How can one overcome the thoughts of ‘I can't’ while preparing for the UPSC?

It is quite natural that one feels demotivated to continue or failure gives one a setback during the course of UPSC preparation. It sure does feel very depressing and lonely.

I went through a similar stage during the course of my preparation and I used to feel very disoriented with whatever I used to do. The concentration deficit became evident, I skipped the newspaper for days and seemingly was least interested to contact/meet my childhood friends whom I had been ignoring for a while now because of preparation. I went into a shell of my own and started to introspect a bit too much. This didn’t help much.

One day I woke up and realized that clearing the UPSC exam is just another phase of life. It’s only a means to an end and not the end in itself. On the other hand, not getting through is for sure not the end of the world!

The above thought made me more practical and mature in the sense that I started being more realistic and I made myself a promise that no matter what the result in the end would be, but I would continue to work hard and control the controllables which are in my hand. Of course every aspirant is fighting the odds in the UPSC exam, there are only about 0.17% who clear the exam eventually. Thus, there’s a certain level of luck attached to it, but having said that “the harder you work, the luckier you get!”

So, I started working hard keeping all distractions at bay. I religiously started reading the newspaper everyday and kept telling myself that I’m on a mission which is my own, it’s a fight I have to battle out everyday. Slowly, the ‘worrier mindset’ changed to a ‘warrior mindset’. I kept my social interactions minimal and only used a bit of Instagram that too for success quotes which I used to screenshot and look at whenever I felt low. This ensured that I was always motivated in my pursuit and gradually I could clear prelims and mains with this positive attitude.

Therefore, it is very important to be mentally strong and mature enough to understand that UPSC is just another exam. Keep working hard, stay on the right path and keep feeding the focus while starving the distractions. This way, success won’t be far. And in the end, even if you don’t happen to make it to the final list then there’s something better in store for you I’m sure! Keep up the hard work and leave the rest to God.

All the Best!

Credit: Karan - IAS Aspirant

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