent in Spanish, 'yet,'" or "I'm 'not yet' a good public speaker." These subtle additions to self-talk give a path toward improvement. It has worked for me -- try it yourself!
I was a brilliant student in my bachelors ..got prestigious scholarships and such much to the surprise and angst of my then teachers..(as I did it without there help)
Naturally I wanted to continue my streak in masters but with a new hostile surrounding..bad health ( due to it.. N some rough football)..n a new set off pissed off teachers..hv lost my direction
Dunno how will I find it..the direction but I will find it...Your videos are truly inspiring ...thanks a million.
The nature of our academics is so much result and recommendations oriented ( tough for me as all my teachers hate me ) tht it is tough not to get demotivated by them..especially when you want to go big places like Oxford ..
But thanks a ton for this..I'll go through this book.. N ur quiet quotable when u put forward inspiring thots..( be it in the comments section or other wise ) kudos!!!
I think the main problem is that people think that a failure prevents them from for example going to a good university. That's what scares people.
Joe MacDougall EXACTLY
This is just me
my first grade ever in physics GCSE was a low C, now I have an offer to study physics at oxford yay! lol
ala kazam how You doing now ?
@@Edkahmed +1
I'm firmly convinced that things I know best are the ones I learnt from my failed oral exams. You never ever forget them! Oral exam it's actually the best class a person can attend. That being said, I'm still so anxious about it, even after 5 years of university! But anyway, I try to see it as a private lesson that you can always learn something from. Great video! Ciao :)
The amount people that have challenged me is absolutely countless. I got told by a teacher that I'm not 'as smart as I think I am'. My Chemistry teacher used to give me a D and tell me 'I know you're working very hard but not everyone can do this'. Ended up with an A*. Still got loads of people to prove wrong! My favourite ever quote that keeps me going is 'O Eagle don't get frightened of these furious, violent winds! These blow to make you fly even higher'. And I've experienced the truth in this quotes, defeats are indeed steps by which we climb.
This was especially helpful, because I've got my physics finals tomorrow and lately, I haven't been doing too well at the subject. Physics has never really been my favourite subject, so it's quite the big leap for me, choosing to do it for a levels. I always end up comparing myself to other people in my class who put half the efforts I put in, and still get better grades! I really want to know how they do it, but now I understand that we all have different abilities and that comparing myself to others, who are different from me in every way possible, can only lead to my downfall, again. Thank you for the advice.
I love the concepts of physics. I got my back first physics test on mechanics today and got a 51/100. I was totally crushed. My professor did tell us that the test would be composed of problems we've never seen before, not online or in any textbook, but if you understand the concepts, you will be able to solve the problems. I realized I had lied to myself in that I didn't actually fully understand the concepts.
Dude I got 22/70 : (
Having just failed a first year subject (and done pretty poorly on the rest), and needing to repeat, here at university in Australia, your story and advice has made me feel much more confident! Thanks a lot man :)
I failed English gcse in the mock, then in the real exam I got 100%
I got D in AS Level Human Bio, but retook and got an A at A level overall. With 97%UMS for HBIO4 one of the hardest units ever! I worked my ass off and it paid off in the end :D
I've just received a D in an AS Chemistry mock that I was predicted an A in. I've basically been sulking for the last week and watching this video has totally changed my mind set and my attitude, thank you so much!
So here we go - this year it's time for some academic failures of my own) Last week my uni results came in and they were mixed: I had passed one exam but failed the other, the first time I ever did not pass :(. But I am taking this in the spirit of this video - I will make sure I improve and pass it next time with a good grade! Thanks for the video Simon, it's a great source of inspiration!
Hello Simon! Thank you so much for this helpful video. I've read Carol Dweck's research and found it so effective in shifting my paradigms towards life in general. I'm a freshman studying Chemistry at the University of the Philippines and for so many moments I thought I'm just not competent enough to keep up. But then again, you reminded me that failures are a part of learning and it's up to us how we're going to act upon them. Trust me, I've thought of dropping out of the premiere state university a lot of times too! Come to think of it, we're both so blessed to be learning in these institutions. Let's work harder!
Thank you so much for all of what you do, more power!!!
I had a really bad set of exams this semester- it is a huge set back in my career because I am in professional school. I have kept it together for a long time but I just fell apart this semester. It's so refreshing to hear you talking about your experiences, and remember that I have a lot of life left to live and I just need to KEEP ON SWIMMING.
