Get Back on the Horse
The process of studying and taking the CIA exam can be similar to riding horses. At some point you are going to come across material that is difficult to master such as questions covering topics you haven’t looked at since you were in college. You may take some 20-question quizzes and score below 50 percent or even as low as 20 percent. You can’t let it bother you. Rather you need to “get back on the horse” and keep studying.
I have spoken with many CIA candidates who have quit studying and aspiring to be a CIA because a topic was too frustrating for them. The logic is that they can’t understand topic “X,” so they won’t be able to pass the CIA exam. This thinking is nonsense; you will probably only see a couple of questions from certain difficult topics because The IIA needs to test you on many topics. Thus, you can’t let a topic or two dissuade you from continuing to study. You want to become a CIA and therefore, as frustrating as studying some topics may be, you need to fight through and understand the material enough to pass the CIA exam.
Everyone can remind themselves to “get back on the horse,” whether it is preparing for the CIA exam, pursuing a life goal given up long ago, or in every day life. It may not be easy the first time, but keep trying and you will get there.