The moment I decided I would absolutely pass the Certified Social Worker exam

While writing yesterday's article, I remembered something.
It's an episode about when I thought, "I'm definitely going to pass the Certified Social Worker exam!"

As I wrote in that article, at my second workplace, I was promoted to a full-time employee by obtaining either the
Certified Care Worker or Certified Social Worker national qualification.

And at that workplace, the majority of people became full-time employees by obtaining the Certified Care Worker qualification.

The Certified Care Worker exam has many questions about knowledge and skills related to caregiving.
At the time I took the Certified Social Worker exam, the pass rate was around 70%.

The Certified Social Worker exam has many questions about knowledge and skills related to social welfare in general.
At the time I took it, the pass rate was around 30%.

Because the scope of the questions is broader, the pass rate for the Certified Social Worker exam is lower, making it higher in difficulty among welfare-related national qualifications.
Since the Certified Care Worker exam is relatively easier to pass, most people chose that one.

Even so, I decided to obtain the Certified Social Worker qualification because I had "no interest in elderly welfare" and because "(at this workplace, the Certified Social Worker qualification) is rarer!"

That said, I didn't particularly love studying, so there were times when I felt like giving up.
Submitting assignments for my correspondence course was always down to the wire...
The progress on the workbooks I had planned was nowhere near where it should have been...
The results of my mock exams were disastrous, making me think, "Can't you see a future where I pass the real thing?"...
I was in that state of disarray until quite close to the exam, but I think a single comment from a senior colleague at work about 3 or 4 months before the exam gave me a sudden burst of motivation!
Here it is.

"Huh, so that many people pass the Certified Social Worker exam. One in three people pass it."

I remember being honestly stunned when I heard this.
"Huh? Even though you say that many people pass, isn't there a certain senior colleague who fails every year?"
(There was a senior colleague at this workplace who took the Certified Social Worker exam every year just for the sake of it.)
"Even so, everyone else doesn't try to get the Certified Social Worker qualification, right?"
"And the person saying this isn't even taking the Certified Social Worker exam themselves, are they?"
And so on...
I remember feeling various frustrations on the spot.
But at the same time,
"Oh, I see. If that many people pass, it would be embarrassing if I failed."
This was the first thing that came to mind.
"If it's going to be called 'something that's easy to get,' then I'll be frustrated if I don't absolutely pass."
That was the feeling I had.

After hearing these words, I managed to work hard at my studies, and as a result, I was able to pass safely.
At the time I was told that, I thought, "It's easy for you to say when it's not your problem!"
However, in the end, these words removed my assumption that "the Certified Social Worker exam is difficult" and gave me the mindset of "I will absolutely pass the Certified Social Worker exam!" so I later felt that they were words I should be grateful for.

I suspect that the "Competition" theme from StrengthsFinder was at work here.
I interpreted it as being told, "It's a winnable battle (isn't it impossible to lose?)," and I think I was able to get into the mindset of "I will definitely win (pass)!"
If I had just been encouraged, it wouldn't have turned out like this.
If it had been support like "You're working hard at your studies, so it'll be fine" or "You can do it, do your best," my assumptions wouldn't have been removed at all, and I don't think I would have been able to push through to the end.
I really think I received those words at the perfect time.

By the way, when I told this episode to the senior colleague who gave me these grateful words,
"Huh? Did I say something like that?"
They didn't even remember the words themselves, haha.

So that was "The moment I decided I would absolutely pass the Certified Social Worker exam."
Thank you for reading this far.