MOTIVATION: Discipline vs. Regrets
Shreya Kabir
Winter mornings and getting up early to study is not one of the most preferred things to do! When you are all cosy in your warm blanket and suddenly the alarm rings, it is one of the most difficult decisions to make in your head! Whether to slide out of the blanket or just extend your bliss for a little more time. And, this is only one such instance where, there is a tug-of-war between your mind and your instincts.
What determines your decision to command your instincts and sacrifice your blissful sleep is ‘discipline’. Discipline is a virtue, it is a habit. We have been taught since childhood, the importance of discipline but, this is the time to actually practice it. This exam demands utter discipline. Cultivating this virtue at this point of time can reap outlandish results. This is because, time is the most important currency in CSE preparation and how judiciously you spend it will depend upon ‘how disciplined you are’.
This CSE preparation however, has discipline as its prerequisite. Only if you are ready to commit whole-heartedly and with discipline then only you must consider yourself in the race. Without discipline, you are out of this race since the day 1 itself. The magnanimous syllabus of this examination can be thought of being covered only through following your schedule with discipline. When you will be distracted by the whatsapp messages, only your discipline will bring you back to your books. When the tempting offer by your non-IAS aspirants to chill will be made to you, only discipline will ensure that you won’t step out till you are done for the day. When you just want to skip answer-writing practice despite knowing its dire need, only your discipline will compel your hands to lift the pen. The bottom-line is not making plans, but making plans and then sticking to them, which is nothing but the function of ‘discipline’.
Time once lost, will only yield regrets. Imagine the pain of regrets! Of not optimizing the given time, of leaving that topic due to procrastination which costed you another year, of losing out on marks in essay due to lack of proper practice. And, the worst part that will follow will be the angst. Angst that you ‘were’ responsible for making the most of your preparation time and now you ‘are’ responsible for the results born out of your indiscipline. What do you want to feel? The angst? What do you want to remember? The regrets?
You will not remember the days when you slept off, snoozing off the alarm but the discipline you etched in your preparation will remain with you for the longest time as the sweet fruits of your success. The virtue of discipline will not only serve you in this examination but will also sail you through the examination of life. Thus, even if success is not achieved in terms of a rank in this examination, you will still be a winner. However, a goal of securing a rank will only be achieved when it is nurtured with hard work and ‘discipline’.
The need of the hour for every IAS aspirant is to pull yourself through each day, with discipline. It will be difficult; there will be times when you will not want to go beyond your impulses. In those difficult times, one must be reminded of the consequences that will follow. What will lead you closer to your goal? A little sacrifice on sleep or socializing or smartphone will save you from the regrets that might accompany your lack of discipline. Because, the pain of discipline is always more worthwhile than the pain of regrets!
“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
-Jim Rohn
