The day has finally arrived. Tomorrow, is the day of my Driving Test. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time now, but for some reason, I have this uncontrollable, gut wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach. Why am I so nervous? I’ve had a whole year to practice, this should be easy.
I found it really hard to get to sleep, as I was imagining all the potentially bad situations, I could find myself in. Then all the “What If’s” started to emerge…

What if…I fail? What if…I cause an accident? What if…an ambulance comes up behind me? What if…someone runs a red light? What if…I run the red light? What if…I don’t do my parallel park right? What if…the examiner isn’t nice to me? What if…they take me somewhere I don’t know? What if…I don’t understand where they want me to go? What if…I turn left instead of right?
What if… What if… What if….

Next thing I knew, I am jolted awake by my Mum yelling at me “GET UP, YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR YOUR TEST!!” Realising that my instructor would be here any minute to collect me for the test, I’ve jumped out of bed and quickly got ready. No time for breakfast, no time to shower, just put some clothes and shoes on and run out of the house.

I’m a complete frazzled mess and my instructor looks at me in horror and says “You ok?” 

“To be honest, I’m freaking out.” I said.  “I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail. I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten breakfast. I have this awful feeling deep in my stomach that I can’t shake off. I don’t think I can do this.”
“You’ll be right mate, let’s drive.” Said my Instructor, seeming to not care.

I’ve turned up for my test, heart beating wildly, palms sweaty, and of course…I’m hungry. Brain fog seems to have set in and I’ve forgotten EVERYTHING I know about driving, having made a whole bunch of mistakes just on the drive here to the test centre. I don’t think this is going to go well at all.
Sure enough, my driving test starts off badly. And seems to be getting worse and worse as I drive. I’m panicking. “What if I have to do a parallel park, not sure I’m ready for that today. Oh no, I forgot to do a shoulder check for that bike lane. I wonder if the examiner is going to fail me for that? He isn’t very chatty, maybe he hates me. Maybe I smell? I didn’t get to shower and maybe he can tell? Am I overthinking this? Hey, stop overthinking this…just drive. Oh no, He’s writing something on the sheet. What’s he writing? I wonder if I could read what he’s saying…oh damn, the light changed green while I was trying to read the test sheet. I wonder if that will fail me. What’s the speed here? Am I speeding? I better slow down just in case. Wait, what if I go too slow? Will he fail me for that?

We pull up outside the test centre, finally it’s all over. My examiner looks at me with a look of disbelief, shakes his head and silently hands me my test sheet and just as I had expected….it says I….

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP...My alarm clock starts buzzing in my ear.

I wake up yelling, sit upright, tears streaming down my face, my heart pounding through my chest, my sheets are completely soaked with sweat…
“Oh, thank goodness, it was just a bad dream” I said, sinking back down into the bed.

But it was so real! It was awful, I was so unprepared and massively stressed out. Nothing I did was right. Everything I was worried about, happened! What if this happens on the real test day? What if I fail for real? I only have a few days to go before the actual test, what can I do to get better prepared?

I called my driving instructor for advice. I told her about my awful dream and how real it was and I’m now fearing that it’ll all come true on test day. She was able to calm me down and remind me of all the good lessons we have had.

“You’ve come such a long way since the day we first met, do you remember that day? You were all over the road and almost hitting gutters.” She laughed.
“But then you got the hang of it. You learned how far to steer the wheel, how hard or soft to press the pedals and eventually also learned how to look around and do shoulder checks without veering off across the road. You then gained the confidence with your driving and off you went, we haven’t looked back since. We have never had an accident, your able to control your speed now and even successful avoid incidences from other road users. You’re ready for this. And if you weren’t ready, I wouldn’t allow you to sit your test.”

“I know all this, but what if I get so nervous on the day that I forget everything and it all goes really bad?” I asked.

“I understand completely, your anxiety of the test day can be very overwhelming” my instructor said, compassionately.“Remember I sent you our guided Hypnosis recording with the test day package you purchased? Well, that can help you erase any fear and anxiety you have about your driving test. If you listen to it at bedtime, every night, it will retrain your brain and make you think more positively and feel more confident, calm and relaxed about test day. Promise me, you’ll listen to it?”
  
“Yes, I promise. Thank you” I said.
I’ve been listening to that Hypnosis recording now, every night at bedtime and sure enough, my anxiety levels have decreased and I’m starting to look forward to my test day. I’m not nervous because deep down I know, I am a good driver, I’ve done all the training required and I have the ability to overcome any obstacle they may throw at me.

I went to bed early last night, I’ve woken up fresh and well rested, I’ve showered and I’ve eaten a hearty breakfast. I have time to spare before my instructor comes to pick me up, so I sit quietly for few minutes, taking some deep breaths and reminding myself that all will be fine.
Our drive this morning was perfect and when I get to the test centre, I notice I’m surprisingly calm. I trust my instructor when she says “YOU GOT THIS” because I really feel like I do.

