Every aspirant must accept this fact if she is preparing for UPSC Exam

It's Supposed to Be Hard

Everything worth pursuing comes with a little pain. The trick is not minding that it hurts.

Yes, these lines from 'Same As Ever' by Morgan Housel are indeed true, and worth taking note of.

In UPSC or for that matter even as an IAS or IPS officer, a critical life skill is enduring the pain when necessary rather than assuming there's a shortcut around it!

Similarly, as Housel notes, if you are building a social media presence on Twitter or Youtube, you might be advised to use hashtags and tricks around when to post your content etc.

Yes, it matters, but the most effective social media trick is: good content that people read again and again!

Similarly, for an exam like UPSC, the most effective trick is to put your head down, reduce all the distractions and have a single-minded focus of having an effective study plan.

This is true for pretty much everything! Your exercise, diet, finances, even family and relationships!

In fact, Housel goes on to even say that if you are looking for too much efficiency, you are doing it the wrong way!

Shortcuts in name of efficiency can be lethal! Everything comes with a cost. And the cost of being on top is definitely your time and other pieces you don't like (boss' temperament, long hours, constant doubt etc). Nothing worth pursuing is free!

Housel calls this inefficiency as 'hassle' and notes, and I agree, that you have to put up with some amount of hassle, otherwise you cannot succeed in the world at all!

Therefore, for all the UPSC aspirants:

Don't run after unnecessary tips, tricks, efficiency hacks etc. Figure out things that work for you, measure your progress objectively along the way, read well, write a lot and work hard (forget social media and AI)!

There is no shortcut!