We get better by being tested

Tests, the images of school rooms with desks laid out in rows springs to mind doesn't it. The cold feeling of dread that seeps into your mind when you sit down and stare at the blank sheet of paper, and the absolute feeling of desperation when you are told to turn over the paper and begin. 

Go on, you all know what I mean, after all we've all been in that silent classroom watching other people's hands race across the page as you wonder whether on earth you are in the right exam or not.

What didn't occur to me at the time is this. Tests are designed for two main reasons:  

• To see how well the teachers have passed on their knowledge to you. If you enjoy the subject and like the teachers I can almost guarantee you will retain more than those who don't like the topic and/or the teacher.
• To see if you have gaps in your knowledge. And if you do find you have gaps in your knowledge, then you have a good indication of where you need to pick up your revision for next time.

Every day we have an opportunity to do more and be better than we were yesterday. Every day we should set ourselves new challenges and targets, otherwise we will fall into the habit of doing only enough to get by. However, few of us don't bother to test ourselves.

• It's too hard,
• We can't be bothered
• We don't want to
• We figure there is no reason to set new challenges, we're doing OK.

Imagine that you are paid every 2 weeks, you know what bills you have to pay and how much money you should have left over, so you spend everything that you have "left over" and then sit back and wait for the next pay packet to arrive. What happens when something breaks down, or you have an unexpected expense? Well there is nothing left in the bank for those kinds of emergencies is there. So you either bend your credit card or you pretend it's not happening and you tell yourself you'll sort it out after you're paid again.

If you don't test yourself on a regular basis, your life is like that empty bank account. You have no thought to the future challenges you may face, you're not taking the steps you need to take today to ensure you have something in the left in the bank for those times of challenge and emergency.

So set yourself a challenge or two, be prepared to challenge your current thinking and more importantly your current level of doing....remember those class rooms and then remember the exhilaration you felt when you had finished the test and you knew you had done "well".

Build on those moments of success and you will achieve far greater things than if you never tested yourself.