YOU FOR YOURSELF
Shreya Kabir
Tick..tick..tick..the time is running out and you must pace up and up, till you don’t finally get done with that mains or prelims paper. You are reminded of the race against time every second day and then you double the fuel to run faster. May be, you stumble and fall, but you don’t wait to caress yourself, because you must go!
This might be the dominant line of thought for many of us! And might not be! In either case though, it is 
important to introspect, to stop and think. It’s important to get in touch with yourself, ‘the person’ who is striving day in and day out to achieve that prestigious seat from where you’ll promise to serve your nation.
All day long you are like a sponge, you are absorbing all the notes, news, analysis, classes and what not. The routine seeps to such a depth, that sometimes you lose track of the weeks, days, hours and sometimes your own self. And this might soon lead you to burning up! To go through some days of utter demotivation and stress. This is because you forget to be in touch with, take care and nourish ‘the self’ that keeps working with dreams in eyes and hope in heart.
As, the master of your body and thoughts, it is your responsibility to take some time out daily, to listen what they speak to you. This might be sounding too philosophical! But, actually it is very subtle and simple. All you need to do is, stop to pick yourself up and caress yourself whenever you fall while running in haste after your dream.
At the physical level, you can look after the nourishment needs of your body. Don’t just sit in front of the books the whole day! Take some time out from your busy routine to walk, run, exercise and save yourself from unproductive lethargy. Eat right and eat healthy. Even the Upanishads, have talked about what you eat becomes your mind. Thus, it is important to take care of what you feed into your sacred body which is your most important vehicle to reach your much awaited destination.
As much as physical health is crucial, so is mental health. Your mind and thoughts have the power to make you and also to break you. Its only when you will take out some time daily to reflect on your thoughts, you will gradually start being in touch with your ‘self’ again, which is currently too busy in preparation. When the stress levels rise or you are too saturated for the day, go out for a soothing walk and let your mind breathe! Meditation has immense power to relax your monkey-mind and keep you grounded. Just 10 minutes of meditation daily can calm you like nothing else. Also, mental clutter like comparisons, performance pressure and anxiety, lack of self-belief should be addressed and cleaned from time to time, to make more space for the material of preparation to enter your mind.
Last but not the least, your preparation is just one facet of your life and then there are many others. Some of us find joy in creating art and some others in creating music while some others in just chilling with friends and enjoying your favourite dish! Whatever your nature of self-expression may be, take time out for these little packets of fuel-boosters to keep your preparation going, with more energy and motivation.
At the end of the day, your preparation will come to finale, you might or might not become a civil servant, but what will still remain with you always, is yourself. This is why, you owe it to yourself. You don’t want to lose your health and wit for anything in this world. With very many shades you live each day, one shade should be yours and yours only! And when you are in touch with yourself in the middle of all the buzz, reaching toward your goals becomes a more confident journey!
