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I've recently noticed the number of people who say that they are hopeless when it comes to studying and passing exams. As there are so many opportunities for improvement now it seems a real shame if a limiting belief is holding you back. Steve's story is a good example of this and how it doesn't have to be that way.

When I first met Steve, he was extremely upbeat about all of his recent achievements, but when it came to a course that he still hadn't finished, you could hear the energy draining away as he described the home study involved which included various assignments and a thesis. He had set himself a 6 months deadline and had in fact managed to get the assignments done, but the thesis was a challenge that he hadn't been able to overcome and it was stopping him finishing the course.

I asked him to tell me about other studying situations and how easy or difficult he had found them. It transpired that when he was at school, his father had told him in no uncertain terms exactly what he expected Steve to achieve in his exams. The pressure Steve felt under resulted in him failing every one.

Years later he managed to pass various exams because he wanted to do it for himself, but although he ultimately did well, he said that he always found them difficult, and had a belief that he would always struggle with studying.

Talking through a strategy to get his thesis finished, he decided to write down his thoughts and feelings about his school days, and remember the successful results he'd had since leaving school.

He also decided to come up with an affirmation to be repeated morning and night such as 'I thrive on my learning achievements' to start changing his thoughts around studying, and then visualise his family and friends congratulating him on finishing his course.

Steve felt so inspired, that he got his thesis finished within a week and felt a great sense of achievement. When we analysed why it had been so difficult to finish, he became aware that the real problem had been the thought of spending all of that time at his PC, which had made him feel under pressure, just as he had felt when he was at school. He then realised that passing the course was really important to him and worth the time, but he had to find ways of making it a more enjoyable process. By having regular breaks and giving himself little rewards, he successfully completed his thesis and decided to go for another course, but this time with the belief that he could do it!