Being A Winner : Overcoming The Pressure

Want to be a winner? What will you do when the pressure starts mounting? When your friends and family start expecting too much from you, I know you've been there. You knew you were inches away from accomplishing your dream... And all your hard work and all the pain you went through, all for nothing.. !

You don't want this to happen to you do you? 

If you want your efforts to bear maximum fruit keep these tips in mind. 

1. Get Over It

I turn on the tube and what do I see 
A whole lotta people cryin' "Don't blame me" 
They point their crooked little fingers at everybody else 
Spend all their time feelin' sorry for themselves.

The first step to accomplishing anything is to get over petty behavior and dirt slinging. It is a pure waste of time. If your friend is good at something let him have the applause ( don't be jealous of him and think of ways to pull him down ). You should instead work towards improving yourself so that you are applauded the next time.

I wasted a lot of opportunities this way. I was so jealous of most of the people better than me, that I never could make friends with them. Ultimately, it was my loss, I sure could have learned a thing or two from them.

2. Be Prepared

If you don't want last minute pangs, you better be prepared. If it's an examination you have to finish studying everything, at least a day in advance. If you are a sportsman, you've got to practise on your skills, you've got to keep practicing day in and day out.

If you are not well prepared, you will surely be nervous. Nervousness adds to pressure, and if you increase the pressure on yourself you will be unable to recall and answer the questions that you have studied. Double loss. Not only do you lose out on what you have not studied, you lose out also on what you have studied!

Also, do remember to have a good long sleep before the important examination day. A calm mental state is also essential. My own secret is this song : 

I've listened to this song on every examination morning.

3. Enjoy The Moment

All sportspeople in any pre-match interview say  that they are looking to "go out there and have fun". This is their secret, and yours too if you learn to implement it. Some cricketers can perform wonderfully even under immense pressure, it's simply because they enjoy what they are doing. They enjoy playing the game. When you enjoy what you are doing, you just won't feel the same pressure as everyone else.

Ask the people who have succeeded in JEE. One thing common among them is, they enjoy solving questions. There is a thrill involved, the sense of challenge and accomplishment, a Eureka moment, when you are solving problems. If I were Shakespeare I could write a poem on the Thrills of Solving a Problem.

4. Love Yourself

Expectations are simply another word for pressure. Your parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors, relatives, they all expect so much from you. All they want is to see you rise high and shine. And of course, if you fail you will be breaking everyone's heart is it not? Surely you don't want to let all of them down?

Stop thinking about everyone else. You have to succeed but not for Mr. Sharma ( whose first name is still a mystery for you :-P ). Make yourself your top priority. Do things for yourself. Don't carry everyone's expectations, you're not a donkey, carry your own expectations. That's burden enough for you to carry.

Also, don't ever try to imitate someone. I gave an interview for a the Entrepreneurship Cell at IIT Kharagpur, and I was completely stressed out, ( It was the first interview I've ever appeared for ). Throughout that interview, in an attempt to impress them, I made up huge stories and did not speak one word of the truth! Pressure can make you do strange things. I do regret it now, I should have just been myself.

5. Don't Worry About What Others Are Doing

Keep worrying about what everyone else is doing and you'll just be increasing your pressure. There are people who study 12-14 hours a day and clear JEE, there are people who study 4 hours a day and clear JEE. Everyone is different. If the person who studies only 4 hours begins to look at his friends studying so much, it's gonna demoralize him. 

I'm not telling you to completely ignore your competition. Just don't imitate others under pressure. Pressure can make you do terrible things. My teachers always told me that the students at Kota and Narayana study 10-14 hours a day. Trust me, I tried to do 10 hours a day everyday. I succeeded only twice. I was scared that I was studying too less, but nevertheless I stuck to my ways and it paid off.

There is no Common Formula, if there was, everyone would be rich. 

6. Shut Everything Else Out

This is the toughest thing to do. When you are preparing and on the day of the exam, you've got to shut everything else out. There may be problems at home, you may be distracted by the Football World Cup. In your free time, do indulge in whatever you want to. But when you are preparing, the outside world should not exist. It's only you and your task.

When Sachin Tendulkar walks out to bat, he can't be thinking about taking his kids out for dinner after the match. He also can't be thinking of the expectations of the millions of Indians praying for him to finally score the 100^th  hundred. He has to "SHUT EVERYTHING ELSE OUT" and focus on his task.

Remember and follow these points and they should be of help to you. Also If you've read through this post closely, you'll realize that none of the points are such that can be implemented overnight. That's the case with success, it doesn't happen overnight. You've got to build up to it. It's gonna take time, effort and dedication.

If You Don't Sacrifice For What You Want,

What You Want Will Be The Sacrifice.