I’m on the test now and everything’s going well. My driving is smooth and not rushed, my manoeuvres were completed perfectly and I’ve kept my speed under control. I’m actually starting to enjoy the drive. I’m calm and relaxed and it’s definitely not the same as I imagined it would be, or even what it was like in awful dream.

We arrive safely back at the test centre, park the car and find out I passed with flying colours! I can’t believe it. I did it. I passed my test. Wow, I can’t wait to tell everybody.
There were squeals of delight, happy tears and cheers as I hugged my instructor and thanked her for her guidance. “I couldn’t have done it without you, thank you”
“It was all you, seriously, I just gave you the tools to use to help you get over the line and to remind you of your capabilities. I’m so proud of you. Now let’s go inside and get you that licence!” She said, with a big grin from ear to ear.
I’m so glad that I spoke to my instructor about my dream and that she gave me that Hypnosis to listen to. I’m sure that if I didn’t, my test day experience would have been a whole lot worse. It’s amazing how I almost let my negative thoughts ruin my chances of passing.
I have my licence now and I’m free to go where I please, whenever I please. And I do so, confidently. I’ve never known much about Hypnosis before now but I can surely recommend it to anyone who is in need of a little positive reinforcement.

It’s completely understandable that students get nervous before their big test day. For most students, it’s the biggest day of their lives so far and a day which they will remember for the rest of their lives.
Personally, I think, if you’re not even slightly nervous, then there’s something wrong with you.
But getting TOO nervous can cause a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety on the day of the test. And it is one of the biggest reasons, why otherwise competent drivers, end up failing their drivers test.
 
The problem occurs when learners become so overwhelmed with nerves, their ability to make complex planning and judgement decisions is severely compromised, leading to unsafe decisions like speeding, failing to give way and becoming distracted.
It can actually be beneficial to be a little nervous on the day as it can help sharpen their thinking and performance skills, but someone who is overly anxious, jumpy and scared will find it hard to perform at a peak level behind the wheel.
Most people will admit the thought of a test or exam can often be accompanied with negative feelings. The driving test is different to most tests because it involves a total assessment of your driving knowledge, skills and awareness. All within a Q-SAFE testing environment, accompanied by a Queensland Transport Examiner you have never met before, overseeing a Pass or Fail scenario!
This can be a very daunting position for most people to find themselves in! The added pressure of being under the supervision of a Driving Examiner, needing to listen to and follow their verbal instructions can be a challenge in itself. Coupled with the strict assessment criteria being applied to your drive while looking ahead to pick up signs, driving safely in accordance with the road rules can build a lot of pressure!
This pressure can often lead to an unnecessary fail, especially if you don’t have enough practise beforehand.
 
Remember, “What you tell yourself, counts”
 
If you focus on all the negative feelings, the things that could go wrong or even say you’re no good…you’re ultimately setting yourself up for failure.
If you focus on all the positive feelings, the things you know you’re good at and can do safely & confidently and tell yourself you are in control of the outcome…you’re setting yourself up for the most epic pass ever!
Ensuring you are able to drive relatively calmly and safely, by getting your mindset right, is as important as your practical driving skills on the day. Getting this aspect of your test preparation under control is the key to success!
In your lessons with Ezyway Driving School, we will carefully guide you through the various stages you will experience on test day. We share tips, strategies and stories to help you retain the knowledge you’ve learned in your lessons. Also explaining the Examiners Role and their expectations of you, outlining how a test drive should be approached and providing a detailed insight into the Queensland Driving Test (Q-SAFE) assessment criteria. All whilst practising the common test routes, scenarios and discussing common test errors and ways to improve your result.
 
But most importantly, we spend a significant amount of time addressing your fears and finding a way to overcome them. Not only will you get to open up and discuss this with us in the car, allowing us to put you more at ease, but we also offer a Guided Hypnosis Recording for our students who purchase a test day package.
Ezyway Driving School’s guided visualisation session will walk you through the practical driving test, from meeting your examiner, to putting on your seatbelt. From indicating and checking for traffic, to perfecting your manoeuvres. All the way through to the successful completion at the end of your test, whilst also introducing positive suggestions of a calm and relaxed drive.
 Playing this at night when going to sleep will substitute your negative and anxious thought patterns with confidence, courage and a more positive attitude. Click here to learn more about our Hypnosis Recordings
  For a sneak peak of our Hypnosis we offer, click the links below
With our years of training experience combined with mindset discussions and being equipped with Anxiety Removal Hypnosis, we can guarantee you’ve been given the best possible head start for your test day. You can arrive on the day feeling far less stressed and more prepared to take on the task ahead of you, and complete it with a positive outcome.