Low-self esteem in Year 12?

[Shenz0r]

I don't know, I get good grades but I'm not that confident in my academic ability. There's lots of instances where I feel like the most stupid of the cohort and that I have to work harder than most people to get to where they are. I always end up comparing myself to others as well. People normally feel ecstatic about their grades, but I never get that euphoria, when people say they do good I always convinced that I did badly. Even if my teachers said I do great, I still think that I could have lots of room for improvement.

Is it because I'm setting my expectations and standards too high for myself? Who else feels this way?

[Fishyiscool]

OMGSAMEABOUTNOCONFIDENCEINMYSELF
Well.. I dont know. Sometimes. Sometimes i hate it but  im so cocky that i think i can scrape passes without studying (in some sujbects) and other subjects make me want to drop out of school and join the circus.
Lets join the circus! Yayayay
Yeah, you have the symptoms of a perfectionist. Very common in vce. Learn to be happy with yourself and what you achieve year 12 isnt worth as much as you probably think.
*cough im such a hypocrite when i need 75 for my course*
Anyway, if you want to join the circus, ill come. Coz im a good friend
(my nerdness is expiring, but i hope it peaks before midyears)

[Eddiee]

I feel the same way as you but my grades aren't necessarily that good
I guess this is one of the downsides of going to a selective school haha

the most stupid of the cohort and that I have to work harder than most people to get to where they are. I always end up comparing myself to others as well.

This.

[pi]

You're not alone mate, I was definitely in a similar position to you. Even though I had good SAC ranks, I still used to mentally beat myself up (especially with English, thinking that I fluked all my SAC scores) simply because I couldn't see myself being anywhere near the elite people I used to look up to as academic "beasts" (I never had any academic awards or anything) in yr9-11.

I suppose me being in the homogenius class (you'll know what I mean) didn't help much, as there was always so much competition Then, looking at some of the geniuses on VN... That compounded things too, when people were like "Damn, only got 45" or the even worse "You are a shoe-in for 99+ mate, don't worry", etc etc

The way I got around it was to: accept that I was NEVER going to be the best but that I COULD reach my goal of 99.15 and that my goal was to NOT beat others but only to beat MYSELF.

That really helped, and from then on, I also stopped bothering to find out what others got on SACs, and it didn't really help or matter to me. I just did my own thing and hoped to reach my goal edit: I guess it also got rid of any jealousy I may have had for anyone else's scores, a thing I'm really glad to have got rid of as I didn't feel at all bad when helping others (in rl or on here)

[soccerboi]

I used to have a what seems to be an inherent habit to compare scores, but this yr i've stopped. I realised that there's no benefit in knowing what others got, but there can only be adverse effects, especially if they got better than you. It always puts me down knowing that someone else got higher than me,despite still achieving what many would be happy with, but now i just go about doing my thing quietly, not interested in what anyone else gets for their test and SACs. And accept that their will always be people out there smarter than you, but that doesn't matter cause that shouldn't be your goal, it should be: to be the best you can be. In the end, whatever results you achieve, you should be proud of it if you know that you've done everything you could've.

[Eriny]

I think it's entirely normal to have low self-esteem and poor confidence. A lot of people will say that the solution is to repeatedly say affirmations (a positive statement about you) to yourself. I disagree. I think the best way to improve your self-esteem is to just get into whatever it is you want to do and focus on that. Just study and find hobbies that you like. It doesn't matter whether or not you're good at it, what matters is that you are learning and (hopefully) doing something you enjoy. The confidence will follow.

I know 'just don't think about it' sounds like easier advice than it is, but really, it is much better to reserve your energies for considerations other than 'I'm bad at this', it's a waste of time and completely unhelpful.

[Hutchoo]

As if no one has mentioned 'YOLO'?

[86]

As if no one has mentioned 'YOLO'?

[gibsonaxxxs]

I think the key is to try hard and do ur best, but ultimately have a back-up plan
eg mine is:
1)med/law
2)be a lion in a circus
3)hot-dog-stand owner/worker
4)busker
see? i look at goal 2 and think, wow man i'm achieving the stars atm!
as for the yolo, i hate that - means i have to choose between being a lion and a busker

[Truck]

I think the key is to try hard and do ur best, but ultimately have a back-up plan
eg mine is:
1)med/law
2)be a lion in a circus
3)hot-dog-stand owner/worker
4)busker
see? i look at goal 2 and think, wow man i'm achieving the stars atm!
as for the yolo, i hate that - means i have to choose between being a lion and a busker

I'm confused? Is med/law your primary back-up plan? If so, what's your first plan - Med/Law/Engineering?

[pi]

Pretty intense back-up imo

[gibsonaxxxs]

I think the key is to try hard and do ur best, but ultimately have a back-up plan
eg mine is:
1)med/law
2)be a lion in a circus
3)hot-dog-stand owner/worker
4)busker
see? i look at goal 2 and think, wow man i'm achieving the stars atm!
as for the yolo, i hate that - means i have to choose between being a lion and a busker

I'm confused? Is med/law your primary back-up plan? If so, what's your first plan - Med/Law/Engineering?

nah man, its med/law/own a circus/with heaps of buskers & hot-dog stands

[ecvkcuf]

Goddamn being a member of this forum makes it seem that the only careers one have are law, commerce, med, or engineering.. geese.. I'm planning to do Nuclear Physics at Wadiya Instute of Islamic Technology and Science.. Ph.D scholars program.. if I don't reach this goal.. I'm going to work at Maccas reach, move my way up the ranks, become a manager and hopefully one day be the proud owner of 100 mcdonalds franchises, then move to Wadiya to live a fulfilling life under the dictatorship of my beloved supreme leader General Admiral Aladeen.. allah bless him..