@berykhorany491 This one confused me for the same reason, and I think I get it now?

So imagine two friends: one person wearing the normal shoe, and the other person wearing the toning shoe. If both individuals are going on a walk together for the same amount of time, both of their legs' muscles are being worked the same amount--no more, no less. However, after an afternoon of walking a lengthy amount, the normal shoe-wearing person bids their friend farewell and retreats to their home feeling really tired. The next day, they even wake up with cramps. Damnit, now they have to cancel on their toning shoe-wearing friend so they can rest! No exercise for them today, so no extra strengthening today.

However, after going home at the same time and after waking up the next morning, the toning shoe friend wakes up refreshed and full of energy, and they're prepared to take up an even greater distance because of their comfy toning shoes!!! The thing is, they both worked their muscles the same amount because it was the same distance the day before and we've established that the toning shoes don't have an inherent strengthening component, but the difference is:

The toning shoe-friend has the capacity and strength to exercise more--thereby "walk[ing] more as a result" because the kicks are "especially comfortable." That's why they're getting more out of it!

Does that make sense?

I 100% resonate with this, and get just how frustrating it is. I honestly think that trying to get over my test anxiety as much as possible has been the greatest hurdle to my getting anywhere near my desired score, and I've found a few methods of coping/getting over it (to a realistic extent, as someone with anxiety):

One) Slowww dowwnnnn. Seriously. I was, like you, focused so much on trying to get through as many questions as fast as I could while watching the timer tick away that I was inadvertently screwing myself over. The irony is that, of course, I would get many wrong, and that just fueled my anxiety further like a vicious cycle. Once I started doing drills and sections with unlimited timing--and trying to maintain a reasonable speed--and truly focusing on each question, I started seeing improvement. Makes sense because I was no longer preoccupied with that darned clock, lol. Once I was getting a good grasp of the test, then I moved on to doing it with the time constraints, and felt reassured that I could get through it just fine. I had to acclimate myself to the limited time without the external pressure first.

Two) Change the way you regard the test. I was reinforcing in my head that this is some massive beast that'll impact the rest of my life, etc., etc., and obviously that just compounded my anxiety, thereby making my performance worse! Yes, the LSAT is important, but it may do you a massive and relatively-effortless service to view it as a game/enjoyable feat instead. And at the end of the day, this test genuinely isn't the end-all-be-all of your law journey!! It just asks for a few months of your life, and then the best part is that you never have to take it again once you're done. But in the meantime, frame it as a unique learning experience rather than a daunting exam. On that note, I found that truly immersing myself in the RC passages as compelling texts made remembering them sooo much easier. This may serve you greatly in that section!

Also, it's good to reward yourself when you make strides in your learning because it'll serve as motivation, and also take care of your other needs, such as enjoying hobbies and life generally, because that also is of great help in regulating those negative emotions.

I'm wishing you a low-stress & productive learning journey! :) If I of all people, lol, have managed to diminish my LSAT anxiety, I'm quite certain you can, too. Take care, and happy new year!!!