7 reasons for PMP Exam failure and how to manage them

1.  Lack of preparation - Sometimes people get overconfident. They think that they know everything because they have experience. PMP examination is all about answering the questions as per PMBOK. So one must prepare, Exam practice is important. More important than exam practice is to learn how to answer questions based on PMBOK. 
2. Too much preparation - Very often people prepare too much. They go after every material available to them. They start reading PMBOK end to end. Do exam practice using every practice exam available to them. Towards the end, they do not appear for the exam because of lack of confidence. We hear only about the success stories. There are failure stories also. Unfortunately there is no data about those who never wrote the exam after starting the course. A vast majority fall into this category. The best option to avoid this trap is to to stick on to a standard set of good quality material. 
3. Anxiety and fear of failure - Everyone has the fear of failure when it comes to exams. It is all about how well you manage that pressure during the exam. The best form of defense is offense. After all, PMP exam is only as difficult as one subject of your graduation. Do not glorify it beyond it. Attack the questions, before they attack you. This advise has helped many. 
4. Bad trainers - Many trainers focus on only passing the exam. In the process they do not focus on the logical flow of projects. Look for trainers experience as project management practitioners. Project management practitioners turned trainers will have lot of project experiences to share with you. This will make the training more valuable and enjoyable. Such training will have better recollection value. 
5. Dump your authoritarian style - Modern day project managers are servant leaders. The command and control freaks are outdated. The PMP exam expect your answers to be pro-team and pro-customer consistently. Wear the hat of a servant leader, especially during the exam. If you can permanently wear one, then it will help your career as a whole. 
6. If you are not getting frustrated you are not learning anything new - Whenever we learn something new, initially we make lot of errors. That is quite normal and at the same time very frustrating. Whenever we get out of our comfort zones, frustration is normal. I have come across many experienced project managers starting the PMP journey thinking that they can do it because of their project experience, and then giving up before writing the exam. The more experienced you are, more unlearning will be required. 50 hours of highly focused study and preparation is required to pass the PMP exam. 
7. Do not declare to the world about your PMP plans before passing PMP - By doing so, you are creating unnecessary peer pressure for you. Just do it silently along with the mentor / instructor.