Are You Studying for Your Boss? The TOEIC “Social Pressure” Trap
Have you ever thought,
“I need a good TOEIC score or my boss will think I’m useless…”
Or
“If I fail again, my coworkers will laugh at me…”?
If so, you are not alone.
This is called The Social Pressure Trap — and it’s a huge reason why many learners get stuck.
You’re not dumb. You’re not lazy.
You’re just stuck in your own head, worrying about what other people think.
This kind of overthinking is what we call The Over Thinker Block.
Whose Problem Is This, Really? — The “Separation of Tasks” Mindset
In the book The Courage to Be Disliked, Adlerian Psychology teaches a powerful idea:
“What others think of you is their task. Not yours.”
It sounds simple, but it changes everything.
Your task is to do your best study today.
Their task is to decide what they think of you.
You don’t control their task.
You only control yours.
But when you mix up these tasks,
you start to study for your boss, your teacher, your coworkers…
And that pressure crushes your focus.
MTC Truth: Your Score is Your Task. Their Opinion is Theirs.
At My TOEIC Coach (MTC), we’ve seen this Over Thinker Block so many times.
Learners aren’t stuck because they don’t know enough.
They’re stuck because they’re carrying tasks that don’t belong to them.
Your job is not to control what your boss or friends think.
Your job is to build small, winnable habits — so your score will speak for itself.
But first, you need a habit that breaks the Overthinking loop.
The “3-Second Pause” Habit — Stop the Overthinking Spiral
Here’s a simple ALT drill to reset your brain when overthinking kicks in.
✅ When you feel that “What will people think of me?” pressure,
stop and take a 3-second pause.
In those 3 seconds, silently say to yourself:
“That’s not my task.”
Then, shift your focus to a small action:
Read the next TOEIC question.
Look at the answer choices.
Breathe.
This 3-second habit trains your brain to separate your task from theirs.
It brings you back to what you can control — your next move.
Why This Works
It interrupts the anxiety loop. You can’t overthink while you’re pausing.
It re-centers your focus. You stop thinking about people who aren’t even in the room.
It turns emotional pressure into a physical action. Simple. Repeatable.
You’re Not Studying for Them. You’re Studying for You.
The Over Thinker Block is not a study problem.
It’s a task problem.
You can’t control what people think of your TOEIC score.
But you can control how you react to that pressure.
Start with a 3-second pause.
Separate what’s yours and what’s not.
And watch how fast your focus comes back.
