{"id":678,"date":"2012-02-14T15:36:58","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T23:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?p=678"},"modified":"2020-01-15T10:50:56","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T18:50:56","slug":"beating-gmat-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Beating GMAT Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the last post, we learned about the breathing and its ability to stimulate the relaxing effects of the PNS, as well as\u00a0a little about mindfulness, and its ability to reduce stress and enhance your performance on the GMAT<\/a>.\u00a0 In this post, we are going to take on directly the juggernaut of your stress: your thoughts.
\n <\/p>\n

Your Thoughts vs. You<\/h2>\n

Folks like us, who take tests like the GMAT, are generally successful: we’re college graduates and proficient in careers.\u00a0 Our heads have gotten us far, and that’s great.\u00a0 In a way, though, that’s precisely the problem.\u00a0 There are certain times when we need to think hard about something, but the mind creates thoughts 24\/7 regardless of whether thoughts are needed.\u00a0 The mind continuous “secretes” thoughts much as, say, the saliva glands continuously secrete saliva.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Not every thought that passes through our heads is true, and in particular, the more charged thoughts often are based on scanty evidence and\/or wildly improbable scenarios, and yet these are the ones that can deeply drive our emotions.\u00a0 Often the difference between feeling confident or defeated walking into a situation has to do with the thought-cycle that is spinning at the moment.\u00a0 How does one bring discipline and conscious choice to bear on one’s thoughts?
\n <\/p>\n

Creating Space<\/h2>\n

Just as one can be mindful of one’s body or one’s breath, one can be mindful of one’s thoughts.\u00a0 This means simply watching the thoughts as a stream, as a passing parade.\u00a0 When one feels one’s self starting to get engulfed in the rollercoaster of a particular thought-pattern, one simply steps back and labels it “thought.”\u00a0 By that label, we are not saying it is true or false, simply a thought, no more.<\/p>\n

If this is new to you, then at first, it will seem next to impossible.\u00a0 Much more than other forms of mindfulness, mindfulness of thought requires tremendous perseverance and conscientiousness.\u00a0 One might find visualization and related tricks helpful—for example, imagining an unpleasant scene in your head getting smaller and smaller, or imagining turning down the volume on a troubling voice in one’s head. \u00a0<\/p>\n

At first, one simply realizes in retrospect, “I had that thought, and then I went on that whole emotional ride when I didn’t have to!”\u00a0 With practice, though, one creates space: space between one’s self and the entrance to the rollercoaster, space to insert a more positive thought—or space simply to be mindful and breathe deeply.\u00a0 Imagine being able to walk into your GMAT with that kind of inner spaciousness!\u00a0 Imagine being able to approach your career like that!<\/p>\n

See also Mindful Test Taking<\/a>.
\n <\/p>\n

Practice<\/h2>\n

Moments when the mind is apt to be idle are the best times to put effort into this practice: in the shower, commuting time, standing in line, waiting for an appointment, etc.\u00a0 Of course, the very best practice would be a full-blown daily meditation routine.\u00a0 Many of the stress-reducing benefits of meditation simply have to do with enabling folks no longer to ride the thought rollercoasters they don’t want to ride.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

In addition to the myriad health and psychological benefits of meditation, such a practice would enable you to approach the GMAT, or any analogous challenge, with one-pointed clarity and balance.\u00a0 If you can commit to daily meditation, you will see some benefits even in the GMAT a month or two away, and you will see more and more benefits in both your personal life and career as the practice deepens over time.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Short of developing a full daily mediation practice, if you just practice mindfulness of thoughts consistently, in the odd empty moments of each day, you will make significant progress derailing the thought rollercoasters that don’t serve you, thereby becoming that much more calm and confident at the moments when you need to be “on”—for example, when you take your GMAT.<\/p>\n

