[MOTIVATION – UPSC Mains 2020] Life is full of HOPE – Keep your head held high!

Dear Students,

From the first fall while learning to walk, the first game you lost, to the embarrassingly low score you got for the first time in a class test, all our lives we have experienced failures, and these have defined who we are and formed the blueprint for our successes.

Don’t believe us? Just think about this for a minute: would you even be rejoicing your successes if you didn’t measure them against past failures?

Failure indeed is the condiment that gives success its flavour!

During a research experiment, a marine biologist placed a shark in a large holding tank and then released several small bait fishes into the tank. As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, ate the smaller fishes. The biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank as a partition, creating two separate areas. She put the shark in one and put the bait in the other. Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, it only slammed into the partition. Undeterred, it kept trying every few minutes but to no avail. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up.

This experiment was repeated dozens of times over the next few weeks. Progressively the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack, and eventually got tired and simply stopped attacking.

The biologist then removed the divider, but the shark didn’t attack. It had become conditioned to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fishes, so the bait fishes swam wherever they wished, free from harm.

Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past we will always be so. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no real barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go.

Life is a race that is all about winning. But winning is not the only end-point. In life, we should understand no one has ever made great achievements on the very first day. In life, we should wait with patience, and just keep giving our best. Hard work pays, so we shouldn’t be disheartened by failures.

Life is a long journey and you’re the one who is riding the bike on it. If we’re passing a rutted road it doesn’t mean we’ll never face a smooth path. Setbacks are but stepping stones to success.

How many of us have succeeded in what we try in the first attempt? Not many. This proves success cannot be attained in one day. There are exceptions where success can be achieved easily. But when it comes to a competitive task or a tough task it takes a lot of patience and it needs many attempts to bring success to our side.

Failure, Persistence, Success – The J.K.Rowling Story!

The success story of J.K.Rowling, author of the Famous Harry Potter Series, is inspiring.

Do you know that her first book in the series – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” – was rejected 12 times by publishers over a period of seven years before it was published and became an international success?

During this time she struggled to make a living and faced several hardships but never gave up hope.

We hear such stories of people who became famous after repeated failure.

In life what matters is our attitude. If we give up easily, we cannot taste the flavour of success. It takes a year for a tree to give tasty fruits. Similarly, it will take time for success.

If we want to win in life we should not stop till we finally get what we are looking for. 

Positive persistence is the key when it comes to overcoming setbacks and odds in life’s journey

What will help us mark achievements is self-confidence. If we believe we can make wonders, we will. So we should believe in ourselves before expecting others to believe or support us.

When life gives a thousand reasons to quit, just give yourself one more reason to fight back and to build your way to glory. The problem is that we give up after encountering failures. And we form an imaginary barrier of constant failure in front of us, which doesn’t let us step into the shoes that leads us to success. You’ll have to strive hard for it and make yourself believe you can do it — and the imagined mirror of problems will vanish.

“At the end of the day, UPSC is not the end of the tunnel; it is just one of the tunnels that will lead you to the end. If not that, you have many more tunnels to take!”

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

As always, we are there with you in your journey as and when you need us. Don’t hesitate to write to us for any guidance or support. Also, keep following the initiatives on our platform and get enriched in terms of knowledge, depth, and experience to achieve great success.

All the Best

IASbaba Team