Friday, October 30, 2015

Learning when to quit

A common question is - While preparing for a competitive exam like the UPSC or IIMCAT, when do I realise that I need to quit? I thought a lot about it, and this is what I feel.

  • Quit when you wake up in the morning with a heavy heart, and can't face yourself in the mirror
    indore sandeep manudhane sm sir sm sir ji indoreyouth
    Quit to Win with right mindset
  • Quit when you stop taking pride in the small learnings that happen continuously when you strive on a daily basis
  • Quit if you see your scores in quizzes and mock tests just not improving despite all the efforts you could muster
  • Quit if you are ashamed to face your family due to your first failure (in the Prelims) - I say so because you just have not learnt the lesson that success rarely comes to most people in the first or even the second shot
  • Quit if you have had a history of similar behaviour since childhood (that you tried, failed, felt ashamed, lost all drive)
  • Quit if you find something else that matches your aptitude and skills much better than chasing the IAS dream (or the IIM-CAT dream)
  • Quit if you discover other facts en route - like you as a potential IAS officer will just not be able to take orders from others (especially half-literatenetas)
  • Quit if your family is mature enough and will take that decision in their stride without feeling that the world has come to an end
  • Quit if you are not shameless enough to stand the heat, burn the midnight oil again, & try, try and try
  • Quit if you realise that there are other responsibilites that are getting seriously compromised in your personal pursuit

And finally, quit if your heart tells you so. Don't ask others. Take your call. And take ownership of that call, don't hide anything, face the world. Remember - 99% of us have faced failure at some point in time.

All the best!

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