GREAT SUCCESS!
The test is taken, now the week long wait!

TEST TAKEN!

I arrived at the testing center in Salt Lake city Utah at 8am this morning, July 21!  I left the testing center at 4:30pm, after more than 8 hours of sitting and testing!

I wasn't actually taking the test that long.  When I arrived it takes a few minutes to check in, then time to set up the computer and agree to the terms that if I cheat I am going to prison and they will hunt me down and take away everything in my life down to my sweaty socks.  Then I have to go through a tutorial on how to use a mouse and click on the computer screen...all very technical.  They give me 30 min to take the 30 sec tutorial, so I use a good 15-20 min to write down lab values, brachial plexus, cranial nerves, and anything else I can remember that I may use on the test and don't want to forget.  Then I start the test.  

Since I have testing accommodations I have my own room and time and a half.  Having the extra time is helpful so I freely take breaks after each section.  There is only one section that the testing time stops, which is for 22 min. The other breaks I take the clock keeps running, but I have enough time so it is easy to do.  

I always stretch, move, eat protein (brain food) and use the restroom if needed during my breaks.  Today I had The Naked Protein drink and it was awesome!  It sat really well with my stomach and was a quick snack that boosted my energy and provided a killer 32grams of Protein.  It also tasted pretty good.  I had a couple energy bars and a snickers bar as my half way treat!  I did have a sandwich, but I only had a few bites.

I did much better at examining the questions and including all the pieces into answering the question.  For most questions I made sure I could rationalize why each option was or wasn't the correct choice.  It took some major thinking to do that.  In the previous tests I would do a few questions like that but I would get so rushed with time I didn't feel like I could spare the precious seconds to think it through thoroughly.  

I really felt the support and prayers of everyone!  So many people were praying and thinking of me, and I felt it, like you feel the warmth of the sun as it rises in the morning.  I could feel the stress lifted off my shoulders by the faith and support of so many good people!

THANK YOU to everyone for your love and support!

STRESS LEVELS

As mentioned previously I was taught to monitor my heart rate as a way of objectifying my stress levels and giving me a sense of how well I was controlling stress.  During my studying I found my Heart Rate (HR) varied from 48-60bpm.  When I sat down in the testing center I felt some stress across my chest, so I checked my HR and it was soaring at 80bpm.  (The method I used to assess my HR was to feel my Radial Pulse by my wrist and count it for 10 sec's.  Whatever I count I then multiply that by 6 = Beats per minute).    

For about 20 minutes between the first 3 questions I worked to get it down.  I have decided that one of the major restrictions in my test taking is not relaxing during the exam, so I knew I had to get my body to relax and be calm!  I did finally get it lowered to about 60bpm and finally it decided to stay between 55-60bpm the rest of the test.

I was able to accomplish this by reciting parts of my affirmation statement, counted breathing (breath in through my nose for 5 seconds, out through pierced lips for 10 seconds), and a technique called tapping.  As I lowered my HR I started plunging into the questions of the exam, devouring the words to form logical conclusions.  I sent many a prayers to Heavenly Father, asking for calmness, confidence, and abilities to formulate appropriate conclusions to the questions in my attempt to choose the correct answer.  

As I became entrenched into the exam the relaxation became easier and soon it was as natural as breathing.  A couple times I had the HR increase after that, but I would just pray, think the question through, and use my breathing and tapping techniques for a minute and I would feel fine again.  

PARTY PLANNED

I had heard stories of the man that wanted a car but didn't have the money, so he wrote his goal out and then would go test drive the car he wanted until it became his reality.  

One of my spiritual mentors suggested that I apply the same idea for the exam!  So last week I decided I would plan a celebration party for my passing of the exam.  I planned out where we would go to eat and called and reserved a movie theater so I could watch the second Avengers movie that I haven't seen yet, with my friends and family!  

It is yet another way of convincing and directing my subconscious to help me achieve my planned passing rate of 80% on the exam.  It helped me to really think about my success and to visualize it and how it will be when I pass.  That coupled with my test affirmation statement that I read 2-3x/day, I was feeling confident going into the test and coming out of it.  Now I just have to wait a week before I can watch the movie!  Oh well, it will be worth the wait!

  

I now have to wait 1 week before I find out.  This will be a nice week to be grateful, relax from studying, and continue planning my continued progress and success!

THANK YOU to those who helped me prep for this exam...I felt ready emotionally and mentally!