😔 Failure is your best teacher! (1 Viewer)

[LuqmanA]

absolutely support your overall message but subjects definitely do matter, while you should definitely not choose subjects based on scaling, it is an unfortunate reality that the highest scaled marks (aside from the obvious near-100 in the lower courses) will be awarded to the better scaling subjects, namely sciences and all the extension subjects

of course if you do high scaling subjects and you do rubbish that won't save you, so you're almost always better off doing the subjects you're better at/more interested in

I 100% agree with you.

Sorry, I should’ve clarified.

When I say ‘subjects don’t matter’, I mean that you don’t need to do the ‘high scaling’ subjects to score a high ATAR.

You can succeed doing ANY subjects.

You nailed it - you should choose the subjects you’re interested in, and just because a subject scales high it doesn’t mean you’ll do well.

 

[tgone]

When I say ‘subjects don’t matter’, I mean that you don’t need to do the ‘high scaling’ subjects to score a high ATAR.

absolutely agree that you don't **need** to do them for a high ATAR, so to speak, but if one feels capable of doing the 'difficult' subjects it will usually be worth it to go for high scaling and will almost invariably result in higher ATAR - to an extent though this outlook is somewhat fallacious since scaling itself is based on how well the candidature does in their subjects overall, ie essentially the conclusion is that higher performing students will... drum roll... perform better in the hardest subjects and get a better ATAR consequentially

 

[Cathode_RT]

Never back down, NEVER GIVE UP

 

[LuqmanA]

Never back down, NEVER GIVE UP

View attachment 42854

THAT’S RIGHT

 

[LuqmanA]

What was your ATAR?

97.90 (let’s just say 98 lol)

 

[wildwestworm]

NOTE: This was today's edition of ATAR Digest, my weekly newsletter (if you'd like to sign up for free, please email me at Luqmanarabofficial@gmail.com)

----


Your Mindset is EVERYTHING!
Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it - Steve Maraboli

The greatest differentiator of whether you’ll succeed in achieving your desired ATAR or not, is your mindset.

Your mindset is so important, that even if you were to have the best study techniques, the most comprehensive notes and all the motivation/discipline in the world…

YOU’LL STILL PERFORM BADLY!

And yet, despite it’s importance, students will neglect it completely.

Don’t be like the other students.

In this post, I’ll go over why your mindset is so important and the 3 mindsets to adopt if you want to achieve a high ATAR.

This and the upcoming posts are easily the most important ones of ATAR Digest, so be sure to read through this completely and take some notes!

Table of Contents

• Your ATAR = Your Mindset
• Adopt these 3 Mindsets for a 90+ ATAR
  • 1. Autonomous
  • 2. Competitive
  • 3. Growth
• The only limit is the one you set for yourself

Your ATAR = Your Mindset

Mindset refers to the underlying beliefs and attitudes that shape one’s thoughts, behaviours and responses to challenges.

Your mindset impacts how you think of everything around you. So, if you have a poor mindset, then the way you approach your studies and year 11/12 as a whole will be poor too.

This is the number 1 difference between a successful and unsuccessful student.

• When successful students face a setback, like doing poorly in an exam, they see this as a chance for growth. They learn from their mistakes, get better and then smash the next exam.
• But for unsuccessful students, whenever they face a setback they get absolutely destroyed. They throw in the towel. They give up!

This all has to do with their mindsets.

The successful student believes that through failure they can get better and improve. They believe that they need to now put in more work and fix themselves.

The unsuccessful student believes that because they failed, they’re stupid now and can’t achieve a 90+ ATAR.

Your mindset is the foundation of all success. It’s the foundation of your ATAR!


Adopt these 3 Mindsets for a 90+ ATAR

1. Autonomous

The realisation & belief that your EDUCATION and ACHIEVING THAT DESIRED ATAR is at your finger tips!

Although the ATAR number itself is out of your control…

You and you ALONE are in control of how much effort, time, energy and focus you put towards achieving your goals — NOT YOUR TEACHERS OR CLASSMATES.

You need to stop blaming other people.

I am not saying that there is no such thing as a bad teacher, bad school and bad classmates.

I am saying that DESPITE having these bad circumstances, you must believe that you are still the one who has control over it.

Take full responsibility and accountability for everything!



2. Competitive

The ATAR is a rank and is therefore highly competitive.

So, in order to score a ‘90+ ATAR’, you need to beat 90% of other students.

How do you beat these other students?

Be competitive!


When you have this mindset, the work and effort you put in is next level.

And if you want to come out on top and achieve a 90+ ATAR, then you’ll need to be doing next level things!



3. Growth

The belief that your abilities and intelligence can be developed and improved over time through dedication, hard work and perseverance.

Just because you don’t understand something now, it doesn’t mean you won’t forever.

