1. Catch yourself when you start drifting away in the future or past.
2. Breathing awareness.

These techniques sound familiar to you right? The ones who have attended counseling sessions with me must have honed these skills by now.

Novak Djokovic is telling us exactly this, which has been helping him to maintain the right mindset.

#mindset #prelims2025

Mocks are starting. What is the mindset you keep as you solve the test???

'I must score well, or else this is over, I am a big failure'. 'I can't remember the simplest answer', 'My actual exam is going to be a disaster'.

Such thoughts will panic you and hamper your potential best performance of that day.

Try to stay on one question at a time and keep the analysis and judgement of your preparation for post mock time.

This is a valuable time to learn from mocks, let's not crowd it with too many negative emotions which will end up killing your healthy mindset required for the exam.

#mocks #prelims2025

When you focus on a moving object like in this video, tracking the person moving across the screen, what you're doing is pulling your awareness away from overwhelming anxiety symptoms such as racing thoughts, physical symptoms of anxiety and redirects it to something external, rhythmic and calming.

It activates both the hemispheres of your brain. Research suggests that it can help lower emotional distress, regulate autonomic nervous system thereby reducing the fight or flight response.

Here's what you can do:

1) Save this video and pick a moving person on the screen.

2) Slowly trace their path with your eyes 1-2 times and breathe deeply.

3) Repeat as needed.

Let us take a moment to deep breathe!

Hey everyone,

The results are out. Some of you are celebrating. Some of you are hurting. That’s okay.

If you didn’t make it this time — don’t let it break you. Reaching the interview stage in this exam is huge. Most people never get that far. You’ve already shown grit. As Shakespeare said, “Sweet are the uses of adversity.” This is part of your story, not the end of it.

For those who made it — heartiest congratulations. Now begins a different kind of journey. A life of service dedicated to nation. I hope the idealism lasts long.

And for everyone — trust the process. Your turn will come.

Nikhil

Hello everyone,

The ones who are giving prelims this year, time to keep away the social media and restart your preparation.

Take a moment and start where you left yesterday. Continuous consumption of various posts related to results and of toppers may leave you with a lot of waste of time and negative emotions.

If not keeping away, try to watch only for a limited time and not loose track of your own preparation.

🌻

Connect with your loved ones on a regular basis as exams approach. They play a huge role in your stress management.

#connect

You have got it in you mate! Keep going.

#prelims2025

Overthinking can overtake you. As exams approach, difficult feelings like fear and anxiety are common. They will visit you.

It is your analysis and overthinking about those feelings which will make it worse.

Keep going, let the emotions come and go and not affect your actions (study).

#prelims2025

This can be the time when you tend to feel stuck. Studying for long hours, strategising for exam, handling the pressure are all cognitive tasks.

This is a quick guide reset yourself, to get unstuck.

#regulation

Try to visualise your efforts to motivate yourself to keep going. To believe in yourself.

Next posts coming up on Visualisation technique which you can use for your performance day.

#visulaise

Mental imagery, also known as visualization, involves creating sensory experiences in the mind without external stimuli.

You can prepare yourself to respond more effectively to upcoming events- your prelims examination.

First step is:

Wrote down the script of how you want your actions, thoughts and emotions to be your exam day.

#visualisation

Step 2 is:
Go through this script everyday to prepare your mind for the exam day.

#visualise

Step 3:

To customise this technique for yourself, book a counselling session at https://www.levelupias.com/upsc-cse-psychological-counselling/

In one on one session we will make a tailor made plan of your own visualization script which will help you in your exam.

Please note: As exams are approaching, we have increased the number of counselling sessions slots. They are available for you on the website.

#visualise

Which reminder are you using today?

Choose one and keep repeating it to yourself till your exam day. Deep breathe as you repeat the statement.

Choose the one which suits you, you may modify it to make it sound natural to you. You can also convert the statement into your mothertongue.

#affirmationsforworry