Courage to continue

UPSC is touted as one of the toughest exams in the world. Nearly 10 Lakh people appear for preliminary exam and hardly 15000 make it to Mains. Out of which some 2500 appear in Interview and finally 1000 of them become a civil servant and out of this 100 are IAS. Most of the rest rewrite the exam. So effectively out of 10 Lakh, nearly 9,99,900 either give up or rewrite the exam. So a failure in UPSC is nothing but a routine thing. It should not depress anyone. One should not feel any lesser human or less talented or depressed or any way inferior.

Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue which counts. If you think you can then you can else you are right. The harder you work the luckier you get.

We have enough examples surrounding us. Sridhar, Abhishek, Nitesh, Ravi, Amit Gemawat, umpteen number of them. Many people flunked prelims 3 times and became IPS in 4th attempt. And you have examples where people appeared to interview 4 times and could not become IAS. people who appeared 3 times but could not clear the exam. So moral of the story: Result is not in your hand. So then what is in my hand? Effort. Persistence effort. Determined attitude to give my best. Make every minute or the second count.

The question is why? No exam which makes you impactful. Money, fun, contribution to nation-building, every job offers all this. What makes Civil Services special is you can actually do some productive work. If a lady comes to your office, your one direction can get her justice. Your one surprise visit to the health center can help in the immediate improvement of services for thousands of people. At such a tender age, you can lead the entire district 10-20 lakh population. Your every walk and talk can become a source of inspiration for hundreds and thousands of others.

If you have this conviction, then no failure can stop you. Rarely  20 people become IAS on the first attempt. Rest all are in the same boat as yours. so don't worry. Take it as an opportunity to take lead for next year's examination.

I designed this survey for students to trigger self-introspection

Civil Service Exam is a test of (Choose one which you think is most important)

Knowledge

Accuracy

Character

Conviction

What is the most desirable quality in an aspirant? (Choose one which is most important in your view)

Consistency

Intensity

Intelligence

Skills

What is the foremost quality of a Civil Servant? (Choose one which is most prominent. we know it is a mix)

Discipline

Effort

Smartness

Calmness

Decision making

Ownership of the task

Excellence

Action-orientation

Adaptability

Why did I falter this year?

I have no idea

I have done some assessment but I am not working on it

I have done the assessment and I am working on it

Luck, destiny, god's will

After prelims failure

I continued to prepare as if I am appearing in Mains

I stuttered and lost the track of my preparation but I kept trying

I started for next prelims

I gave up

For the next 7 months

I have a plan and I am executing it well

I have a plan but I am not executing well

I don't have a plan

I am confused about relevance of this exam process

Will you be writing mains at some point?

God's willing

Amen definitely, next year

I doubt that possibility

No

How much prepared I am for Mains subject?

Fully prepared

Will start after clearing prelims

Made summary of all class notes but not practiced answer writing

Started the subject

How much prepared I am for Mains GS?

Could have blasted this year itself (given the opportunity)

Will start after clearing prelims

Finished the GS summary but need answer writing practice

Started GS

How many days I have wasted doing nothing after the prelims result?

less than 10 days

less than 20 days

less than 30 days

full waste, confusion, chaos

What are some crucial traits helpful in winning a competitive race?

Ability to stand up after lagging behind

Continuous effort and introspection

Believe in your stars

A tinge of assurance and calm ness in my behavior

Believe in hardwork

What do I need to do to clear next year's exam?

Start now

Do self-assessment

Make a decision about my course of preparation

Take ownership of my decisions and strategies

Weed out distractions. Onus is on me

Course correction whenever necessary

I am already doing all the above

Little bit madness needed on my part

I did all of this but could not qualify

How to make the best out of the remaining time? (Mark only those which apply to your plan)

Focus, plan, execute

Daily answer writing (at least 3-5 answers)

Finish subject (revise content and make summary notes) before January 26 and then focus on prelims for next 5 months

Finish Mains GS (revise content and make summary notes) before January 26 and then focus on prelims for next 5 months

Read Vision 360 and make power notes

Write test series for GS, Essay

Write test series for Subject

Apply for other government exams (state level exam)

Activate my plan B

Prepare for prelims from now itself

Chill, Finish Mirzapur and Bikchu ka khel

When I look at Laxmikant and Spectrum, I feel like

Let me eat and drink them so that instead of blood, knowledge starts flowing in my veins

I feel bored. I need a study partner

I need a break

Feel like vomiting

Who is an ideal study partner?