Just because you are terrible at maths, it doesn’t make you stupid!

It just means that you haven’t properly learned it yet and you need to practice more.

Don’t limit yourself by thinking that you’re ‘stupid’ or that other people are smarter than you.

Truly believe that you can achieve anything in life and that you can win in anything that you do - no matter how bad you’ve been at it in the past.

The only limit is the one you set for yourself

The only person who is stopping you from success is YOU.

You have no excuses to not scoring your dream ATAR.

I hear students all the time complaining and saying:

• ‘I don’t go to a good school’
• ‘My teacher is terrible and doesn’t know how to teach’
• ‘My subjects don’t scale well’

And so many other statements.

But guess what?

I had ALL of these issues myself, and yet I ended up scoring in the top 2% of the state.

If I had said those things to myself when I was in year 11 and 12, would I have been able to succeed?

No.

Why?

Because when you tell yourself excuses and reasons why you can’t achieve something, you’ve subconsciously set yourself a boundary.

You have LIMITED your own ability to succeed!

So stop making excuses, put in the work and you’ll achieve a 95+ ATAR (or whatever ATAR you desire).

View attachment 42818


Did you find this post helpful?

If so, you'd love ATAR Digest!

Each week I send a 5-minute email like this one directly into your inbox - you get my 97+ ATAR advice, guidance and so much more, completely for free!

Thank you so much for this, I think this'll really help me out a lot but tbh I'm kind of worried because I didn't have any motivation for the start of year 12 and now I feel like my terrible grades for term 1/2 will prevent me from getting into the course I'd like to get into. I know I shouldn't think about it like that, but I feel like objectively I'll never achieve my goals because it's too late to start trying

 

[notsmartenough]

Thank you so much for this, I think this'll really help me out a lot but tbh I'm kind of worried because I didn't have any motivation for the start of year 12 and now I feel like my terrible grades for term 1/2 will prevent me from getting into the course I'd like to get into. I know I shouldn't think about it like that, but I feel like objectively I'll never achieve my goals because it's too late to start trying

What course do you want to get into? Is there early entry for it?

 

[wildwestworm]

What course do you want to get into? Is there early entry for it?

I want to do engineering, specifically environmental. I'm pretty sure I could do FEAS but I dont think my school reports will be good tbh🥲

 

[LuqmanA]

Thank you so much for this, I think this'll really help me out a lot but tbh I'm kind of worried because I didn't have any motivation for the start of year 12 and now I feel like my terrible grades for term 1/2 will prevent me from getting into the course I'd like to get into. I know I shouldn't think about it like that, but I feel like objectively I'll never achieve my goals because it's too late to start trying

You're welcome. I am glad that you found my post helpful!

I have many students that come up to me saying the EXACT same things.

But you need to understand that, as my post suggested, your mindset is the most important thing to prioritise right now.

Why?

Because your mindset is going to either hold you back or propel you forward.

I know this is MUCH easier said than done, but you need to understand that whatever has happened has happened! (and there's nothing you can do about the results of the past, but you can do something about the actions of the past).

If you let your past dictate your future and destroy your mentality, then you're not going to improve!

So, right now, tell yourself that just because your results in term 1/2 haven't been great, it DOES NOT mean that you can't succeed anymore. YOU DEFINITELY CAN!

But you need to let go of that boundary of 'oh, because my previous terms were bad, my future terms will be bad'.

The only way that you're not going to improve for the future, is if you do nothing about what's already

Here's what I suggest you do:

1. Understand that you still have a chance to make the greatest academic comeback. It's NOT too late to start trying. In fact, it's your signal to start trying super hard!

By the way, I'm not saying this just to make you feel better. I truly believe that if you maintain a strong mindset and take action, you can still succeed.

2. Reflect!

Ask yourself and write down comprehensively the reasons why you did poorly in term 1/2. What were the specific reasons?

Was it mental? For instance, lack of motivation.

Was it habitual? For instance, procrastination.

Was it technical? For instance, silly mistakes or not knowing a topic well

You want to fully analyse your life and your actions in the past 1/2 terms and try to figure out what's caused you to do badly.

NOTE: this may feel both uncomfortable and long, but it's required.


3. Form Solutions and make the change

Now that you know why you did poorly, you want to form solutions. Write down what you're going to do differently to improve for next time.


3. Implement changes

This is definitely the hardest step, but now that you know both the problems + solutions, you must act on them.

Actually put in the work and implement what you said you'll do differently in step 3.


------
Don't let your poor grades dictate your future grades.

Don't let your past mistakes destroy your mindset.

Right now, you're faced with two decisions:

1. Stay down and give up
2. Stand up and do something about it.

You're not stupid. You're not incompetent.

You're much more capable of what you think you can achieve.


