If you lack confidence in your abilities, it affects the way you think, study, recall information, and the quality of your work.

You do not need to be *smart* in order to study. Studying simply means putting in effort to recall, retrieve, memorize information, and put information within a critical thinking context so you can retain it later on. Lots of people study without realizing it outside of an academic setting: music lessons, learning to fix a car, cooking a new meal, etc. It doesn’t seem like it, but those activities require mental effort and recollection that is slowly over time retained for future use. That’s what studying is. And you don’t need an IQ of 150 either.

Sad to say, there are no herbs or special techniques. I think what you should do is focus on your strengths and strengthen your weaknesses. Everyone has both. I chose to focus on my strengths after years of pining over my weaknesses and earning low grades, all while blaming myself for not being “smart” enough. Now I’m learning calculus! I would have never thought that.

Find out what your areas of strength are and what your weaknesses are. Also, don’t tell yourself that you’re stupid, and don’t let anyone else say that to you either. Einstein did horribly and now he’s immortalized by e=mc2.

Build your confidence up! You need to see your abilities for what they are and focus on what’s good. The higher your confidence, the better your grades and study habits.

I would consult an academic advisor or high school counselor for help in these areas.