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have to go to a coaching institution?, How many hours of study per day do I need to put in? to bizarre ones like
Can I be married and still prepare for civil services?, Do I need to break-up, as I am in a relationship now, in
order to crack Civil Services? The answers to these are highly customised, as I would like to put it. Once you have
decided to take the plunge, ask yourself what are my priorities at this moment? Write this down in the order of
importance, and put it up on the wall in your room. When in doubt, go back to them and reinforce your decision.
The next question that needs to be answered is what are my constraints in this journey? Place them against each
of your priority in the first list. They may be financial, familial, logistical, or in any other form and shape. The third
question you need to dwell upon requires a bit more thinking before you make your list; Who/what all are going to
help me in overcoming these obstacles? Carefully put down the names of people and resources from which you
gain your strength from. This also includes an analysis of your own strengths and weaknesses. If you have an
eidetic memory like some of my topper-friends have, you would not need to read and re-read the stale notes from
coaching centres over and over again. Instead you could expand your horizon by reading additional material in
the subject. Nothing read with conviction goes waste in this exam. If you have an enviable attention span, you
may not have to extend your study-time beyond a respectable hour of the day. If you have a good pre-test
knowledge of your subject or are an expert in a subject, you will not have to seek special coaching in that.
Map out your own promises and perils in various facets such as education, special skills, abilities, hobbies,
character etc. It will not only prepare you to answer the same question at the Personality Test a few months down
the lane, but also help you identify miry areas in your personality to firm up. Once this exercise is done, mentally
or loudly, you are ready to roll. Voila! You have already found your answers to those questions. If civil services
exam is your numero uno and only priority at this point, go all out to conquer it. If you have other aspirations on
cards or trammels in the offing, plan and divide your time accordingly. An employed mother is no less ready to
crack the civil services exam than a novice graduate dedicated to the altar of UPSC preparation is. So take your
pick, but the only important thing is that you stay faithful to your decision until you cross the bridge. The worst
enemy to creativity is self-doubt. Sylvia Plath
Know Your Foes
By foes, I dont mean your fellow aspirants, who are your friends and co-passengers in this journey, and lend you
a helping hand more often than not. Your greatest enemies stem from your own insecurities. List down the worst
things that could happen to you in this journeyunable to clear the prelims, missed the Mains Cut-off by a single
point, unexpectedly experienced a verbal-mental-global block at the interview and landed in murky ground, fell ill
on the D-dayand the like. This is not to bog you down with a crown of thorns; but to rid yourself of your
insecurities. Will I be able to do it?ought to be replaced with, I will get back on my feet even if I am knocked
down. For that, you need to know what all might knock you down and where would you fall. Fight your insecurities
with all your might. Stay strong on the face of temptations that might lure you into bad company or undesirable
vices that might throw you off the tangent. Whether you become a civil servant or not, you will have blossomed
into a better human being at the end of it.
Having gone through three grueling attempts at the Civil Services exam, I definitely know the importance of
perseverance and not letting yourself down in this journey. There are bound to be moments of despair, of elation,
of humiliation, of jubilation; try to acquire the evenness of mind to accept them all in grace. It is equally important
to not fly high masquerading as an eagle when you are only a sparrow. Topping a mock-test series or getting
lauded by the mock-interview board should not sweep you off your feet. Stay firm-footed, stay rooted, and stay
grounded. Filling your days with positive spirit and positive thoughts will create magic like none other. While some
resort to psychological methods like Creative Visualisation, most of us simply re-invent ourselves to infuse positive
energy through our own chosen methods.
Music, meditation, physical exercise, nature walks, a hearty conversation with a loved one, cheering up with pals,
treating yourself to your favorite cuisine, or any kind or recreation that would calm you will be welcome to at regular
intervals. Whatever it be, dont let your dreams betray you; dont let your ambitions tumble down. Stay positive,
stay hopeful. Once this exercise is over, you are ready to row. Eureka! You simply got to grip the oars of hard-work
and keep wading through the waters; rough or calm they may be depending on the stars that shine on you from
heaven above. And always remember, A bend in the road is not the end of the roadUnless you fail to make the