Defined By An Exam Result ... Or Your Self Image?

Maybe because this is my 29th JIEB results day, maybe it is the eerie peace of the snow outside, but I find myself in an almost lyrically philosophical state.

NTI's terrific gang of 2017 receive their Joint Exam Board results this afternoon and for some their sense of self will be defined by the contents of the text they receive, or by seeing their name on a list. But should it be this way? Must we be tempted to change our view about our lives because of snowfall, or a news headline, a dodgy prawn ... or an external assessment of ourselves? Shouldn't we be more robust than that?

Shouldn't we simply believe in ourselves because no-one is going to do it for us? What does a positive exam result do for a person? A few warming conversations, a line on the CV and a couple of grand. Last year a vast number of students got a positive result and had some nice conversations ... but their lives didn't dramatically change as a direct result of it. Neither, after an initial few days of gloom, did life fall apart for those who didn't get the result they deserved. Exam results just cannot do that. Especially if we don't give them permission to do so.

What changes a person is their growing sense of self. Their capacity to make sense of the world around them and to place themselves in context. Their strengthening inner voice, their internal language. The way they perceive themselves.

Fantastic if you pass. Just don't expect it to make a difference to YOU. No external factor should be given permission to do so.