“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” – Walter Anderson
Maybe your certification exam is months away or maybe it’s around the corner. At some point in the preparation process you may have encountered some anxiety. The American Psychological Association defines anxiety as “an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” Perhaps these attributes resonate with you or maybe not. How do you know when you’re anxious? You notice something has changed. That moment of awareness is a mindful moment. This observation of your own state of being, creates the opportunity to follow Walter Anderson’s guidance to “diminish anxiety faster [with] action.”
As you have intentionally prepared for studying and taking the exam, have you accounted for how to manage your anxiety? No worries if not. Let’s create/review your anxiety mitigation plan together to determine the well-being controls you may choose to rely upon. Cultivating awareness of the present state of your mind and body before and during the exam can support healthy practices to regulate emotions and foster a focused mindset, which can improve your performance on exam day.
- Intentions – Set/remind yourself why you chose to sit for the exam. An example intention could be to deepen your technical knowledge and expertise to better support the organization’s mission.
- Mindful awareness – Whether it’s preparing for the exam or some other situation, what indicates to you physically and mentally that you may be in an anxious state?
- First, you can begin by noticing what happens in your body. Does your pulse quicken? Do you tighten up in your chest or belly? Does breathing become difficult or do your breaths shorten? Could you benefit from some movement, such as walking, stretching, etc.?
- Second, what do you notice happens within the landscape of your mind? Are you thinking about negative possibilities and self-criticism?
- Third, you can check in with your emotions. Perhaps you think it’s anxiety and maybe other emotions are present. When we take the time to reflect on the definition of an emotion (even those that seem familiar), we may determine it doesn’t actually match our current state. Spend some time determining if you could label emotions without judging yourself for what you’re feeling. These resources are great examples for helping to become more aware of your emotions: 1) Brené Brown Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience; and 2) How We Feel App – Yale Center of Emotional Intelligence & How We Feel Project, Inc. non-profit.
- Reframing – Managing the mental back and forth of thoughts can be exhausting and time-consuming. It can help to practice how you can catch yourself in a thought loop and reframe what’s happening to better help you in a moment. If a thought arises about how you don’t know enough, could you return with a counter of reassurance?
- Perhaps that sounds like a mental reminder of “I passed exams before so I’m capable of passing this one too.”
- Or perhaps an acknowledgement with encouragement would help, such as “Yes, this is a lot of content to cover and it’s hard to study. However, I’ll have more meaningful work opportunities available when I earn this credential, so it’s worth it.”
In our field, we know there can be a big difference between making a plan and testing it with a tabletop exercise or a real-world scenario. Let’s visualize a possible moment to test out these well-being controls. I invite you to imagine that you’re in the testing center taking the exam. You’re about an hour in and things start to get difficult. Your mental clarity may start diminishing as your anxiety builds. Rather than trying to suppress or turn away from the reality of the moment, could you befriend your experience? In other words, could you get to know what’s happening within you with an open mind and kindness to use that information for your benefit?
Remember the S.T.O.P. mindfulness technique: Stop, take a breath, observe, and proceed with compassion.
- Stop. Perhaps you mentally say to yourself “Stop. This isn’t where I want my mind to be focused right now.”
- Breathe deeply in through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth. Maybe you need some more breathing approaches to create a greater sense of calm. Perhaps you simply count how many breaths it takes to fully inhale and then double the count for a slow exhale for a few times or until you notice a change.
- Observe what is happening in this moment, such as physical body sensations, thoughts and emotions.
- Proceed in a way that helps you to alleviate your difficulties with compassion. Maybe this entails mentally reminding yourself of your intentions, remembering the benefits of this credential, repeating affirmations and visualizing celebrating when it’s all over afterwards. Find what works for you. Now, allow yourself to let go of that visualization and reflect if there’s anything else you learned that could help with your preparations.
We know sometimes controls are designed well, but they may end up being inadequate when they’re in operation. Maybe it helps to address that worry directly – if you fail the exam, you’ll (fill in the blank) e.g., take a bootcamp class, find a study partner, etc. You’ll address that when and if it arises, at least you’ve thought of a high-level plan. Now you’ve dealt with the future so you can return to the present.
In closing, you’ve built up your well-being controls, you’ve planned for the worst case-scenario, and now you’re ready to act. Anxiety comes and goes. The more you understand how it shows up for you, the better you can partner with it to mindfully and intentionally move forward – one moment at a time.
Good luck, deep breaths, and may you be well!
Editor’s note: Find more resources on ISACA certifications and exam prep here.
Author’s note: The guidance in this post is not a substitute for professional care. Please consult a licensed healthcare professional for additional support as preferred.
About the author: Natasha Barnes is an Associate Director in Protiviti’s Technology Audit & Advisory practice. She has almost 15 years of consulting experience supporting private and public sector clients. She earned her CISA and CISM. In addition, she holds a Certified Workplace Mindfulness Facilitator credential from Mindful Leader and completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training program from 532Yoga. Natasha founded a guided meditation program within her workplace in March 2020 and is the lead facilitator for this offering.
