ACCA exams and marathon running: what do they have in common? The answer: a lot!
• They are tough. Not many people in the world can complete them!
• They are do-able, if you do the right things (preparation wise and on the day).
• You know they are coming way in advance and have months to prepare for them.
• The less you prepare the more you will struggle on the day. Failing an exam/ending up in an ambulance are far too common outcomes.
• You can do them either on your own,doing random stuff in preparation and hoping for the best, or get support from people with experience and boost your chances of a positive experience.
• With marathons you must ensure you can run the distance first, then you work on your speed. Same with exams: you must learn to answer correctly before trying to get fast.
• Both require long hours of hard work, both learning what to do and practising what you have learned.
• The actual marathon/exam day effort is only three to four hours, nothing compared with the long hours of preparation.
• You should never do anything on the day that you haven’t tried in training.
• What others normally see in them is only the tip of the iceberg: your final effort and result (medal/pass).
• The more of these you complete, the more your confidence grows.
• The challenge is huge, and so is the appreciation of your achievement.
So keep on going. If I was able to complete both, then so can you!
• Brigita Petrova is the current PQ Lecturer of the Year (private sector). She teaches at LSBF