I really find this video more than useful cause I have been there , i failed my first year in engineering school and now am doin my best to exceed in electrical engineering major , even though this new mindset is only few weeks ago got into my life and I had problems with my studying lately but am doin my best to overcome it and do whatever it take to do it better ! Thank you for this video
I was never the "Hard working", "A-Student", but in Spring 2013 (last semester), i worked really hard and it was a really rough semester but i got really amazing grades in all classes and the feeling of accomplishment was unbelievably awesome, this semester, i took more classes than usual, worked outside the university and i was doing student club work in campus, My grades are worse than ever. I failed 2 courses and got a d and a d+ among other bad grades... it was purely my fault for not prioritizing... next semester i WILL do well again, i will organize my time better and take a course load that is more suitable for me. and most importantly, i wont let ANYTHING interfere with my academic life....Sorry for the long story...I wish everyone and me a successful semester ahead. :)
Thank you for this video. I am actually overcoming failure right now as I prepare for this Spring semester here in the States. It was a case of too many eggs in one basket where I was taking too many classes, working in a research lab 3-4 days a week and working a part time job. As a result, I earned an F in second semester chemistry and in C++ programming. I am majoring in physics and am excited to begin my first physics class and calculus 2 and have thus significantly reduced my hours. In other words, I'm being more particular about how I divvy up my time and am applying the study tips you gave in your other video. Thanks!
This video has given me a lot of hope! In my AS exams last year I got BBCCE and having got straight A's prior to this it was a bit of a wake up call. Since then, I have worked even harder than I did last year in my A2 subjects, and using your study tips have improved how effectively I work. Consequently, I am now working at an A grade in History, English Literature and Biology and have been told my coursework for English Literature is an A* and top marks! So all I can say is thank you so much for your videos, you've really helped me get closer to my dreams! :)
When doing my GCSE's, I failed quite a lot of subjects. I retake them as a private student. After hard work, i managed to finish the year with all A*s and As which let me to proceed to A levels. During my A levels, A level Biology and Chemistry put me down because I achieved a D (AS) but after hard work i managed to get A, A, A, A in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. This let me to proceed to a top university studying Natural Science. Hopefully when finishing my degree, i hoped to do a PhD in Computer Science. After gaining that failure experience in my first attempt in my GCSE's, i became a stronger person.
what exam board for a levels did you have?
Today, I had a bad mock exam in AS level chemistry and was feeling really demoralised and fatigued. Your words have motivated me and changed my mindset on how to deal with failure. Thank you so very much, Simon.
I'm in first year and got 6 d and 3 as and I'm deppressed
Hey there +SimonOxfPhys! I've started watching your videos recently and I find them very inspiring :) I'm a first year graduate student in applied math and today I had my first ever exam in grad school. It was supposed to be relatively easy, but I suppose I studied the wrong way and I only got half of the given questions. I'm still quite down but I just want to thank you because this video cheered me up a lot today :D (bookmarking this btw XD) Thanks so much!
You're very welcome - and thanks for the kind words! The change to grad school is a huge one, so it's only natural that you'll find the transition a little difficult. Don't give up, you're going to be fine :)
I'm afraid I might be in a very similar situation haha. How was the rest of grad school?
I'm so glad that I got to watch this video at this point. I'm about 3 months away from a series of exams I have to take to get into Medical College and this is my second year taking them. Last year I did so poorly that I had to take a gap year to study for them. And off late I began questioning whether this is the right thing for me to do since I didn't do well the first time I took the test.
Though I don't' think that I initially handled the situation well and began resenting all my friends who went to college and took "easier" courses, I now see that even though I took a gap year I've learnt so much that I might not have if I had chosen to study something else.
I can say failing those first set of tests taught me that there were things I needed to better at and now I can say that I've become more disciplined and interested in what I learn. Even though I haven't taken the tests yet, I hope to get into a decent enough college with all the competition out there.
So, thank you Simon for reminding me that one failure does not not need to define how my future turns out to be.
Thought I would share my short story. Well I Underachieved at school due to problems in my Family and a bad social group. I went down the mind set that you spoke about Simon, regarding letting it define me. I ended up in prison briefly and now at 24 i'm going back to education to resit my GCSE's with an intention to go onto engineering. Thank you for your video was very inspiring to say the least.
