It is all in the mind

There are a lot of goals we want to achieve in life. Lot of of kutti-kutti (small-small) things you wanna do as you move ahead. Each time when you think of a certain task, there are two voices in your head. One enumerates all the reason why the job at hand can be done, why you should take up this new challenge, and how this will help you in a certain way, may be academic of otherwise. But there is also another nasty bugger who keeps shouting why the job can't be done. Moreover it even tells you why the effort will be futile and why u r not capable enough to do it. I would like to elaborate more with a personal experience. I am sure most of my colleagues would be able to relate to this example, since it is something many of you must have come across your-selves.

Soon after my PS2 started I realised that I was gonna have a lot of free time here and that I should put it to some good use so that this 6 month long paid vacation does not go waste. Many of my friends were preparing for CAT 2008 so I decided that I will also give a shot at belling the CAT. I bought a couple of books, joined mock CAT and filled up the form. In all I spent 3.2k for this new sudden urge to give CAT. My mind had quickly sorted out the benefits of preparing for CAT, some of the most obvious ones were:

1. The Apti Qs will help for Campus Interview.
2. Since JEE I had not given a exam which really tests your analytical skills, most of the xams in college are straight forward and there is not much thinking involved, So it will nice way to get some mental exercise
3. Will be a good practise if at all I intent to do MBA in the future.
4. Something to keep my self busy since I had didn't have access to hardware for electronics projects and all.

I did in fact give first 3 mock tests which a percentile performance of 90, 70 and 50 respectively. I know its funny my performance went down the hill whereas people tend to generally improve with time.

Soon the bugger in mind started giving me reasons why the attempt for CAT was futile...
1.The test is on Sunday morning, Come on everyone deserves a good sleep on Sundays, after the weeks hard work.
2.IIMs do not prefer freshers.
3.I am not gonna get in so whats the point ?
4.I am lazy I am loving it that way. :D

So here I am two weeks for CAT and not a clue as to what is gonna happen on the D day. I have become complacent with the fact the this CAT exam is just a time pass for me and nothing more. What was CAT for me could be joining the GYM or learning a new skill for others.

When I had decided to give CAT I had many reasons why it will be useful, but as time passed on the I lost focus and started concentrating on why it was a waste of time and energy (money :) was already gone).

Always think the whole thing through before you make up your mind, do not make commitments you can't keep. Once when you are sure that what you r pursuing is correct then never-ever. Apart from that nasty bugger inside your head there will be others telling you why you will fail, just ignore them, believe in yourself and more importantly believe in the decisions you have taken and show your mettle by honoring them.

Here is my 3 k lost and a new lesson learned. Just another lab session with the trainer kit.