Hi Everyone. I am back!! Firstly, a warm hug and bada wala thank you to all those who read and liked my first article – “The Day and the Way I cleared my CA”. Frankly, I was not expecting so many people to read my first article. It’s amazing how so many of you were able to find those moments from my life which can also help you in one way or the other. This has motivated me to pen down this article where I am pouring my heart out with the things which we face in our CA life. My only motive here is to share my thoughts and I will consider myself very lucky if any one of the below mentioned thoughts of mine can actually help you.
1. Let yourselves flow in the present moment
I gave my 12th Class Board Exams in March’2008 & cleared CPT in June’2008. Joined a mediocre CA firm from July’2008 and a new chapter started in my life. Schedule got so hectic and I was not getting time for my routine activities. We take different classes of CA Final Subjects along with our articleship. I had this problem of feeling guilty when I was not able to manage two-three things together…Used to feel that ki yaar padhai nai ho rahi hai..pehle office jaate hain then classes jaate hai, notes banate hai and then next day phir se office…Time flew by and my PCC attempt came. I failed twice in PCC. I could have panicked at that time…Pressure was on me to perform.
But I focused both on my articleship and studies. It took some time for me to understand where I was wrong. Made some changes in my studying plans and followed it blindly. I decided to stick to my belief that I can manage office work and my studies simultaneously. And due to my consistent efforts I was able to clear PCC.
Friends I just want to say that each thing is important in its own way. Be it the office work, the classes or anything. Don’t aim too high and don’t try to achieve or pursue everything at once. Focus on the on-going situation in your life and enjoy that moment.
2. Don’t leave your passions or Hobbies
When I say don’t over-burden yourself, I refer to that moment when we think that giving that one extra hour to studies during night in which we used to sleep will make a huge difference to our result. Everything is important in life including proper rest and sleep. What I feel is, in CA the only thing we keep on thinking from start of our day till the end of our day is padhai, padhai aur sirf padhai. We should keep mixing our studies with our pass time activities. Talking and hanging out with your friends, having a walk in the evening with headphones on, watching favorite TV shows, cricket and football matches etc etc…List is endless. What I want to say is don’t study for the whole day otherwise studies will become a burden for you. Study as if you want to, not something in which you are forced into. In my case, I use to feel very bad when I had to miss cricket matches for my exams. Many a times, my study schedule used to depend on at what time India’s cricket match is. I used to felt very happy when I mixed my studying hours with cricket matches which helped me to be in relaxed and tension-free state of mind.
3. Be Honest to yourself and Leave the rest to God
Be good to everyone you have in your life. Respect your seniors and elders. Stay honest towards your studies and believe me, 8 to 9 hours of effective study is enough to clear the exams. Don’t stress yourself by thinking that you are not putting 12-13 hours of study. Hum chahe jitna bhi padh le, exam time aate aate humein apne efforts kam hi lagte hain. Then hum soch soch ke khud ko demoralize kar lete hai ki yaar confidence toh aaya hi nai.
We don’t remember exactly what we have studied when exams come closer. I also had this problem. Exam se pehle we feel like ki yaar kuch yaad nai aa rha hai jo bhi padha hai. In reality what happens is when we read the question paper, the answers or the related points start coming in our mind. We all study hard but to control your mind on that day of exam is equally critical. For me, keeping ourselves happy, cheerful and full of hope consistently for 4-5 years (duration of this course) is more important that just studying for the sake of clearing the exams. If we can control our mind and keep that positive belief and care-free attitude, then half of the battle is already won. Studying becomes a much easier task then…
Friends, we can only study up to a level and that is where our part ends…Keep the faith when you have given your all.
4. Patience
This is one thing which is very rare now day..3G ka zamana aa gya hai na..We want everything quickly :-). Sab exams pehle attempt mein clear hojaaye, class mein sab kuch ek baar mein samajh mein aa jaaye…..Yaar don’t think about these things which are impossible. Give yourselves proper time before you start expecting from yourself. Real life example where many students lose their patience- “Morning class hai and you missed the first metro, bas tension wahi se start ki class ke pehle ke 15-20 mins toh gaye..ab kya hoga..And then hum class mein pahuchte hai usi mindset ke sath aur puri class mein kya ho rha hai uspe dhyaan nahi dete. Dhyaan hamara un pehle 15-20 mins ke jo lecture miss hue hai, usi pe rehta hai. It’s better to worry about those concepts which you missed after the class rather than during the class. We should let some things go. Don’t try to catch everything in real time. Focus on what you have, rather than crying on what you don’t have.
5. Keep the Faith - That no matter what, things will always work out for you.
I am a huge fan of this philosophy and I follow this in my life in every situation. In the end, you will get what you deserve.
6. Remove the words “Number of attempts” from your life
These words are very dangerous as they haunt us from the day we join this course. We hear from our seniors or from those people who are in this course, that if you didn’t cleared in the first attempt then you will not get a good job and then there is no use of clearing CA with multiple attempts etc.
Dosto, confidence wo hai jo hamare andar hota hai. We can’t let one or two failures snatch it from us forever. Fail ho bhi gaye toh kya ho gaya. Phir mehnat karenge and exams denge. There are people who have cleared with multiple attempts and currently, they are well settled in different fields. I too passed my final exam in the second attempt. Passing in first attempt is obviously a big advantage and a huge morale boost but it is not the end of the story. It is our actions, our faith, our hope, our destiny which shapes our future and not these onetime failures. You just do your part by studying and let the almighty take you forward.
7. Enjoy the time after exams
After exams, we finally get the license to relax a bit, complete our sleepJ, meet our friends and spend quality time with our family as they support us a lot. Everyone should enjoy the 45-50 days till the results are out so that you get refreshed. I have seen some students who start studying again once the exams are over. Unse pucho kyu toh kehte hai ki mera exam acha nai hua, fail hi hona hai toh time waste kyu karna. I agree with this explanation but I feel ki agar 15-20 days ka break could help them to start afresh with a different mindset. They can also determine where they made mistakes in their preparation. After all, it’s our life and we deserve that rest and fun after 4-5 months of hectic study schedule.
8. The Exam day
When I was preparing for my class 10th Board exams, I was not comfortable studying in those hours just before our exams. It used to make me mad and extremely nervous. We all know our exam timings are from 2 pm to 5 pm. This habit of mine made to get up at around 6 am on the exam day and start my revision from sharp 6.30 am till 10 am maximum. After that, watching TV was my favorite pass time. On my way to the examination center, this is what my heart use to say again and again “Anurag, you have given your best in the last 4-5 months. There are no efforts left in you. You did what you can and now let God do his work”. Spending these last moments with myself use to put me in that zone of calmness where I feel filled with belief and hope.
While I was writing this article, a crazy thought crossed my mind. Here it goes-
“Our life is like a Balance Sheet…. No matter whether your Life’s Income Statement is showing Debit or Credit balance, the Balance Sheet of our life always gets reconciled in the end…” :-)
BEST OF LUCK !!
CA ANURAG PANDEY
(I can be reached at ca.anurag10@gmail.com)
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