This finals season I want you all to try something different. Yes, study. Yes, prepare. Yes, do the practice exams. But when you're done, please do one thing: have confidence in yourself.

We tend to lack the confidence needed to achieve our goals.

Thoughts like "I'm not good at accounting because it's hard" cloud our minds. Instead, think, "with some hard work, I can understand the material." We are under the impression that we, ourselves, are not good enough to accomplish such a feat. We are afraid to fail, but we are also afraid to succeed. Let me explain.

We know that with some calculated risks, anything we dream is an arm's reach away. Yet, we are often so afraid to not achieve our goals, that we do not try to pursue them. We sometimes live with the mentality that it is better to not try than try and fail. But, ironically, this mentality makes us fail by default.

We forget that anything is possible if we have the courage to pursue our dreams. You are capable of anything. Ignore the voice of self-doubt in your head. It does not know what it's saying.

Speaking from experience, when I have gone into an exam feeling like I am incapable of doing well, I typically freeze up. This semester, I have tried to go in with a clear head and the feeling that I am capable of anything. Not only have I been happier, but I have also stopped clamming up as much.

One of my goals this semester was to be bolder. It was to live by the saying, "If I could do anything and not fail, what would I do?" I started by making a bucket list and realized that I don't have to wait to be 50 to start crossing things off. I can (and should) start now.

This goal made me go out of my comfort zone and do things I normally would not do. But it was outside of my comfort zone that I learned the most about myself and life. I gained more confidence. I enjoyed life more. I realized what had been holding me back was not believing in myself.

Not believing in yourself is what is holding you back this finals season.

Go out of your comfort zone this finals season (and for the rest of your life) and have confidence. Have faith that you are smart enough to have learned the material. Stop being afraid to have faith in yourself. Stop wondering, "what if I fail?" What if you succeed?

How about those who did not do as well as they wanted on an exam or last semester's finals? It is in the past. You have to move on with the realization that you are capable of this year's finals. It is a clean slate; it is not one marred by your past. You can still be capable, even if you did not reach your goals in the past.

You are capable of anything to which you put your mind.