Wow! Good luck
Sophie K Thanks Sophie
I've been feeling so down on myself for failing my last physics exam, even though the class average was so low for that test. I'm only first year on mechanics, but my professor and my classmates have such high hopes of me. I don't know what went over me during the exam, I put in so much effort into it and I got so anxious during the test even though I understood the concepts. I always get really anxious to take physics test because I love it so much and if I failed, I would think to myself that "I'm not good enough.. physics isn't right for me." Thank you for your words of inspiration. After hearing someone share their experience.. I really want to work on my failures and improve.
This is exactly what I needed. I am one week of my university exams and this video has given me the motivation to persevere, but also the mindset I can go into my exams with! Thank you, best wishes :)
At the start of my A level Chemistry I got a C on a mock and As in everything else. I was unhappy with this grade so for the next set of mocks I did extra chemistry revision and I got an A and over 90% as well. A positive attitude when faced with failure really does help me improve :)
This video has helped me a lot. I failed my first year at Oxford studying chemistry, and have my resits in just over 2 weeks. I've been working, but I'm so afraid I will fail once more and end up 2 years behind in my life. I mentally gave up on myself before my first set of exams, and didn't show what I was capable of at all, and I really want to prove to everyone i CAN do it, but I'm so scared that mindset will return, I haven't worked hard enough and I don't have enough time. I'm a perfectionist, so I've been trying to know absolutely everything about everything but I'm realising that may not be the best way to revise this close to the exams. Do you have any tips on how to revise most effectively at this point? And ways to stay calm about everything, as I sometimes experience waves of fear which just result in me being extremely unproductive. Thanks a lot!
+Tatiana Kochevsky Hello! I'm studying Chemistry too. :) I realized the best way to conquer memory work is via spaced repetition (I learned this from Barbara Oakley's "A Mind for Numbers"). With revising that close to exams, I'd say to just be thorough with every convention and method of problem solving, to choose from problem sets the items that use at least one convention you need to know so you'd be able to review all of them within the time you have left. I used to have panic attacks too, my pen used to shake in my hand as I'm taking the test! I realized after a failed exam that reviewing weeks earlier would definitely lessen the stress and anxiety! :) Anyway, your emotions are all under your control so train yourself to be strong! You can do it!! Good luck and cheers, fellow future Chemist!
I hope you did great in your exam! X
Hi Simon :)
I'm a student majoring in Physics and minoring in Statistics, wrapping up my first year at University.
I am constantly fighting to change that exact defeatist mindset ever since I have failed Calculus II (which is Integrals by the way and part of first year maths).
Thanks for making this video, watching it right before my first lecture retaking Calc 2 :D
Cheers!
Well, I was never really academically inclined in high school or in college so I failed my second year in college due to a set of bad grades. Needless to say, that served as a huge reality check for me and I made a conscious decision not to let my failure define me as a person. When I got through the second year, I wasn't given a full major in the subject of my choice (6 papers Psychology) due to my past academic record and instead was given the option to choose a double major (3 papers Psychology/3 papers English), which actually turned out to be blessing in disguise because I loved both subjects. However, I was even more determined to prove that I was capable and had deserved a full major, and scored fairly well that semester.
So, I totally get what you mean when you say that you decided to use your failure as an opportunity to improve yourself because that is exactly what I told myself, and it worked. I have learned a great deal from my failures and just want to say that it is truly possible to make the best of a bad situation. Work hard, and keep your head up. :)
Nice words of advice! Honestly, I failed my first year of med school and was held back. at the moment I am retaking the class and have noticed strides of improvement just with this mindset.
Thanks for your perfect advice Simon :). Whenever I got a bad mark or performed poorly in anything I always told myself (and others also) that I "didn't fail" , I simply "never fail" , I just find "ways" (of studying , playing,etc.) that don't work, and what I have to do now is find new ways that can make me improve :) . This mindset helped me a lot throughout and is still helping me till today .
Thank you sooo much for sharing this video , I am currently doing my A2's and I am not as motivated as I should be, although I know exams are around the corner and being a 3rd year student at college as I retook my AS year because I wasn't happy with what I got . But I turned this failure around and did really well the second time around , constantly having the mindset and reminding myself that I can achieve my aspirations and go to kings college to study child nursing is my main motivator.
I realised a while back that the reason for why I didn't start a math course was out of fear of failure. Your video really helped me viewing failure as something you can grow by. Thanks! :)
Hi Simon! Thank you so much for this video (over 3 years after being made)! It's incredibly helpful to hear this message especially after a PhD interview which in all honesty felt disastrous but let's hope I'm wrong. Fortunately it isn't my top choice of a studentship so I suppose it's made for good interview practice. My Asperger's syndrome can make me incredibly anxious in a variety of situations (especially interviews) and that has a massive effect on my ability to communicate with others. I was only given a morning to prepare for it and consequentially I just didn't feel ready for it at all. At some points in the interview I actually said some things that were factually incorrect and very often made myself unclear of what I was saying, and a large part of that came from my lack of ability to relax during the interview.
