I am, and always have been an average student since my school days, hitherto, i believed that i was made to live a comfortable life and nothing can make my life miserable. I had perhaps underestimated the surprises that future holds for every one of us. I quit my well paying job for no reason in particular to join the esteemed Civil Services of India. But for that to happen, i need to crack the UPSC 3 stage exam, which is taken by some 4,00,000 aspirants for a total of approximately 800 seats! So, i began to prepare for the exam right from August 2009 so as to take the 2010 Civil Services Exam.
I am up with nearly 1 year of preparation and if you ask me and i am still not satisfied with what i have done so far. My preparation was fortunately on the right track and on a right pace untill December 2009, post which i suddenly began to distance my self from books, perhaps due to over confidence . The months from December upto March passed like air through my hair. I knew that i had screwed up my 1st attempt and to think of success, when you know you don't deserve would be stupid, if you ask me.
The UPSC Civil Services Exam is meant to be taken by the ordinary & average students, i have 2 IAS officers in my family, one in Punjab cadre & the other in Himachal cadre . They eat the same food that we do, breathe the same air as we do and drink the same beverages that we do, that means they are no different a human being than i & you are. What made them an asset for the society is their sacrifice when it was needed. They ate, drank, slept only thinking of what and how they need to achieve. 12 Hours of 'sincere' study for 365 days is what made them meet their ambition.
Sometimes, i think that if we , after being blessed with so many resources at our disposal fall short of achieving our ambition , then our credibility and character needs large scale introspection and reform. I do not know my destiny , but i made myself a promise and a promise to my parents, that i will crack the exam no matter what it takes and how long it takes. I will not let down myself and neither do i have a heart to disappoint my parents. This exam is a thin line that distinguishes ordinary from extra ordinary, if you want a life where respect and self satisfaction means more than material assets, then i suggest that you wipe your bum and stick it to your study chair for not less than 12 hours a day for atleast the next 365 days.
" If we keep punching the wall, after sometime, the plaster on the wall begins to fall off " , If our efforts can leave a mark on a wall, i see no reason that sincere efforts put to work will not lead us to success.
Belief in myself, faith in what i study and constant hard work is my strategy for the 2011 UPSC CSE , lets see if that is what shall steer me to meet my ambition.
