The Topper's Mindset, lesson 2

  • 1Physics
  • 2Chemistry
  • 3Mathematics or Biology

Believe in yourself.

The mindset every JEE and NEET topper studies alongside PCM and PCB. It decides how the other three subjects go, and it stays with you long after the exam.

Read the teacher notes

Every year, lakhs of students sit the same paper, from the same syllabus, after the same coaching.

What separates them is often decided before the paper is even opened.

It's what each of them believes about themselves.

You prepare three subjects. Toppers prepare a fourth.

Believing in yourself. Studying on the days you don't feel like it. Coming back after a bad test. Staying away from your phone. Building habits that hold.

It isn't in the syllabus, but it decides how the other three go. And unlike the syllabus, you'll use it for the rest of your life.

Listen to how you talk to yourself.

  • I can't solve Rotational Motionyet.
  • I don't understand Geneticsyet.
  • I'm not topper materialyet.

One word turns a verdict into a plan.

Carol Dweck: the power of yet

A Stanford psychologist gave 10-year-olds problems slightly too hard for them, then watched how they reacted.

Watch for

What did the students who felt they'd "failed" say they would do next time?

TED, "The power of believing that you can improve", 0:13 to 1:58Open on YouTube

Your brain isn't fixed. It's under construction.

When you stay with a hard problem instead of skipping it, the neurons involved form new, stronger connections. That uncomfortable feeling is the building work.

Carol Dweck: teach this one idea, and grades rebound

Students were taught that pushing out of their comfort zone makes the brain stronger. Then the researchers compared their grades with students who weren't.

Watch for

What happened to the group that was never taught this?

TED, "The power of believing that you can improve", 5:39 to 6:23Open on YouTube

Australia, 2012.

Virat Kohli is 23. India have lost two Tests badly, the dressing room is tense, and he knows one more failure means going back to domestic cricket.

He feels like the least experienced player in a team that has already lost belief.

Virat Kohli: "I'm good enough"

On the RCB podcast, Kohli describes the days before the Perth Test, on a pitch full of pace and bounce.

Watch for

The sentence he kept repeating on the bus and at practice.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, RCB Podcast, 0:48 to 3:18Open on YouTube

He didn't wait to feel confident. He repeated it until he played like it.

By his own account, he finished as India's highest run-getter in that Perth Test. Today, the first chat he has with every young player who joins the team is about the same thing.

Cristiano Ronaldo: think like the best in your job

A reporter asks how much Lionel Messi has pushed him to get better.

Watch for

Who does Ronaldo say pushes him? And what does he tell the reporter to believe about his own job?

Your job right now is being a student. Think like the best one.

Sky Sports Retro, 0:05 to 0:46Open on YouTube

Ronaldo: see it before it happens

On the WHOOP podcast, he talks about picturing moments of a match before he plays it.

Watch for

Why does seeing it beforehand make him more prepared?

Tonight, close your eyes for one minute. See yourself in the exam hall, calm, reading question 1 and knowing how to start.

WHOOP Podcast, 16:38 to 17:54Open on YouTube

Virat Kohli: whoever holds their nerve

MCG, T20 World Cup 2022, India vs Pakistan, a packed stadium. Before the game he spoke to the team about pressure.

Watch for

What does he say about the other team when you feel like you're about to crack?

In the exam hall, everyone is nervous. The student who stays calm a little longer wins the paper.

Star Sports, "BELIEVE: The Diwali Miracle", 12:20 to 13:21Open on YouTube

Five lines for your notebook.

  • "Not yet" is a grade, not a verdict.
  • Struggle is your brain building.
  • Say "I'm good enough" until you play like it.
  • See it before you do it.
  • Everyone feels the pressure. Hold your nerve longer.

Belief needs proof.

Belief built on nothing breaks after one bad test. Build yours on evidence you can see. Today:

  1. Pick the chapter you've quietly given up on. Write its name, then add the word "yet".
  2. Solve three questions from it today. Easy ones count.
  3. Write each one on a "proof page" at the back of your notebook. Read that page before every test.

You don't have to believe you're the best today. Believe you can get better. That's enough to start.

Home / The Topper's Mindset / Believe in yourself

Teacher notes: how to present this lesson

Press Start the lesson in full screen at the top, or press F. Move through the slides with →, Space or a presentation clicker, and go back with ←. On the "Add one word" slide, each press writes the next "yet". On a video slide, press Enter or click the yellow button to play the clip. Each clip starts and stops at the exact moment chosen for the lesson, so you never have to scrub through a long video in front of the class.

On a phone, the lesson works like Reels: students swipe up through the slides. The Share button sends the slide they're on, or the whole lesson, to WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else, and can post the slide as an image to their story or status. Each shared slide opens straight to that slide. On a computer, press S to share the current slide.

If the arrow keys stop responding after you click inside a video, click once on the slide outside the video. The whole lesson runs about 30 minutes with discussion, including roughly 8 minutes of video.

What this lesson teaches

JEE and NEET reward students who can keep going through two years of hard problems, bad test results and pressure. Self-belief is where that starts. This lesson shows students that ability is not fixed: the growth mindset research of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck explains why "not yet" is more accurate than "I can't", and why struggling with a hard problem is the moment the brain is actually getting stronger.

Then two athletes students already follow make it concrete. Virat Kohli describes the 2012 Perth Test, when he was close to being dropped and kept telling himself he was good enough. Cristiano Ronaldo explains why he thinks like the best in his job, and how he visualises moments before a match. Kohli's team talk before the 2022 T20 World Cup game against Pakistan brings it back to pressure in the exam hall: everyone is nervous, and the one who holds their nerve longest wins.

The lesson ends with a short task, a "proof page", because belief that rests on evidence survives a bad mock test far better than belief that rests on hope.

Five lines to remember

Today's task for students

  1. Pick the chapter you've quietly given up on. Write its name, then add the word "yet".
  2. Solve three questions from it today. Easy ones count.
  3. Write each one on a "proof page" at the back of your notebook, and read that page before every test.

Videos used in this lesson

All clips are embedded from the official channels that published them. Only the time range listed is played in class.

About The Topper's Mindset

Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology are the three subjects on the JEE and NEET papers. The fourth subject is the one that isn't printed on the paper: believing in yourself, staying consistent on hard days, studying when you don't want to, coming back after setbacks, staying away from distractions and building good habits. The Topper's Mindset teaches it one short lesson at a time, starting with Lesson 1: Normal student vs topper. These lessons are taught in class by the Math By IISERite team, and every lesson is free to read and share.