In retrospect this was my first ever PhD interview but I definitely felt foolish and defeated this morning. I am trying my best to push away from these feelings, especially considering that I definitely want to research in the future and I believe no amount of failed PhD interviews will change that (I'd also face similar challenges if I weren't to take an academic route so logically I have no reason to give up on what I want to do).
Thank you so much for making this video. It's been amazingly helpful to have someone say things as they are! I'm set to have a PhD interview for Cambridge towards the end of next week so hopefully that will be better than the last one! Thank you again! :-)
That's the spirit! Thanks for your thoughtful sharing. Everyone trips and falls, but different reactions could probably result in different future. Influenced by my past experience, sometimes I just suffer too much from perfectionism, which inevitably results in fault finding. But there's definitely no point of blaming yourself too much and keeping stuck in the failures. One should look forward and work harder to become a better person. 👍
Cheers for the quality material you provide us, mate.
+Doruk Efe Gökmen you're very welcome!
This video just made my week! (3 rejections, one of which was from Oxford, in the space of 3 weeks) Thanks Simon, you always seem to make the right videos at the right time :)
I recently failed a presentation with the goal of presenting and debating a controversial topic in science. The primary literature was heavier than I thought it was and during the presentation I realized I didn't understand it as well as I thought. There was no failing grade but I could feel the disappointment from my director and partner. Your inspirational words will motivate me to work harder. Thank you.
Awesome work Simon! Keep up the excellent work in increasing the morale of several people, nice.
It was always my dream to go to Oxbridge but after putting an enormous amount of effort into my application and interviews, I was rejected outright. It crushed me at the time, especially telling everyone at my school alongside others who got places. People didn't understand why I was so disappointed but the idea of going to Cambridge is what drove me throughout my entire school life. Anyway I got A*A*AA in my A-levels and I'm now studying physics at St Andrews :). I could not imagine a better experience at uni. The town and atmosphere are awesome! It really is a unique uni experience and suits me so much! I think the flip side of such a crushing failure is that you've been through the worst and no longer fear failure at all. It was also an important lesson in not letting being smart define me. In hindsight, it was really a blessing in disguise. Sometimes not getting what you want is the best luck you'll ever have ;)
Today I got a failing grade for a final assignment on the last day of class. It really affected me to the point that I couldn't stop crying. To cope with my feelings, I started cleaning and I could feel myself wanting to numb the hurt and embarrassment. I did feel like the lowest of lows when the teacher approached me and said can I see you after class. Well this failure has open my eyes to see where I need to improve. Its hard to receive comments that challenge your academic skills, when you know what you are capable of.
I did awful in physics during my junior year despite me telling people how much I wanted to major in theoretical physics or engineering physics in a years time. This year (senior year) I've worked ten times harder and have done substantially better and I'm hoping to get accepted into either of those programs. I'm writing my physics final in a weeks time, wish me luck!
was in bottom set for GCSE maths, put the effort in and beat a large proportion of people in the highest set. Now taking Further Maths as an A level which I really never thought I would even consider doing!
