You have been dreading and mulling over it all week: the bad letter grade that’s been slapped on your last test. It might have blind-sided you after you walked away from that test with an air of confidence or you may have been pretty nervous going into it in the first place. Whatever the case, that F is glaring right at you. There’s really no reason to let it get you down. Here are a few things to consider to regain your confidence after a bad grade:

1 – It happens to everyone at some point

There is not a single student in school who has not received a grade they were disappointed with. This idea that the smarted kids in school have never been set back or caught off guard by a bad grade is absurd. The best students (and people who are more successful in life) don’t let this one mistake control their grades during the rest of the year. They learn from their mistakes and tackle the next test more prepared.

2 – There’s always the chance to improve

Where your grade point average may be, there is always the chance to turn things around. If you are used to getting high grades, this can be shocking event in your school career, but you also know that it is the only time in a long streak of straight A’s or B’s. If your average is looking to be more like B’s or C’s, then you can always strive for a few A’s to even everything out. You might be used to D’s and F’s, and here is your chance to change your school career. All you need to do is speak with your teachers and guidance counselor to get started.

3 – If you learn from these mistakes, you can do much better next time

It’s not about getting the bad grade in the first place, it is about what you plan to do about it. To do better on your next test, you need to find out why you got the low grade on this test. You can start by asking your teacher where you went wrong and how you can do better next time (it might not seem like a fun thing to do, but you will feel so much better going into your next test when you are armed with a strategy) and they should be able to point out the sections that you did not perform strongly on and put you in touch with tutors or educational help.

Gaining your confidence back after a bad grade is all in your attitude. If you acknowledge that there is still the chance to get better, then you should be able to find your motivation and get back up again in no time. It is also important to not let other people put you down when this happens. At the end of the day, the strongest voice will be your own, so make it say something positive about you.