There are a lot of students who work constantly very hard but unfortunately, inefficiently. Their performance in examinations turns out to be a surprise & disappointment to themselves, their teachers, families, and friends. At the same time, some students achieve extraordinary results without much hard work. The basic differentiating factor is the study techniques and strategies, they imply. Hard work brings achievement but only when coupled with efficient and appropriate study techniques and proper strategy. And that’s what schools never teach us. Schools will tell you WHAT to study but they hardly focus on inculcating methods of HOW to study. This is where we miss our target despite honest and not to mention, several attempts.
Another missing link is good counselling support and guidance. In the age of cut-throat competition, students are left lonely in the preparation journey. They have no place to vent their frustration, anger, and anxiety. Parents do not understand the intricacies of competitive exam preparation, friends are competitors, teachers tell you to study more, and constant pressure from society coupled with the fear of not making it negatively impacts the performance of the student. Right guidance and support help in building a winning mindset in the students. Preparing for any competitive exam is like a roller coaster ride. The key is how do you find peace, and stay calm and composed when your life is taking a sharp turn. Managing your emotions, staying happy, and enjoying everything you do without burnout is the key.
Evidently, success in the exam is the sum of:
Deep knowledge (Hard work + smart work): Apart from subject knowledge you require smartstudy techniques to improve your efficiency/productivity.Correct Strategy: Strategy starts from daily planning and ends with the final exam. It is a marathon and not a sprint. Hard workin the wrong direction is like running with blindfolds on the eyes.Winner Mindset: With a winning mindset everything looks easy, interesting, and exciting. Guidance and counselling support help you stay happy and motivated. You meet and beat fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt boldly and courageously and consequently feel the difference within. Remember when you remain happy and motivated, you learn better and faster and don’t burn out.
So, apart from hard work what is required is a system/engine which looks after the non-academic aspects (study skills strategies counselling support, etc.) of preparation to bring out the best within every student. Studies are like any other sport, it has also got some rules. If you play the game of study by following the rules, it can be as interesting as any other sport. Unfortunately, we spend unlimited hours studying different subjects but never focus on “How to study effectively”.
Keeping this in mind Avinash Agarwal, founding director-Disha Publication has come up with a series of books to help the students in non-academic aspects of preparation. Some of his best-selling books are Toppers’ Study Hacks, Secret Code of UPSC Toppers, Stop Being a Maggu, Bhagavad Gita, Vedas and Upanishads, and From Chaos to Clarity
Topper’s Study Hacks & Secret code of UPSC Toppers Is based on the success stories of 100+ toppers from different competitive exams. These books answer the questions about what makes the toppers different from others and share details about their study secrets. It opens doors for aspirants who are struggling to turn their dreams into reality. Another series of books deals with the spiritual part of learning, which is often neglected during the preparation journey, Bhagavad Gita and Veda & Upanishads, which reveal through stories how to remain focused and not get distracted during the preparation. While, Stop Being a Maggu and From Chaos to Clarity are fictional stories for young minds who are chasing their goals but finding it difficult to achieve one due to a lack of proper guidance, the right strategy, and a winning mindset.
The author Mr. Avinash Agarwal says, “After interacting with thousands of students and interviewing 100s of toppers, I realised that most of the students score less in the exams not because of lack of knowledge, hard work or intelligence but because of lack of guidance, planned approach, and poor study techniques. So,the problem that most of the students face is not lack of potential but of converting that potential into performance.”
Let us understand this from the context of cricket, Virat Kohli is one of the most hard-working players but in order to win any match:
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In a nutshell, if you score a century by only working hard you may burn out in the journey and may even give up in the process. Whereas when you play with the right techniques, correct strategy, and winning mindset not only do you score a century easily but also enjoy the journey and feel fulfilled at the end of the day. Similarly in exam preparation when study techniques, the right strategy, and mindset gets aligned to your goals everything seems very easy and you enjoy the entire process.
In fact in toppers’ success what we see is only the tip of the iceberg which reflects the hard work, the coaching, the teachers, and the books whereas what remains hidden underwater is smart study techniques, correct strategy, and a winning mindset.
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Remember, the law of Physics that Force is a vector quantity and if applied in the wrong direction it will not give you desired results. What you require are efficient study techniques to improve your productivity and the correct strategy to ensure that you put your energy into the right things at the right time to ultimately emerge as a winner not only in exams but also in life.