Thank you so much for this video. i recently failed my exam and its real bad and i felt like I wasnt good enough for this but your video helped a lot . Now i'm going to challenge my failure and get past it . Thank you so much for this
I bought the book after Simon featured it on his other video - it also talks a lot about how you can change your character. In lower secondary school I was fairly rebellious, smart but not achieving my potential if I didn't get something I would just become depressed and give up. I rarely got involved with anything at school. I'm now head boy of my school and hoping to do History at Oxford, great video Simon :)
and three years later , you are a phd student
i really needed this thank you
Well I am no where as close to the academic success as you because I am just going into high school however I am always striving to improve my academic marks. This year I have been trying to achieve the best marks I can by putting extra time in on projects others deem as pointless and studying hard just so I can get the opportunity to go to the high school I have my eyes set on with advanced placement courses. I struggle with confidence in myself and self worth and always saw myself as an okay student. I put all of that to the back of my mind and worked my butt off. This term I received my report card and I can proudly say that I have received marks I have never thought I would achieve. My highest being in Geography, Science, Math, English and surprisingly Art. I have received marks that have surpassed the students that are seen as the most intelligent in my class. Those marks along with many other standardized testing, teacher assessments and written pieces I have applied to the high school of my dreams that upon gradation I will have university credits and be a recognized National AP Scholar. I wouldn't get the opportunity to strive for that without my setbacks in math and science that made me want to prove myself as successful. I now love science particularly biology and math is a very close second. :)
Thanks Simon! This video was extremely helpful as I myself had my fair share of struggles in my exams. Studying in a one of the top schools in the country, I'm always thinking that I'm not worthy of this place that I have here. Now, I know that it's ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. This truly was an eye opener! Thanks again, love Xx :)
Thank you so much for this video. I am now in my first year of physics (in Belgium) and i seriously failed my first set of exams. Its not that I did not work for it (in fact I worked my ass of) but i think I just did not work effectively. Now I pass my hours at the library instead of at home and make a very strict planning shedule. This video gave me hope that all my efforts may not be for nothing :D
Where there is life there is hope. And I can guarantee that your efforts will pay off :)
um I remember that one time I worked for months on a physics project of mine for my science exhibition.and i failed so bad at the end due to a small misunderstanding of my circuit, that judges panel laughed at me 😁 after that same day i started reanalyzing and learning more about why things went wrong.this went one for a year and I remember at one point i was like that's it, it will never work but i still continued and lo and behold who got the first position that next year,it was me.and that same judging panel that laughed at me were quite impressed.
while this was not somewhat an academic achievement i hope that it may inspire some people out there to never give up after a failure :)
Just finished my first year of college, and failed both Chemistry and maths. Second semester, I failed the same math class again but just barely passed Chem. It never really got me down for some reason, I guess I just knew I could've tried harder/studied more. (I guess I was whittling instead of studying) Mid-second semester I changed my major, from electrical engineering to Manufacturing Technology Management, which is a far more hands on major than engineering which is heavy on math. Now I really know what I'm getting into, and I'm even excited to start this next year in my new classes, learning about the properties of materials rather than figuring equations. If I fail completely and have to drop out, I guess it was a nice learning experience where I learned more about myself, what I can and can't do, and what I like. Best of luck to me next semester!
So, update two years from my original comment. My god did I pick the right option then. I'm now in the upper level courses, and only have a year or so left here and I'm confident I made the right choice with this major. I'm getting a minor in metals processing and maybe in drafting and product development. The Big one is metals. I've joined up with the American Foundry Society, and will be their secretary for the upcoming academic year, and I also got a scholarship through the Foundry Education Foundation, and have an internship at a foundry this summer. It's more than just school, I've even got my own coal forge at home and that has been lots of fun, and I really want to get better at forging knives. I plan on making my own butterfly knife, oil quench tank, and 2x72 belt grinder this summer, I have so many plans for things I want to make from metal.
Overall, I struck gold failing math and chem. (Also my job position is engineering intern and I haven't taken any engineering courses, even though my college doesn't consider people in my major engineers but we really are)
I have an academic problem right now. I go to 7th grade and getting into a specific high school is VERY immportant to me. But this school accepts only students that have passed from 5th to 8th grade with maximum grades possible. Unfourtenetly for me, I wasnt really that close to maximum(5th grade 4.69/5.00 and 6th grade 4.92/5.00) and here is literaly no way for me to get in. That is really immportant to me so I developed a VERY hard plan to achieve(4 to 5 state compititions) and its almost impossible but I try really hard to achieve it. Thank you for this video it really helped me not to be angry at myself for those fails. It really means a lot to me.
Oh wow, I have to admit I got pretty emotional watching this video. I've had a terrible year in many aspects, having absolutely failed my sophomore year in physics. At first I lost a semester due to a physical injury and subsequent depression, which in turn brought me to fail most of the next one.
Just like you said, I had just basically decided that I was not smart enough for this, that I didn't study maths enough before college, and that I was going to transfer to a easier subject. But then I find myself watching this one video where you reccomends science books and suddenly I remember why I used to be so interested in physics of all things. These past two years, I had been so focused in getting good grades, so worried about not disappointing family and teachers, that I hadn't learned anything for the long term. Sadly, turns out I spent most of that time learning to do set examples...
Anyway, I really just wanted to thank you for creating this channel, it is really helping me to reaccess what I want to do with my life.
Hang in there! It can be incredibly disorienting going through a time of such upheaval, but you can do it. Just stay true to yourself - ask yourself what makes you happy, and follow that. Not what other people expect of you. That will lead you to real passion and understanding.