Don’t forget to check out my last post on dealing with GMAT exam anxiety<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last post, we learned about the breathing and its ability to stimulate the relaxing effects of the PNS, as well as\u00a0a little about mindfulness, and its ability to reduce stress and enhance your performance on the GMAT.\u00a0 In this post, we are going to take on directly the juggernaut of your stress: your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13209],"class_list":["post-678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBeating GMAT Stress | Magoosh Study Resources<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beating GMAT Stress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the last post, we learned about the breathing and its ability to stimulate the relaxing effects of the PNS, as well as\u00a0a little about mindfulness, and its ability to reduce stress and enhance your performance on the GMAT.\u00a0 In this post, we are going to take on directly the juggernaut of your stress: your […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-14T23:36:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-15T18:50:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mike M\u1d9cGarry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshGMAT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshGMAT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mike M\u1d9cGarry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mike M\u1d9cGarry\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/320346c205075513344435baf9b0521b\"},\"headline\":\"Beating GMAT Stress\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-14T23:36:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/\"},\"wordCount\":673,\"commentCount\":14,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"GMAT Strategy and Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/\",\"name\":\"Beating GMAT Stress | Magoosh Study Resources\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-14T23:36:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Beating GMAT Stress\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\",\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about the GMAT\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"width\":265,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"Magoosh\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MagooshGMAT\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/320346c205075513344435baf9b0521b\",\"name\":\"Mike M\u1d9cGarry\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/15a1e36ef1c2c3940179212433de141a\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b06de81592cd77bb46aa560cc59aee179cba4d042835c3529221ea1b344cce0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b06de81592cd77bb46aa560cc59aee179cba4d042835c3529221ea1b344cce0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mike M\u1d9cGarry\"},\"description\":\"Mike holds an A.B. in Physics (graduating magna cum laude) and an M.T.S. in Religions of the World, both from Harvard. Beyond standardized testing, Mike has over 20 years of both private and public high school teaching experience specializing in math and physics. In his free time, Mike likes smashing foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY Mets. Learn more about the GMAT through Mike's Youtube video explanations.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/MagooshGMATChannel\/featured\"],\"award\":[\"Magna cum laude from Harvard\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"GMAT\"],\"knowsLanguage\":[\"English\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Content Creator\",\"worksFor\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/author\/mikemcgarry\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Beating GMAT Stress | Magoosh Study Resources","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Beating GMAT Stress","og_description":"In the last post, we learned about the breathing and its ability to stimulate the relaxing effects of the PNS, as well as\u00a0a little about mindfulness, and its ability to reduce stress and enhance your performance on the GMAT.\u00a0 In this post, we are going to take on directly the juggernaut of your stress: your […]","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/","article_published_time":"2012-02-14T23:36:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-15T18:50:56+00:00","author":"Mike M\u1d9cGarry","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MagooshGMAT","twitter_site":"@MagooshGMAT","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mike M\u1d9cGarry","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/"},"author":{"name":"Mike M\u1d9cGarry","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/320346c205075513344435baf9b0521b"},"headline":"Beating GMAT Stress","datePublished":"2012-02-14T23:36:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/"},"wordCount":673,"commentCount":14,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization"},"articleSection":["GMAT Strategy and Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/","name":"Beating GMAT Stress | Magoosh Study Resources","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-02-14T23:36:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/beating-gmat-stress\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Beating GMAT Stress"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","description":"Everything you need to know about the GMAT","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization","name":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","width":265,"height":60,"caption":"Magoosh"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/MagooshGMAT"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/320346c205075513344435baf9b0521b","name":"Mike M\u1d9cGarry","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/15a1e36ef1c2c3940179212433de141a","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b06de81592cd77bb46aa560cc59aee179cba4d042835c3529221ea1b344cce0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b06de81592cd77bb46aa560cc59aee179cba4d042835c3529221ea1b344cce0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mike M\u1d9cGarry"},"description":"Mike holds an A.B. in Physics (graduating magna cum laude) and an M.T.S. in Religions of the World, both from Harvard. Beyond standardized testing, Mike has over 20 years of both private and public high school teaching experience specializing in math and physics. In his free time, Mike likes smashing foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY Mets. Learn more about the GMAT through Mike's Youtube video explanations.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/MagooshGMATChannel\/featured"],"award":["Magna cum laude from Harvard"],"knowsAbout":["GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/author\/mikemcgarry\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13209,"user_id":26,"is_guest":0,"slug":"mikemcgarry","display_name":"Mike M\u1d9cGarry","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6b06de81592cd77bb46aa560cc59aee179cba4d042835c3529221ea1b344cce0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"M\u1d9cGarry","first_name":"Mike","description":"Mike served as a GMAT Expert at Magoosh, helping create hundreds of lesson videos and practice questions to help guide GMAT students to success. He was also featured as \"member of the month\" for over two years at <a href=\"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/mike-mcgarrys-gmat-experience\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GMAT Club<\/a>. Mike holds an A.B. in Physics (graduating <em>magna cum laude<\/em>) and an M.T.S. in Religions of the World, both from Harvard. Beyond standardized testing, Mike has over 20 years of both private and public high school teaching experience specializing in math and physics. In his free time, Mike likes smashing foosballs into orbit, and despite having no obvious cranial deficiency, he insists on rooting for the NY Mets. Learn more about the GMAT through Mike's <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/MagooshGMATChannel\/featured\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Youtube <\/a>video explanations and resources like <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/whats-a-good-gmat-score\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What is a Good GMAT Score?<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-diagnostic-test\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GMAT Diagnostic Test<\/a>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}