Not insecure. Ready to share details, tricks, tips

Win-win proposition for both

Help each other in spotting mistake and improving

Matches my preparation level and mental-attitudinal level

There is nothing called ideal partner. Its a give and take relationship.

Study partner (choose most appropriate)

I don't need one.

It helps.

Only needs limited engagement.

It's a drag. Wastes my time.

How frequently do I check social media? (Choose the closest)

At least once in an hour

At least once in four hour

At least once a day

At least once in fifteen minutes

Social Media (Insta, Facebook, WhatsApp, TG)

Good for education

Hinder the sitting

Disrupt the process of reflection

Time waste

Opium of masses

Provide free content and important updates for preparation

Best way to control social media

Put the phone on flight mode while studying

Limit max usage to 30 mins to one hour per day

Uninstall from social media

No need to control. Study is more fun with family and friend's updates

The biggest obstacle in my preparation

Friends

Family

Resources

Me

Why am I preparing for civil services? (Choose one which is most prominent. Do not go by the social desirability factor.)

Settled life

Leadership position

Social prestige

Social pressure

Contribution to nation building

I don't know

Bas Zidd hai. Karna hai to hai...

Any comments

Coolness

What is being cool? I understand it at four levels. 

When I get the results and still not happy. This is cool level 0.

When I put in hard work and I get the results. I am very happy. This is cool level 1.

When I put in hard work and I do not get the desired results but still I am happy. This is a cool plus.

When I do not even work and irrespective of the result or situation, I remain happy. This is called the cool square.

Most people around fall in the level 0 category and it is very rare to find people in the level square. "Nishkam Karm" falls under the plus category. From this parameter, I don't find even MSD or superstars like Akshay Kumar as cool. 

There are other ways too for judging the coolness. For example, absence of fear and anger, forgiving and forgetting nature,  assured nature, "never mind dont care attitude" etc. Some of it comes from upbringing whereas some come from experience. However, the golden parameters are as mentioned in the levels.

 

Drive

I came across the news article about the dwarf daughters of a tailor who cracked the NEET exam. The article filled me with hope, inspiration, and energy. India is full of people who struggle against all odds and make a mark in society. If there is one thing that compensates the most for lack of intelligence, bad luck, and poor access to resources in the pursuit of a dream, it is Drive.  Drive gives the purpose, motivation, madness, commitment, and determination to keep walking towards the goal despite all the obstacles. But what if one has lost all the drive? What is it like to live without a drive after tasting it for a while? and what are the ways to reignite this drive? 

Well to answer each question separately, loss of drive in a material sense leads to inaction. If it is compensated by spiritual drive then it results in mental wealth else it results in poverty. Loss of drive in a spiritual sense would lead to slow degeneration of mental wealth. I would say the loss of drive in a complete sense is death. Most people in society are living in a state of death.

Each one of us is passionate about something or other. Some goals, dreams, ambitions, fuel the drive in each one of us. This is often a phase of madness when we are beyond who we are. There are people who eternally live in this phase. The key phrase for such people is "Never settle", "Dream on" and "Keep walking". People like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Ambani fall in this category. For the lesser mortals, this drive is ephemeral and intermittent. And what comes after the drive is a vacuum and a void. A question about life and its purpose, a spiritual inquiry of self, and some emptiness. If the drive yielded successful results then you can cherish it and try to live a content life. If not then it gives rise to some sort of restlessness where you are in a constant search for something new, engaging, and meaningful. That's where lies the answer to the third question.

How to reignite the drive? It requires conviction and belief in the relevance of a certain specific goal. It requires a passionate pursuit of a goal. The most important thing for the drive is the single-minded focus. No other thing or goal should cross your mind. It requires a certain level of madness. The mediocrity and procrastination can not find a place in this pursuit. So if you are one of those who feel a void in your life, you should find new goals, new zeal, and new purpose. The second thing about developing a drive is to keep the plate full and busy. You should eat, drink, and live with this new goal. And the third thing is convincing yourself repeatedly. Your past will come to haunt you time and again. Your own self will question your madness and futility of this design. However, that's where conviction comes to your rescue.  

As an employer, always lookout for people who have the drive but not a dream. Give them meaning and dreams and see the wonders happening. Degrees don't matter.  Drive brings discipline, determination, and desperation. And that's the best guarantee for dream achievement.