Zinc in the morning. Magnesium at night. Vitamin D with your first meal. Do it for 30 days and tell me your energy, your sleep and your mood didn't completely shift.
VIDEO | Raipur: Charu Pandey clears 19 government exams at the age of 23, says, "It was never in my mind that I would be able to crack 19 exams. My goal was to get a government job. The most important thing has been time management. I used to study by managing my time properly. I was not focused on completing the entire syllabus, whatever I did study, I gave it my 100%. I would like to say to the students that if we are preparing for something and it does not gets cleared, we should re-attempt it. Every single time, we will get to learn something new."
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/bIyFWTfmBd)
Before you were born, God showed you your entire life, from the beginning to the end, until the moment of your death, and you chose to live this life. You probably found something worth living for.
Two days before Prelims, I sat frozen on my bed, convinced I had forgotten everything. Conquering that exact panic is what got me into the IAS.
If your brain is short-circuiting right now, close the books. Sunday is not a memory test. It’s a nerve test.
Here's some pointers on how to handle the big UPSC Prelims day:
1. Last minute panic.
Take a deep breath. Feeling like your mind has gone completely blank right now is perfectly normal. Your brain isn't failing you. It’s just feeling the pressure. I promise, the moment you sit down and see the choices on the paper, the answers will come rushing back to you. Recognizing the right answer is much easier than trying to pull it out of thin air right now. Trust the hard work you've put in. You are entirely ready for this.
2. The 10-second reset.
If you open the booklet and your heart starts racing, drop your pen. Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths. Reset. This is not time wasted. This is the preparation to tackle the exam without panic. Ten seconds spent breathing will give you many minutes of clarity.
3. Stay in the current question.
When you’re in the thick of the exam, you have to treat every single question as an entirely separate event. If Question 14 is from a topic you thought you should have known, but it still absolutely stumps you and leaves you feeling defeated, draw a hard stop then and there. Do not let that irritation or doubt reach Question 15. Each question is an opportunity to score. Forget the previous question.
4. Difficult/unfamiliar paper
If you look at the paper and feel completely shocked because the questions are surprisingly hard or the pattern has changed, stop. Do not panic. Remember: if the paper is tough for you after all your hard work, it is tough for everyone else in that room too. Always remember how GS pre works. You do not need a particular score. When a paper is harder than usual, the cutoff marks will naturally go down. Dont let a tough exam shake your confidence. You must build a mental wall.
5. Put your blinders on during the break.
The lunch break between GS and CSAT is a psychological minefield. The loudest voice in the canteen is usually the most wrong. Block out the chatter. Don't match answers. Don't check Telegram. Eat, breathe, sit in silence if you can. Your CSAT score depends on it more than you realise.
6. Attempt strategy
When you start solving the paper, don't let your ego get in the way. Attack it in three rounds. In your first round, only look for the easy wins. Answer the ones you know for sure. If a question slows you down, don't get stuck trying to prove you can solve it. Note it and move on. Use your second round for questions that need a bit more time, and your last round for the really hard ones.
Always remember: a tough question gives you the exact same marks as an easy one. Don't waste time fighting a hard problem early on, only to miss out on easy marks at the end of the paper. Grab the easy points first, build your confidence, and keep moving forward.
7. Sleep
I know its difficult sometimes to sleep before a big exam. Do try. Put away your books and close your eyes. I do need to tell you though, even if you cant sleep, dont panic. I have been unable to sleep whole nights before exams, because I was panicking about not getting enough sleep!! And even if you can't sleep very well, you will still do fine. Adrenaline will cover for the lack of sleep. But do try!
8. Separate your worth from the paper
Finally, please remember this: the exam is just a test of how you manage your focus and strategy on one specific Sunday. It is absolutely not a final judgment on how smart you are, your character, or your worth as a person.
You had a whole life before this exam, and you will have a full life after it is over. No matter what the result is, simply putting yourself through this challenge has already made you stronger and wiser. Go in there, hold your head high, and just give it your absolute best effort.
IIT Delhi to IIM Bangalore to IAS. I got the best education my country had to offer. It taught me how to crack tough exams and manage big responsibilities. But it never taught me how to quiet my own mind or handle loneliness. We spend many years learning how to achieve, but not a single day learning how to be happy.
My thoughts on what is missing in school education.
Emotional Regulation:
We memorized the periodic table, but no one explained the chemistry of a broken heart. School demanded we stay quiet, confusing silence with peace. Now, we don't know how to host our own storms without drowning in them. We feel lost because we were taught to suppress, not to process.
Deep Communication:
We were taught to write perfect essays, but not how to say "I’m hurting" or "No." While there is a strong emphasis on communication, we are not taught the vocabulary of the adult life. There is no course on how to stand our ground in face of bullying by a boss or how to protect our work boundaries by saying 'No'
Critical Thinking:
In school, the person with the most answers won. In life, the person with the most questions survives. This is the reason many adults can repeat opinions confidently without ever questioning where those opinions came from. We are told everything as the gospel truth. So we end up just following blindly
Financial Literacy:
We spent years learning maths and solving for x, but never learned how to keep ourselves from falling in a debt trap. Money isn't just about math; it’s about the dignity of choice. We do not learn how to use debt effectively without it controlling our freedom. How impulsive spending compounds over time, or how money affects stress, relationships, and mental peace. Financial literacy is missing because education often focuses on earning money someday, not managing it wisely once it arrives.
Self-Discipline
School is a world of bells and schedules. Someone else always tells you what to do and when. But adulthood is a world of total silence. We feel stuck because we were never taught how to push ourselves without a teacher watching. Discipline is simply the habit of keeping promises to yourself. This is a habit many of us are lacking
Handling Loneliness
In school, you are always shrouded by people. You never realize how loud the silence of adulthood can be until you’re in it. We feel lonely because we weren't taught how to be our own best friends. Peace is learning that being alone doesn't mean being lonely. It is a sacred space, not a sign of being unwanted.
Reading People
School is a time of innocence where friendships are often given to you. But as we go along, not everyone retains that purity. We feel cheated because we weren't taught to see the hidden intentions or the masks people wear. Reading people is the quiet wisdom of seeing the truth behind the words.
Mental Health Maintenance
We have gym class for our bodies, but nothing for our souls. We are taught to push through exhaustion to finish a project, which is exactly how we end up in burnout. Honoring your nervous system is the only way to make sure the light inside you doesn't go out. We should know when we are dealing with a stressor and unable to handle it anymore. We should know when to reach out for help if we feel that we are drowning in that distress
Knowing Yourself
We spend years trying to be the "best" student, only to realize we don't know who we are without a gold medal. We are left inadequate because we studied every subject except our own souls. The ultimate education is discovering what truly matters to you before the world tells you what to want.
The most powerful manifestation tool is gratitude. Be thankful for what you have right now, and the Universe will respond by giving you more to be grateful for.
देखो रात के 2 बजे कितनी शांति है मोहल्ले में,
सब सो गए और मैं पढ़ रही हूं
क्योंकि
हर बीतता हुआ समय हमें यही सिखा रहा है, आगर तुम कामयाब नहीं , तो तुम्हारा कोई।अपना नहीं
#GoodNightX