Stay Emotionally Stable During UPSC Exam Preparation

Emotional stability will play a critical role in your preparation for the UPSC Civil Service Exam. Emotional stability means developing the ability to keep away negative thoughts, maintaining absolute calmness during stressful and frustrating situations, and retaining the ability to solve the problems with calmness in the face of a storm.

Difficult topics, the requirement to put in long hours of study, consistent efforts spread over many months and years, intense competition, the fear of failure due to extremely low pass percentage, the anxiety of life ahead when the realisation comes in that perhaps an alternative means of livelihood must be explored; all these reasons are going to play havoc in your mind. It creates emotional instability thereby reducing a candidates productivity while preparing for the UPSC exam and as a result reducing the chances of clearing the dreaded UPSC Civil Service Examination. 

One must understand that the UPSC has been designed in such a way that they will constantly test the candidate’s ability to withstand stress, implicitly in the Prelims, Mains and the stress levels will be explicitly tested in the Interview stage of the examination. UPSC needs candidates who can handle any level of stress that they will face while working as a civil servant. This article throws some light on developing the ability to beat stress while preparing for the examination.

Aspirants would find this topic very helpful while preparing for the IAS Exam.

Breaks are Important

One would always hear about the massive amounts of time spent by successful candidates on a daily basis while preparing for the civil service exam. It is true that a tremendous amount of time should be spent on a daily basis for preparation due to the huge syllabus one has to cover. But the secret of spending large amounts of time productively is to take important breaks on a regular basis. Without breaks, the brain won’t function at optimum levels and you will be exhausted due to mental and physical fatigue. Hence, never forget to take a short break on an hourly basis.

Negative People

It is inevitable that you will come across negative people who will bring down your motivation levels with their negative thoughts, ideas and influence. They will try to raise doubts on your abilities. Never pay any heed to their influence and make it a point to stay away from such negative people. Always try to surround yourself with positivity and positive people.

Confidence and Self-Belief

There will always be a time when your motivation levels would be at a lower side due to the difficulties faced while preparing for the exams. One may find the topics very hard, one may be consuming more time for the topics, the study plans may not be progressing smoothly with the desired pace etc. Whatever be the difficulties, always have the self-belief in your capabilities. Remember that everyone faces challenges and difficulties while preparing for this exam and it is natural that you will also come across difficulties, but always remember that the factors that differentiate between success and failure in this exam is sincere hard work, discipline, determination and dedication to reach the goals. When one realizes this truth automatically there will be an upsurge in the self-belief and confidence levels. 

Exercise

It has been scientifically proven that carrying out exercise reduces the hormones that will induce negative emotions and increases the positive emotions, hence always allocate some time for exercise.

Meditation

Meditation is another excellent way to reduce stress, this has been proven from time immemorial.

Food Habits

Maintain a proper food habit, avoid junk food, rely more on vegetables and fruits.

Adequate Sleep

Without adequate sleep, one cannot overcome the mental fatigue after hard work put in over the course of the entire day. Hence, make sure that you get sufficient sleep regularly over the course of the entire duration of preparation.

The above details would help candidates prepare for UPSC 2021.

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