DEVELOPING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
To be successful in mathematics, you need to develop a positive attitude
towards the subject. Now you may ask, ‘‘How can I develop a positive
attitude for something I hate?’’
Here’s the answer.
First, it is important tobelieve in yourself. That is, believe that you have
the ability to succeed in mathematics. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote a
book entitledYou Can If You Think You Can. In it he states, ‘‘Remember
that self-trust is the first secret of success. So trust yourself.’’ This means that
in order to succeed, you must believe absolutely that you can.
‘‘Well,’’ you say, ‘‘how can I start believing in myself?’’
This is possible by using affirmations and visualizations.
Anaffirmationis a positive statement that we make about ourselves.
Remember the children’s story entitledThe Little Engine That Could? In the
story, the little engine keeps saying, ‘‘I think I can, I think I can’’ when it was
trying to pull the cars up the mountain. Although this is a children’s story, it
illustrates the use of affirmations. Many athletes use affirmations to enhance
their performance. You can, too. Here are a few affirmations you can use for
mathematics:
‘‘I believe I can succeed in mathematics.’’
‘‘Each day I am learning more and more.’’
‘‘I will succeed in this course.’’
‘‘There is nothing that can stop me from learning mathematics.’’In addition, you may like to write some of your own. I think you can see
what I mean. Here are some suggestions for writing affirmations:
- State affirmations in the positive rather than the negative. For exam-
ple, don’t say, ‘‘I will not fail this course.’’ Instead, affirm, ‘‘I will pass
this course.’’ - Keep affirmations as short as possible.
- When possible, use your name in the affirmation. Say, ‘‘I (your name)
will pass this course.’’ - Be sure to write down your affirmations and read them every morning
when you awake and every evening before going to sleep.
Affirmations can also be used before entering math class, before doing your
homework, and before the exam. You can use affirmations to relax when your
symptoms of math anxiety start to occur. This will be explained later.
Another technique that you can use to develop a positive attitude and help
you in believing in yourself is to usevisualizations. When you visualize, you
SUPPLEMENT Overcoming Math Anxiety 277