The arduous, yet enjoyable journey of a UPSC aspirant is no less than that of a gladiator who engages in preparations for his final show in the arena which decides his fate. In this case, it is the UPSC prelims exam which is slated to be held on 31st of May 2020. It is the dedication, consistency, hard work intertwined with discipline and the practical strategy at any given point of time in his/her preparation that would qualify him/her for the mains in the journey towards, becoming a civil servant.
COVID-19 outbreak was a bolt out of the blue. The pandemic has had an impact which is of deleterious nature on the entire human race without any sort of discrimination. The Civil Services aspirants are no exception. The preparation now becomes more herculean for the fact that the old plans are to be shelved, and new revision plans are to be drawn up. But with the right strategy and a positive mindset, it would still be possible to overcome all the uncertainties and emerge triumphant within that limited amount of time, if we put our mental faculties to efficient use.
UPSC preparation, an emotion in itself
Perhaps, it would not be an exaggeration if one says that UPSC is an emotion. It does play with the emotions of all the aspirants for which it leaves an everlasting impression on those who seriously get themselves into it. Nevertheless, it’s up to the individuals as to how they perceive it and make it last. With an ample amount of time at the disposal, and the aspect of uncertainty at the highest level, preparation time is much more anxiety based.
A proper routine of an aspirant should go in hand with his other competitors, as one would be competing with the best of the minds, some of whom would have already written the prelims exam twice or thrice. So, it is equally important to not lose heart learning the fact that the competition is tough. Despite the toughness, every year there are names in the final PDF. And, despite the competition, there are lakhs writing the same exam again and again.
Don’t let your mind lose all of the things you gathered and learnt over the period of your preparations for the prelims, even as one is forced to stay indoors away from the ever-accustomed social life with friends and significant others. The same holds true for aspirants who had been engaging in group discussions. It would be better for these students to shift their discussions to some online video-conferencing, instead of whining about not being able to meet his/her friends in person.
Therefore, being quarantined and staying indoors is not a new thing for an aspirant, as he would anyways stay “quarantined” as he enters the last lap of preparation (that is the last 3 months to prelims). In fact, one should embrace the fact that there’s altogether very less distraction than there was earlier. Moreover, it is the last leg of preparation (tests, current affairs, and the revision) that might get affected the most. Provided if one makes a proper plan for the remaining days, the entire scene will still be a WIN situation for anyone who thinks it’s not impossible at all.
You are what you believe in. You become that which you believe you can become
All the very best.
