Are you in the middle of the process of preparing for oppositions or are you thinking about doing so? Preparation at the mental level is essential. Let’s see what are the keys to boosting our performance.
Applying for competitive examinations to access a public job is an option that thousands of Spaniards choose year after year. And that is partly why the preparation in view of taking these exams is a challenge: to have options you have to compete hard.
But not everything has to do with the internalization of the specific knowledge of the professional field to which it is opposed; You also have to prepare psychologically for the test itself, and for all that it entails during the previous months.
Therefore, in this article we will see what are the basic pillars of mental preparation for oppositions; The set of psychological skills that maximize the chances of getting good grades and getting a place.
- You may be interested: “Psychologist Oppositions (PIR, administration and military): everything you need to know”
The keys to mental preparation when taking competitive examinations
It is true that in the world of competitive examinations there is a wide variety of places to opt for, whether in some branch of public administration, in the education system, in State Security Forces and Corps or to get a place in the health system, among other professional fields. These are clearly varied working contexts, but in the preparation of the tests that lead to them there are common elements; One of them is the ability to prepare mentally.
Below you will find a summary of the most important keys of mental preparation to enhance before the opposition tests.
1. Organization
The first key that every opponent must take into account has to do with the ease with which we adapt our habits to maintain both mental and material organization at all times, since in thisway we are more productive, and the results of this are very noticeable in the medium and long term: less time wasted, easier to concentrate, etc.
Keep in mind a good organization of time that affects the entire day of study, start and end the preparation sessions for them … They are patterns of behavior that play in our favor both physically and intellectually.
Thus, mentally planning each of the preparation days allows you to take advantage of the hoursdedicated to it, helps to conceive the entire agenda in a global way from the outset and also favors a deeper and more exhaustive study.
2. The importance of self-motivation
Self-motivation is one of the most necessary keys during the period of preparation of oppositions, especially in the early stages of the process, when there is still no habit and greater efforts must be made to adapt to this routine.
Therefore, learning self-motivation techniques is essential, since the study of oppositions is a work of several months in whichthe person can experience ups and downs, which pose the risk of losing in a few days the progress accumulated over weeks.
Setting clear, short-term goals throughout the study period is one of the ways to keep motivation high. And, progressively increasing the difficulty and demand of these objectives but at the same time keeping several of them close on the time scale, very positive results can be obtained in the long run, as well as a better preparation for the evaluation exams.
3. Activation control
The control of activation, that is, the abilities that a person has to manage their states of stress or anxiety, is also crucial in any opponent. Of course, achieving total mastery over one’s own emotions is impossible, but it is realistic to aim for reaching a certain capacity for emotional modulation.
The first thing to keep in mind is that anxiety and stress can be reduced or minimized so that they do not interfere negatively in the study, and to achieve this end it is necessary to train and incorporate a series of activation control tools internalized through psychological training in them.
Since both anxiety and stress can come from distressing and anxious thoughts, such as “I will not pass”, “I am wasting time” or “I will not have a place”, a good way to reduce them is toidentify these negative thought patterns and modify them for more positive andnuanced ones that help us move forward with the study.
In addition to that, incorporating relaxation and mindfulness techniques or relaxed activities during breaks such as sports, watching a series or taking a bath, is also a good way to minimize the impact of anxiety and stress, facilitating a very useful mental “reset” to leave intrusive thoughts behind.
4. Objective orientation
Training a positive and motivating way of thinking throughout the opposition process is also a good method to achieve success during the study, as well as in the exams.
Likewise, maintaining a style of thinking based on the achievement of objectives and the conviction that study is a long-term investment, is also a very good way to overcome each of the demands of the opposition without being discouraged. The key is not to set goals through abstract ideas, but through well-detailed objectives with a deadline or time limits for that same day.
5. Care Management
Achieving a good command of attentional focus is one of the key aspectsof mental preparation in the context of oppositions, but also in any other area of life related to performance and self-improvement. This involves gaining practice blocking the influence of distractors, gaining awareness of the cycles through which the intensity of the concentration level works, and knowing how to manage study or training materials so that they allow us to repeat a task over and over again until we know how to do something, without unnecessary interruptions.
Are you looking for psychological assistance or coaching?
If you are interested in enhancing all these skills and others that have to do with the preparation of oppositions, get in touch with our team of professionals. In UPAD Psychology and Coaching we have experts in the preparation of tests and in the development of projects in a context of pressure and high demand. You can have our services in person at our center located in Madrid, or online.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.