Importance of ‘Consistency’ – Why you MUST Stay Consistent!
No matter how much talented you are, how much hard working you are, how much smart you are – if there is no consistency in your preparation for this exam (UPSC civil services), you will either fail or unnecessarily prolong this journey making it stressful, burdensome and frustrating.
Being consistent i.e. being regular and steadfast in what you are doing – either making notes from newspapers or from books, writing answers daily, writing essays weekly, solving test papers from test series once in a week or ten days – is the ONLY solution to all your problems. Your problems range from self-doubt to under-confidence to lack of motivation throughout this journey. Once you start procrastinating and being irregular in your studies, undone tasks pile up – creating huge mental burden. This undermines confidence as you can not focus either on future task or on the older one. Eventually you will start a new plan or strategy to suit your present predicament. This cycle continues – where victims are revisions, answer/essay writing, solving tests and lastly failure in actual exam.
Even if you study for 6-8 hours daily, try your best to stay consistent for next one year. This consistency will compensate everything i.e. you don’t have to compare with those who are studying for 12-14 hours. You will reach their level sooner than you can imagine. You will have to just stay enough motivated to repeat tasks day after day every day for one year. If you are following Secure initiative, follow it sincerely for one year. Some days you may write one answer or five answers. It’s fine. But never let go a day without writing an answer (do you skip brushing your teeth? – ask why)
If you have the habit of studying optional for 2-3 hours daily, do it regularly. You will be surprised after 2-3 months at the level of expertise you have gained in the optional subject.
The biggest problem with you is irregularity in most of the things you do. You end up missing many tests in a test series, or postpone it again and again citing silly excuses; you end up not writing answers or essays again justifying based on flimsy grounds; you will never make your own notes because you have your own justifications. This list can be endless.
If you want to succeed in this exam, or even in life, the best bet is to stay consistent in things you do. You will see progress in your intellect, in your confidence, in your attitude and in your overall personality. The secret to success is beating talent with consistent hard work.
In our experience we have seen many smart, talented people fail because of lack of consistency in many things – in their hard work, in imposing their faith in one guide/guidance, in their own self-belief, in following one good source etc.
If you introspect honestly, you will see for yourself that the reason for your failure, most of the times, is YOU. Blaming, complaining, whining is easy. It superficially rids you of self-accountability, but in the long-term this attitude(blaming other, complaining etc) will make sure that you are deprived of even the smallest opportunities that you might get later in your life to redeem yourself.
Today is the day you will have to decide whether you want to lead a life of mediocrity and ordinariness, or by staying consistent lead a life of fulfillment and happiness.
Wake you and start doing that matters. And do it consistently.
