my frustration with the ias

Preparation of Civil services is not an easy task. It requires perseverance, adamancy and many more qualities, if listed will make this article abound with superlatives. Before starting the preparation one only hears the topper’s stories, about their shear work ethic, gets inspired and readies oneself for it thinking this hard labor can be dispensed with in the higher pursuit.

But one when takes on the mighty challenge, the maze starts unfolding and new hardships start dawning upon. Finding oneself being besieged is one hell of a feeling, a bitter tea that no one wants to lay a tongue upon. Mind begins to frustrate every now and then and wants to leave the arena where it has so laboriously mingled. It searches for some kind of hope, some kind of light amidst darkness, that will prevail all those thoughts and bolster the positiveness. The body loses all its shape, if it was in shape before (no offence to anyone). Lack of proper nutritious food and exercise makes one lazy and weary on the one hand and snatches bodily charm on the other.

As the time passes one becomes indifferent to these thoughts and regularizes with his usual work like a soulless machine, where the only thing matters is filling huge data and information inside the limited brainspace. Keeping oneself restricted to one space for long times contradicts man’s natural philosophy. Hence frustration is inevitable. Kickboxing is the only sport that might soothe the boiling inside. This much so and so happening just inside the little brain, yet it remains still, erect, how? One wonders.

One lives in a fabric that is not averse to various stresses and strains. Some leave their jobs and jump into this whirl, so it’s a matter of prestige. Societal pressures are very high, so there it’s a matter of status. Sometimes it’s the parents who push their children here directly or indirectly, for, they want their children to realize their unfulfilled dreams, so it’s a matter of (couldn’t find a suitable word). So these pressures are bound to create distortions, after a certain yielding point.

The level of this yielding point is what decides triumph and sorrow. And mind you this yielding point is not fixed for an individual too. It can rise or decline, vulnerable to exogenous forces and shocks. These exogenous forces have considerable impact on the inner forces too, so it’s a complicated mixture beyond the matters of mind.

Question that really matters is how to remain adamant and persevere against these forces. Everyone requires some external push, some motivation that holds the person erect and rejuvenates the all silent physical body by supplying the necessary juice. Motivational supply itself is categorized as intrinsic and extrinsic. While extrinsic supply is short term intrinsic supply lasts long.

A civils aspirant ought to have both these supplies and especially the inner one to remain in the battle and be in constant motion like revolving earth, constant, calm, yet fiery. It ought to have that flame burning inside that remains in constant ignition, for this natural element is what will propel one to the highest heights.

So be strong, be motivated, be adamant, persevere against all odds and chase your wild dreams fearlessly.