Perseverance: Success doesn’t come easily. One needs to embark on a tiresome journey to reap the fruits of dreams. Many aspirants, who are now well known renowned personalities have toiled unimaginably before they have tasted success. Civil Service is a domain which calls for unlimited perseverance as the question pattern is unpredictable and the frequency of occurrence of national and international events are rapid. It becomes hard at times to keep on moving despite repeated failures,but in the end it is the undying spirit and effort of the candidate that counts.
Dedication: Setting a goal is different from going after it with a dedicated effort. Dedication comes from perseverance. Before anything else, it is important to question yourself “Why do you want to pursue Civil Services?” Is it for the name and fame it would bring to you or is it attached to serving the society and affixing your duties with the responsibilities towards the betterment of the lives of the people around you. Connecting your dream to a goal of creating a mark would bring in more dedication towards your preparation.
Determination: Dedication towards your goal will make you determined to win. Self belief is the key to be determined. All the IAS and IPS officers out there had believed that they will be what they are today. Determination is when you attempt to learn and revise your daily lessons despite of various mental, physical hurdles and stop giving excuses!
Smart Work: The syllabus of the examination is huge and it appears impossible to complete it and more impossible to everything that has been read. Smart works like reading and revising in the go, discussions with peer groups, linking topics and subjects, etc. are some of the tools that ease the herculean task of covering the entire syllabus and remembering everything that has been studied, on the D-Day.
Consistency: Stressing yourself for the entire day with several topics on one day, and taking a break for the next two days, thinking you have rad a lot will actually lead you nowhere. Instead, small baby steps everyday, with consistent effort will lead to your success. The mantra is: read, revise, repeat.
Self-motivation: Above all, you need to get up every morning and fight out your odds. You will feel tired, helpless, rejected, but you should not, at any cost, give up on your goal. The fact that you came this far to decide that you want to become an IAS OFFICER, is proof that you can conquer the rest of the challenges. Remember: Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