I hope that my channel can be useful in some way, but whatever you do please, please stay true to yourself. That is the most important thing of all.
You've got this :)
I was in the top students of my year in early high school, then managed to get into a specialised mathematics and science academy, where I bombed to a ridiculous degree (Was (accurately) told by staff that I was the train wreck of my year). Kept trying and failing, waiting for motivation in me to kick in and actually do the work that needed to be done, just got into uni for maths and physics, continued to bomb (dramatically) until I realised that my extreme lack of self confidence and a fear of feeling stupid had stopped me from putting myself out there and asking for help. Now I am trying (semi-successfully) to change procrastination habits and to always remind myself that I'm doing this because I love physics and science and that it is worth the pain I've gone through in the past and that I can only go up from here. Am now going into my fourth year of my dual degree and am actually excited to get to work :)
Thanks a lot Simon! All your videos motivate me throughout a year to set goals and achieve them! You are great! Keep making videos, and good luck with your studies!
Thank you for this video it really motivated me, im in year 8 and i did a maths test yesterday and didn't think i did it to the best of my abillity( i missed the higher level questions because i ran out of time) and i was very annoyed and frustrated and i looked on the bright side on how i can improve on this and simon basically agrees with this as well. I maybe a year 8 test but it still meant a lot to me as little subtle things like this could draw me a prosper future. :)
it had been really hard for me lately. I compared myself to one of my friend who once i regard as not a good student suddenly overcame me. Now i lost my motives and almost gave up. It became harder when you are stressed and have anxiety. But your videos are very useful to me, helping me bouncing back up. Alright now i gotta open the book
Video came at the right time before AS results are out this Friday. Thanks for the vid Simon !
He is right. I firstly didn't excel in academics by first two years in high school; then I tried harder ( despite me having doubts), I started to excel. Now I am going to Berkeley after my high school graduation.
Started watching your videos recently, but I just failed my accelerated calculus class this semester and this video became relevant. Thank you for pulling me out of my pit of self-loathing :)
VERY USEFUL VIDEOS. I RECENTLY SCORED 95+ IN ALL SUBJECTS EXCEPT MATHS WHERE I GUESS I WOULD BE GRATEFUL TO RECEIVE A PASSING GRADE.HARD TO COPE WITH IT BUT YOUR VIDEO REALLY HELPED
THANKS
Simon, i remember watching one of your vids like 4 years ago and I thought that going to oxford was unreal. I can't believe I will be applying for the dream that I have had for the last 4 years of my life in just 8 months. I don't want to screw up! I always go by the mantra happiness=reality/expectations yet I know that my expectations will be so high that if I don't get it I cannot see any future in my life
Good luck with applying - you have absolutely nothing to lose by doing so!
Can I just say that besides how inspiring this video is, your handsome face greatly lightens up my bad day :D I just had a low mark on my exam last week, but this video inspires me to do better! Thank you so much :)
Thanks so much for this video. That´s what I needed to hear today. I did not fail an exam, but I did something wrong in an experiment today so I have to do it again. My supervisior was kind of disappointed and I started questioning myself. I always want to do practical things perfectly so I get very upset with myself when I am not. But your view of dealing with failure enlightened my evening. Thank you! :)
Great video! I was in the same position where at the beginning of GCSE I got a D in English and a C on geography, but I learnt from my mistakes and so far have gotten straight A* in both, getting full marks in the English exam
Really what I needed! I just failed one of my A level mock. And this really demoralised me! However after listening to your video, I know I can I do it if I just push myself a bit more . Thank you for your videos
I am a student of applied mathematics and i failed one class this past semester, this video was extremely helpful for me to overcome the disappointment that i was felling. Thank you!! (sorry if there is any english mistake)
So yeah, I failed my driving test yesterday and I was ready to pack it in, but after having watched this vid, I have rebooked it (fingers crossed!!) Thanks Simon :D
I still remember how my grades went crashing down in 9 th grade ( specially in maths) I even got depressed for quite some time .
But I started to work after I realised I was wasting my time thinking about what was past.Gradually that became hard work and I fared well in my finals and the best part was that I had started to like maths unlike before.
Im currently struggling with coming to terms with failure. I failed 3rd year by 2% in 1 exam. I lost my part time job around the same time. Im currently trying to apply for jobs whilst attempting to find motivation to study for this 1 exam in may. Ive spent so much time out of uni ive lost all confidence in my academic abilities!
Loved this video, it seemed to stir up a little motivation and hopefully its the start of my comeback!