Kawaljot Baweja

Brace yourself. The fight will be worth it.

Thanks to everyone for blessings that sailed me through.

I had God alongside that day.

ਸ਼ੁਕਰ ਹੈ ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਤੇਰਾ |

For that moment in Prelims when knowledge ends, two options remain, and fate takes over — I prayed for God’s grace.

Fight for your dreams, it is the only thing you can do.

One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed in this attempt at 32, compared to my earlier ones when I was young and naive around 22, is this:

Now I know I want to win — and I want to do it for myself.

I don’t complain anymore.
I simply look at the target and work towards it, day after day.

For context — in History Optional, we have around 500 sites that together fetch 50 marks/20 site.
In my earlier attempts, I approached this with mediocrity and settled for “30 marks is okay.”

This time, I aim for around 45 marks — because it’s achievable and honestly the lowest-hanging fruit.

So I spend time with every site until it becomes part of my memory.
Relentlessly, half an hour every morning.

Result: 150 sites memorised in 10 days.
Suddenly, it feels doable.

The hard truth is — I could have done this in my earlier attempts too.

But back then, I was ignorant.
I kept equating my inaction with bad luck, less brain, and all kinds of excuses.

Nothing really changed.

Only this did:
I stopped negotiating with myself.

One habit that quietly separates the top tier from the rest:

Practice mock tests of everything you study.
Every single day.

50 questions a day.
Not someday. Not when syllabus is “complete”.
Everyday.

On paper, it sounds simple.
Almost too easy.

In reality, it’s brutally difficult to execute.
And that’s why it took me 7–8 years to truly understand its value.

This examination is not a pure test of intelligence.
It’s a test of discipline, personality, and strategy.

Knowledge without daily testing stays fragile.
Testing turns knowledge into confidence.
Confidence turns into consistency.

UPSC doesn’t reward brilliance in bursts.
It rewards those who show up daily—quietly, repeatedly, relentlessly.

Small habits.
Executed daily.
Over a long period.

That’s the game.