Why do very capable students fail their driving test?
Sometimes even the most capable students fail their driving test time and time again; not because they are ill prepared or incapable but because of either nerves or fear. Whether you are a driving instructor or a student you would have undoubtedly at some time come across both of these emotions whilst teaching or learning. However for most students they overcome any nerves when they gain confidence and any fear is eventually eradicated; but for some people theses two potentially debilitating emotions are stubborn and can continue to present themselves when they are least wanted… namingly driving tests and sometimes in lessons as well.
As a Hypnotherapist I have worked with hundreds of people over the years to conquer their nerves and fears. A large percentage of those were to enable people to pass their driving test even one that had previously failed 12 times! (Is that a record?)
But what is it about lessons and driving tests that turn the most competent drivers to gibbering wrecks and commit ‘major’ offences in their tests when they have passed their mocks without incidence? Unfortunately there is not one definitive answer that will define what the issue is for all people but in my experience there are a few things that are evident in most people’s cases;
* There will be a profound fear of failure or a personal belief about themselves and their abilities,
* They seriously doubt that they can or will ever pass,
* There may be a string of past experiences whereby they haven’t achieved what they wanted to achieve, so the mind set is negative,
And last but by no means least someone has convinced them that they are not good enough to do anything let alone pass their driving test!
All of the above reasons as to why people may fail their test stem from their past experiences. Everything we are and everything we think comes as a direct result of the environment we live in and the people within that. Our subconscious minds store those past lessons that life has taught and those experiences then colour our thoughts often without us even knowing it and driving test nerves is a good example of this….and I will tell you why.
The subconscious mind absorbs ever single experience that we have ever had whether it is big or small; and this happens from the second we are born and the conscious mind deals with everything we need to know on a day to day basis. The subconscious part of the mind then files away those experiences, thoughts and feelings in a sort of filing cabinet just waiting for the time when some of the information that is stored there is needed to help assess a similar experience and the feelings felt on that very first occasion are then experienced again on some level. Which is why driving test nerves can seem tricky to overcome; simply because the mind refers to the first time those nerves were experienced in a lesson or the first driving test failed and as I mentioned before sometimes those fears disappear and sometimes they don’t!
But nerves associated with driving whether in a lesson or driving test situation can be overcome easily with Hypnotherapy.
There is often some misconceptions and misunderstandings about Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy and these are often largely based on what people have seen stage hypnotists do, I am a Clinical Hypnotherapist and all my work aims to enable people to change or improve something in there life and I leave the illusion of making people bark, cluck or dance like a loony to the stage hypnotists 🙂
Because there are misconceptions about hypnotherapy people don’t often know how this type of technique can help them overcomes nerves. Although hypnosis in Greek means ‘sleep’ this isn’t actually the case because sleep isn’t part of the therapeutic procedure; Hypnosis is quite simply the name given to a relaxed and focussed state of mind that when achieved can induce the changes within the mind that the individual seeks which is the ‘therapy’ part. To enable people to overcome driving test or lesson nerves I would help them to relax by talking to them using carefully structured words that are designed to encourage the busy part of the mind to quieten down and that is when the emotional part of our mind ‘the subconscious’ becomes poised and ready to accept changes that are beneficial to the individual. So as far as driving test or lesson nerves are concerned hypnotherapy can boost self confidence and dispel any negative thoughts or I can help resolve any hindering past experiences that are preventing success. Ultimately there is a way to overcome nerves associated with driving and I can help you or a student pass the all important ‘driving test’ with confidence and ease.
Photograph by Freddie Peña.