I hope this helped you out, and I'm wishing you the best!

 

[wildwestworm]

You're welcome. I am glad that you found my post helpful!

I have many students that come up to me saying the EXACT same things.

But you need to understand that, as my post suggested, your mindset is the most important thing to prioritise right now.

Why?

Because your mindset is going to either hold you back or propel you forward.

I know this is MUCH easier said than done, but you need to understand that whatever has happened has happened! (and there's nothing you can do about the results of the past, but you can do something about the actions of the past).

If you let your past dictate your future and destroy your mentality, then you're not going to improve!

So, right now, tell yourself that just because your results in term 1/2 haven't been great, it DOES NOT mean that you can't succeed anymore. YOU DEFINITELY CAN!

But you need to let go of that boundary of 'oh, because my previous terms were bad, my future terms will be bad'.

The only way that you're not going to improve for the future, is if you do nothing about what's already happened.

Here's what I suggest you do:

1. Understand that you still have a chance to make the greatest academic comeback. It's NOT too late to start trying. In fact, it's your signal to start trying super hard!

By the way, I'm not saying this just to make you feel better. I truly believe that if you maintain a strong mindset and take action, you can still succeed.

2. Reflect!

Ask yourself and write down comprehensively the reasons why you did poorly in term 1/2. What were the specific reasons?

Was it mental? For instance, lack of motivation.

Was it habitual? For instance, procrastination.

Was it technical? For instance, silly mistakes or not knowing a topic well

You want to fully analyse your life and your actions in the past 1/2 terms and try to figure out what's caused you to do badly.

NOTE: this may feel both uncomfortable and long, but it's required.


3. Form Solutions and make the change

Now that you know why you did poorly, you want to form solutions. Write down what you're going to do differently to improve for next time.


3. Implement changes

This is definitely the hardest step, but now that you know both the problems + solutions, you must act on them.

Actually put in the work and implement what you said you'll do differently in step 3.


------
Don't let your poor grades dictate your future grades.

Don't let your past mistakes destroy your mindset.

Right now, you're faced with two decisions:

1. Stay down and give up
2. Stand up and do something about it.

You're not stupid. You're not incompetent.

You're much more capable of what you think you can achieve.


I hope this helped you out, and I'm wishing you the best!

Thank you so much, seriously This is one of the most helpful things I have ever read I appreciate your advice so much!!! Thank you for taking the time to help me out

 

[LuqmanA]

NOTE: This was today's edition of ATAR Digest, my weekly newsletter (if you'd like to sign up for free, please email me at Luqmanarabofficial@gmail.com)

‍ Shatter Your Limiting Beliefs
The Key to Unleashing Your Full 95+ ATAR Potential

Last week, I spoke about why your mindset is so important in achieving your desired ATAR. If you haven’t read that post yet, I’d highly recommend you do so before reading this one.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll explain how to identify your limiting beliefs and replace them with empowering ones so that you can unlock your full potential and achieve a 95+ ATAR.

When you have limiting beliefs, you are being held down from achieving success. And if you let these beliefs stay in your head, you’ll always achieve disappointing marks and you won’t be able to improve.

I’ll tell you what’s crazy though?

The majority of students don’t even realise how limiting their own beliefs are!

And even when they do realise these beliefs, they don’t do anything about it. They just ignore it!

This is most likely you, and it was for me too.

Right now, you’re going to fix that.

4 Steps to Shattering Your Mental Barriers

Identify Your Belief Patterns

Try to recognise the recurring thoughts that you have when it comes to studying or school in general.

Do you often say ‘I can’t’ , ‘It’s impossible’ , ‘I am stupid’ or ‘I suck at maths?’

Reflect on the moments when you’ve felt limited or blocked. What did you say to yourself when you did poorly in an assignment or exam?

How did you react to getting questions wrong during your practice?

Write all these thoughts down.

Challenge Them

Don’t believe these thoughts that you have about yourself. Don’t let them stay in your head rent free!

Challenge these beliefs by questioning them.

Ask yourself:

• What made me start believing this?
• Is there anything to support this belief?

Then, identify the alternative interpretations and counter-evidence for these beliefs:

• Alternative interpretations: Think of another perspective/explanation for your negative thought (for example, maybe you only failed that maths exam because you left it too late? Maybe you didn’t end up scoring as high as you wanted because you made a silly mistake?)
  
  
• Counter-evidence: Identify evidence that contradicts or weakens the negative thought (e.g. positive feedback, scoring higher in previous exams, understanding the content easily, etc)

Reframe the Thought

For every limiting belief you have, create a positive empowering statement that contradicts it.

