Have you decided that your dream career is to become an IAS officer? Do you just want to work hard and be in that position soon? Please start some mind training!
Are you wondering about my above statement? What kind of training is that? It is essential even before you begin the UPSC exam preparation.
Train your mind from day 1 to think like an IAS officer. So, this blog is all about letting you know how to prepare the mind for this robust career.
Perfect Attitude Of An IAS Officer
You have to think constitutionally. In other words, start thinking in terms of government rules and regulations. Never let your personal opinion influence the decisions related to the nation.
Keep your judgment unbiased. Ultimately, it has to be fair, neutral, and follow the constitution rules. Being an IAS aspirant, you should focus on developing this kind of attitude.
Gain the ability to think well, reason well, and gather vast knowledge. Unless you are aware of the things, you cannot think about it or judge it. In turn, it becomes difficult to provide your opinion about the issue.
If you are unable to provide logical reasons, it is not possible to stand out. Being knowledgeable totally depends on you! Learn how to present your answers well.
Never include your personal opinions in the answer. It might become the reason for your low score.
Tips To Develop The Skills Required By An IAS Officer
It is good to know that you have decided to become an IAS officer. But, how can you develop such skills?
Gain literature knowledge and get updated about current news. Learn how to judge from different perspectives. Combine all these things and come up with your opinion.
Whenever you go through the issues, try to analyze them from three different views. It includes social, constitutional, and political.
Keep yourself updated about the developments and Indian Constitution. Later, form your opinion about the particular issue.
During the preparation, do discuss your opinion with the teachers and classmates. It is always good to read in abundance. Also, I suggest you talk with knowledgeable people.
You need not always seek conversation with people related to the IAS exam. Even if you talk with a common man, they help you to formulate good opinions in mind.
I would like to repeat this point again. Please try to understand the same issue in different viewpoints. However, do not get carried away by your emotions.
Note down your thoughts about the issue. Keep the list of points in front of you during revision. It helps you to recall all the related points quickly.
All the UPSC questions are dynamic and multi-dimensional in nature. Each question combines different issues. It’s you who have to be capable of analyzing properly.
Keep these habits in mind from the day you start with IAS preparation. Otherwise, it becomes impossible to clear the exam with top rank.
Tips To Prepare Your Mind For UPSC Exam
If you focus on the above skill development phase, it is easy to train your mind. It serves as the overall development of an aspirant. Find some of the tips below to strengthen your mind towards the UPSC exam.
Do Not Procrastinate! Prepare Right Now
If you are confident about your career choice, what are you waiting for? I would highly recommend you to start the IAS preparation as early as possible.
Even if you are pursuing a college degree, it is not a problem. It is possible to get a virtual experience before itself. But, how is this possible? Let me assume you are taking up Prelims in 2019.
So, you can follow this idea! Grab the 2018 Prelims question paper as soon as it gets released on the internet. Attend the paper along with time limitation.
Later, evaluate the answers and calculate the score you obtained. In this way, experience the exam without wasting the official number of attempts. Now, you have gained both practice as well as confidence.
Build Only The Right Attitude
Prepare your mind to develop the attitude as required by an IAS officer. Trust me! Your attitude plays an important role during the interview stage.
Of course, there are 6 to 9 attempts. But, do no proceed with this attitude. Ensure you will clear the exam in the first attempt itself. The way you train the mind is all that matters here.
This is worst thought ever! It brings negative energy in your mind. From the first day, prepare in such a way that you are going to crack the IAS exam right away.
Always remember, the energy level keeps dropping after each attempt. It is always better to win either in the first or second attempt.
Learn To Eliminate Exam Fear
Facing exam fear is totally accepted! But, learning how to avoid the same is hard work. Most of the candidates suffer from extreme exam fear.
There is no shortcut to escape from exam fear except one thing. It’s your mindset! Appear in the maximum possible mock tests. So, you will have repeated practice sessions.
You would have already heard the famous saying – Practice Makes A Man Perfect. Please follow this proverb. It is basically a chain reaction.
If you practice, you will gain optimum confidence level. Once you reach the confidence needed to clear UPSC exam, no more fears exist.
Keep Your Mind Clean
Push all your doubts away! Do not think that the candidates who made one attempt will have better knowledge. It is just a small advantage. First timers must eliminate such doubts immediately.
Moreover, fresh candidates have a higher energy level and a fresh mind. Use it completely and be successful in your career. Tackle your thoughts well and do not let negative energy disturb your UPSC journey.
Visualize Your Success
Even during your preparation, imagine that you are sitting in the exam hall. Get a good mood about the exam. What do you get in mind when you think of UPSC exam hall?
Do you see yourself sitting calmly in the exam hall? Are you tensed and find some negative thoughts tickling your brain? It is okay to feel it in the initial stages.
Gradually, transform your mind towards a positive direction. Feel comfortable about the exam day. Learn how to manage anxiety. Think in this way. You are not scared! But, you are excited.
You have undergone many months of preparation to face this single day. You have finished the preparation successfully. All you have to do is just PERFORM.
Now, you are in front of the test paper. It is okay to feel the tension during the first few minutes. Take time and scan the questions well.
Start to answer by taking a deep breath. Execute all your strategies well. Of course, some questions seem to be hard. That’s alright! You expected the tough questions.
You can visualize in two different ways. One is to imagine yourself as a successful person. You are done with preparation. Now, it is the right time to seek positive results.
In the other way, you can control the negative thoughts easily. It is okay to feel bad on the big day. But, you should know how to overcome. Just take a deep breath and do your work.
Study Well About The Test
You have a lot of things to know apart from preparation according to UPSC syllabus. Let me say, you are taking up Prelims exam shortly. Learning about the syllabus in depth seems to be stressful.
Do not prepare more than what is required. Know what to prepare, how much to prepare before giving a start. Please keep the following things in mind before preparing.
Crack the easy questions with maximum attention. Most of the IAS candidates have the capacity to provide the right answers for easy questions. Yes, definitely! Even you will get.
But, there is a high probability of committing a silly mistake. If the question seems easy, then check your answer twice before finalizing.
If you come across the difficult question, please do not panic. In fact, it is a good sign. Why? Majority of the students would have not prepared for it. So, even they will not be able to handle the tough questions.
Remember, you should try hard to score with the hard questions. Only then you can stand out in the crowd. Of course, the tough questions are the unique differentiating factors.
If you aim at getting difficult questions right, it is guaranteed to reach the next stage of the exam.In case, even you feel the question as difficult one, it is okay. Just relax. Try to analyze the question with a calm mind. If it seems impossible to answer, just move on.
Do not let such horrible questions spoil your confidence level. Above all, your success is depended on your mindset. Train your mind from day 1 and you will be a better learner for sure!
