Phillip is a NINJA CPA blogger.

Fellow NINJAs,

Remember it’s not where you start, but where you finish.

Last Week of Study and Review

The week before my exam was so hectic I thought about rescheduling every day, but decided against it out of worry that I would be flat for the test.

It was so difficult to study because I was finishing month end close, completing a few big projects, and transitioning to a new job.

It was difficult to leave at 5 p.m. due to trying to work in such a way that I left few open loops. Also internally, I had a ton of anxiety and doubt because my plan of having a smooth, issue free week of studying was ruined. Looking back, I was only able to study about 25 to 50 percent of the time I allotted for studying.

I thought I would have better luck studying on the weekend because I did not have work responsibilities to get in the way. Well, that was not the case.

Normally, I am able to remain reasonably calm in pressure-packed situations and successfully fulfill all of my responsibilities, but something was different this time. I was so anxious that I was having physical symptoms.

While sitting at the library studying, I had a headache, blurred vision, heart palpitations, and intense stiffness in my neck and shoulders. I could only manage about 2 hours at the library before I had to leave.

My next move was to the driving range. I thought getting a medium bucket of balls – 60 in total – and trying to knock the screws out of my driver would calm me down. It did not do the trick.

After eating dinner with my family and breaking out the study material again, my symptoms from the library returned. To ease my tension, I wrote myself a prescription for a 6-ounce scotch on the rocks, and that did not help either.

Exam Day

I was still so tense and anxious I was unable to get a proper final review. I listened to NINJA Audio, but it was not sinking into my brain.

At that point, I resigned myself to believing that my mind and body was trying to tell me I was ready.

Then, I went to my favorite restaurant, Chick-fil-A, got a chicken sandwich and large lemonade and drove to Prometric ready for a fight.

Unfortunately, my FAR rematch on May 12 did not go as anticipated.

I am now 0-2 versus the AICPA, and I am angry.

I am trying to deal with all the negative emotions that come with failing in a positive way by focusing on the bright moments of this latest experience.

Namely, my score increased 10 points from the last exam, but even that feels like a negative because close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. This test is neither one of those things.

So, I am going to suck it up one more time and study smarter and harder than the previous two times to make the third time a charm.

I am down but not out!