How do you pick yourself up when you disappoint yourself

[thetanustew]

Listen to what you are saying to yourself first, and then take the advice of the other posters.

One of them said that if you really could read more, start studying earlier, and so on then that is what you should do. The first thing to do is to have a realistic look at why you did so poorly. Once you have the real reason clear, then start on the other pick-me-ups and prevent-this-from-happening-agains...

Once you have the problem identified, talk to someone who will boost your spirits. Getting a bad grade does not mean you are a horrible, wretched person. It means you did horribly and wretchedly on an assignment. Talk to someone who loves you no matter what and will remind you of that!

Definitely go talk to your professor, and when you do, go in with specific questions that show you have really thought about the issue, not just the grade. I love it when students take the initiative for their own work, but I hate it when they come to my office and ask questions like "What can I do to get a B?" My answer is usually something like "Read everything that is assigned, come to and participate in class, and ask questions when you don't understand things. In other words, be prepared before your tests and papers so that you don't have to come to me afterwords asking what you can do to make up what you have already messed up." When students come with genuine concerns, ideas for improvement, and serious questions, I am much more happy to help them out than when they come to me essentially asking me to bail them out of something they got themselves into.

Once you have figured out the problem, talked to someone who will remind you that you are okay and bombing a test does not devalue you as a person, and spoken with your professor so that you have a plan of action so that she knows you are serious and that you are sincerely trying to do well in the class for reasons beyond just wanting an A, then I would DEFINITELY say go do something that you enjoy to remind you that there are things in life that matter more than the grade you got in one course, one semester, out of four years in college.

I know some of this is repetition of advice given earlier. Much of that advice was excellent! I just wanted to reiterate it from a professor's point of view.

Cheers,
Dr. S