Unhealthy emotional relationship with grades

[ZombieDante]

So I've noticed a bad habit I'm getting into and I need advice on how to get over it. I get too emotional about grades. I think it is at an all time high right now just because I'm so close to applying (junior right now, applying next cycle). Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

In my physics class the professor gave a very detailed explanation of the grade distribution (I mean grade by grade distribution). He said the lowest was a 23 then passed out the test. I never look at tests during the class just in case it is bad. It's a small class so one by one everyone looks at their tests and no one got a 23, I'm the only one who hasn't seen the test, so logcially I figure I got a 23. I went to a really really really dark place and just got horribly depressed all day until my friend finally looked at my test and found out the professor made up the 23 thing and I didn't score that low (wasn't great but wasn't 23; got a 79)

However, the fact that I let a grade pull me down that much really concerns me. Any advice on how to get over this?

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[Hospitalized]

Look at your grade immediately? Based on this post, I'm not sure if you are actually scoring low on a regular basis or if you are just psyching yourself out.

Edit: Also, screw that "friend"

 

[JustAPhD]

Sounds like you need to improve your self confidence if you got depressed and automatically thought you got a 23 based on the reactions of your peers.

 

[jqueb29]

Seriously, like Hospitalized said, always look at your grades as soon as you can. If you're already assuming the worst, looking at your grade will only either confirm what you're already dreading or it will be a pleasant surprise.

 

[DokterMom]

Your value as a person and merit as a student is NOT determined by one grade -- or even all of them.

The road ahead will be full of many, many mistakes. You will need to learn to deal with them, because avoiding them will be impossible and avoiding the risk of making a mistake will hamper your progress.

If you can't overcome this yourself, get some professional help.

 

[DKMA]

Understand that failures are a chance to learn rather than something to be depressed about.

What if you did get that 23? That shouldn't depress you. That should cause you to think about what went wrong and how you can improve and better learn the material.

Grades aren't a measure of self-worth, but rather a way to gauge how you are doing with the material. The education system perverted the grading system, but focus on how grades are simply a way for you to understand what you need to work on.

If you fail a test, there is nothing you can do to ever change that, but you can control how you react and learn from your failures

 

[Lannister]

When you get your exams back, look at them immediately. If you do poorly, let yourself be sad for a few minutes, then get over it. Use every test as a learning opportunity. Don't just throw the test away or never look at it again. Go over it so that you can do better next time.

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