Examples:

• I suck at maths I am not good at maths yet, but I will be soon with more practice
• I am not smart enough to achieve a 90+ ATAR I AM smart enough to achieve anything (and I will score my goal ATAR)
• This is too hard Challenges help me improve

Revised, balanced thought: Make a more realistic and balanced thought based on the alternative interpretations and counter evidence. (e.g. “Yes, I didn’t score as high as I wanted to in my exam. However, this is only because I made a silly mistake. I can learn and improve by fixing this mistake.”)



Drench Your Mind with Positive & Empowering Beliefs
Create positive affirmations for yourself that counter your negative thoughts.

These statements are personalised to YOU and your personal limiting beliefs.

Here are some examples of my affirmations in year 11/12:

• “I can, I will and I must rank 1st”
• “I can, I will and I must get a 95 ATAR”
• “I have been, I am and I will become successful”
• “I am capable of anything”
• “I am confident”
• “I am a genius at maths”
• “I am a good writer”

Read over these statements every morning and night.
This will help you overcome your negative thoughts and doubts, and will make you more positive and confident!

Action Steps for the Week

1. Identify Your Belief Patterns
2. Challenge Your Beliefs
3. Create a list of positive and empowering affirmations
4. Read your affirmations each morning and night

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on TikTok for more 95+ ATAR content!

 

[MJRey]

Honestly wish I saw this when I did my HSC... well done!!

 

[LuqmanA]

Honestly wish I saw this when I did my HSC... well done!!

Thanks for your support

 

[banigul@30]

Thanks for your support

you're the best

 

[LuqmanA]

The Stepping Stones to Your Goal ATAR...


Many students see failure as a bad thing…

They mess up one assessment task and BOOM — they’ve lost all hope to achieve their ambitious ATAR.

They fail a maths exam and BOOM — they now apparently suck at maths and are ‘stupid’.

Does this sound like you?

Do you see failure as something that’s bad?

Do you fear failure?

Well, if your answer is ‘yes’ to any of those questions, I completely understand.

I used to be the exact same.

However, once I changed my mindset on failure I went from getting 70% to 100% in my exams.

I went from D-student to 95+ ATAR.

I went from the bottom of the class to DUX of the year.

I now want you to do the same, so let’s do this!


Failure is your friend...
Let me just get straight to the point and ask you something:

If you don’t fail, how in the world will you improve?!

If you don’t mess up that maths exam or do poorly in your essay, how will you get better at those subjects?

It doesn’t make any sense right?

There are so many students that come up to me and say things like “I didn’t do well in term 1. I got 50% in my assessment tasks”

And they are upset.

They are worried.

They throw their dreams of scoring a high ATAR out the window (even though they were super confident at one point!).

You must understand that when you fail at anything, you’re given an opportunity to learn and grow!

Failure teaches you what you need to fix to get to the next level and achieve success.

And think about it for a minute…

The success in your life has been a result of your past failures!

Let me give you some examples

• When you were a baby, you failed to walk. You tried, then fell. You tried, then fell. But what happened eventually?
• When you were learning how to ride a bike, did you not fall multiple times?

Think back to the amount of times you’ve actually failed but then ended up succeeding.

Why not apply this to your school work?





The difference between top and low-performing students
Both top and low-performing students fail.

Failure is inevitable — whatever failure means to you (i.e. a ‘fail’ for one person might not necessarily be the same ‘fail’ for another).

But what’s the difference between the top- and low-performing students?

It’s their reaction.

Top-performing students get back up and use their failures to improve for the future.

Low-performing students stay down and try to ignore their failures. They don’t confront them and use them to get better.

It’s that simple.



How you should look at failure
Failure is a stepping stone to success.

Without failing in some way, shape, or form, you cannot succeed.

FAILURE IS YOUR BEST TEACHER!

So the next time you fail, instead of getting annoyed by it and feeling despair, understand this:

Reflect & ask yourself:

“What lessons can I learn from this?”

And when you do fail, do not EVER say:

“I am a failure”

Say:

“I failed, but for a good reason. Let’s figure out this reason so that I can improve”

When you redefine failure like this, you’ll get closer to success!




Action Steps to Take

1. Learn from your past failures — if you didn’t do well in any of your assessment tasks so far, don’t just throw them off to the side and move on. Analyse them, analyse yourself and figure out why you didn’t do well. Then, improve from there.
2. Change your language — the next time you fail, don’t say ‘I am failure’ and get upset about it. Instead, say ‘I failed for a good reason. Let’s figure out this reason’.

Are you a dedicated student?
If you're a student who is serious about their success, personally message me (I have a suprise for you...that you won't regret).

 

[ziGma]

Nice post and I do find it helpful but what about failing at the wrong time like during the HSC exam final?

 

[rubypinky:)]

ikr failing at your last exam. also not to be rude or anything, i think you were able to achieve the 95+ atar because you didn't fail throughout the year cause u were always top of the grade