QUESTIONS RECEIVED IN SEPTEBER 2002

Q 10: I am writing to you after having come across your articles in Management Compass in the month of June and July. I am a student of Career Launcher, and am preparing for CAT 2003. I am a final year student of architecture and since our study and projects take a heavy toll on us in the final year, I had decided to start preparing early. I joined the institute in March and had worked smoothly for the first three months. Then our semester exams intervened and with other things coming up, I ended up neglecting my preparations for almost three months...till July.

August came as a rude awakening as I started perceiving how little time I had to devote to CAT with college continuing full force. I had been doing rather well in class and had scored the highest or close to the highest in every test before. That was because, my level of comfort in English is much higher than most students when they begin their preparation, though I do only tolerably well in Maths. But at a full-length test I appeared in, this week, I fared horribly. But after giving the exam I had felt that I had done better than most and that it was an easy paper. I got 49 correct answers and 41 wrong answers, which was just a disaster, and I scored below many students in class. This has left a very horrible impact and I am getting afraid as the mock CAT's start from tomorrow. Everyone of my teachers here were very surprised at my result and personally asked me what went wrong. Though they have continuously tried to encourage me by saying that everyone has their bad days and that I can do much better, I feel very nervous about having to appear for a test where my rank among almost 22000 people is going to be disclosed. And in the real CAT the number is four times that!

I know that I have this bad habit of taking too much pressure and I seem to be inviting trouble by getting tensed about my performance, but somehow I don't seem to be able to get a grip on myself and feel waves of nervousness sweeping over me frequently. Getting to the IIM's is very important for me and I want to do all I can to control myself better. Sir, you had mentioned meditation as a great help earlier and suggested doing Pranayam to focus more. I have read that there are many kinds of Pranayam.Could you please suggest exactly what I should do daily and for how long to achieve this? I have never done Yoga before this and am unsure about the procedure for Pranayam.

Your advice would be a great help to me. Awaiting your quick response - D. D.

ANS 10: I bring you good news that the sky has not fallen yet.

I agree one hundred percent with two statements made by you. You are very right in saying that your English is better than the most. Of all the letters I have received from CAT aspirants till date, yours is one singular letter that carries no grammatical or spelling mistakes. The selection and throw of the words is also appreciably good.

By opting to handle final year Architecture and CAT preparation simultaneously, you have proved your habit of taking too much pressure. I would never have opted for this. However, now that you have gone and done it keep your head cool and work for a viable solution. Let us try and sort this mess out with the following alternatives;

1. Reduce your efforts on architecture and keep them at a level just enough to clear your final year. But how would you know what is just enough? Never forget that even if you get number one position in CAT, you must hold your degree in architecture because a degree is the minimum qualification for getting admitted to IIM.
2. Concentrate on architecture and go easy on CAT as you can definitely make another attempt at it. Architecture in itself is a highly respectable profession and in addition you need the degree to get admitted to IIM.
3. Burn the candle from both ends and come out of this ordeal successfully. However, do not, I repeat, do not expect to get gold medals in both attempts. I do not call anything as impossible, you can do it if you are hell bent at it, but look at all that self created stress and agony you have to go through. That is why it is not worth going through so much pain.

Whichever option you select, remain faithful to it and take responsibility of your own decision. What I mean is after taking the decision you have no right to blame the stress and failure. Remember what I have said about failure in July article; "Never take pride in not falling but be proud of rising every time you fall"

As far as your dismal performance in August test is concerned I look at it in a different manner. If you thought after the test that it was easy, I am sure it is still easy for you. In haste and eagerness you must have made some silly mistakes. And from what I read of you from your letter, you are not a person who would repeat them. Your confidence in opting for this tedious task itself speaks volumes about your abilities. Where there is smoke, there must be a fire. Therefore, there must be that extra something within you, which prompted you to hold the tiger by its tail.

When the going is rough believe in yourself. From what I gather from your letter, I believe and am sure that you are born to WIN. Understanding your urgency I have replied in haste. If you want to know anything else do not hesitate to write me. I love to help genuinely talented persons like you.

Q 11: I am a 24yrs old Engineering graduate, presently working with a Sales & Marketing firm as a Mktg. Executive, having a middle class family background. Also I am an MBA aspirant getting coached at CL. With less than 30% of my preparation at hand, I planned to quit the job, so that I can devote myself for preparation. I experience a lot of physical and mental stress after the day's toiling job. I asked my boss for a break of 60days for the preparation & exam. But he refused. And now he says he is planning to give me a Diwali bonus this year, provided I continue with my job. Also, I am financially weak. So, I am in a dual state of mind - whether to leave the job or not. Also at this stage I do not want to backout from CAT. So, Should I quit the job under such circumstances?

Kindly guide me. – P. S.

ANS 11: Your problem can best be summed up as "If you catch it, it bites and if you let go it runs away".

This problem being so personal, I can’t take your decision for you. However, I am going to analyze the entire situation for you with my wisdom such that you can arrive at a firm decision all by yourself. This decision involves your personal ability to take a chance, whether aggressive or that of a strategic retreat. Though you might think so, looking at your age it is not very important whether you take a right or a wrong decision at this stage. What is more important for you at this moment is to take a firm decision either way with total awareness of the present situation so that even if your decision goes wrong you must not carry the guilt of taking a wrong decision into your future.

1. You are a graduate engineer having a good job and you shall get plenty of opportunities in the future to realign the course of your life to your advantage. In comparison to many you are much better placed this way. Financial weakness is only a temporary phase of life and every self-made person needs to negotiate it gracefully. Taking note of your financial status for practical decision-making is definitely wise, but do not succumb to it as a fate accompli.
2. Though engineering in itself is a perfectly respectable profession full of excellent opportunities, you aspire to get your MBA qualification for prospects far better than being just an engineer. Agreed! But if you are financially weak ONLY AT THE MOMENT though, have you thought of the necessary financial arrangements for the two-year curriculum of MBA? If you have thought of this very carefully, not missing a single detail and if you are confidant that you can manage this escapade somehow or the other, go ahead and quit the job. However, in such a case remember always that clearing CAT is the only lifeline left for you. As an engineer already employed in a good job, it may not be wise for an ambitious person like you to settle for anything else but IIM in case you don’t negotiate CAT in flying colors. Otherwise you may have to look for a fresh job again, which is not so very easy these days with all the competition around you. In such an eventuality it will be better to stick to your job and go for a part time MBA course through other institutions. Albeit it is a difficult task but real success comes only the hard way.
3. Checkup your upper-age limits for appearing at IIM entrance. I think it must be 25+, so just check up. In such a case, if I were you, I would attempt CAT this year with whatever preparations I could afford without quitting the present job while still keeping an option of reappearing at CAT open for the next year. With due regards to knowledge, intelligence and learning skills always remember that appearing at examinations is also a game of chance because those who clear them do not necessarily know everything and those who fail are not necessarily less knowledgeable. The simple fact is "You can’t know everything irrespective of whatever you do and howsoever intelligent you are" and as such you can always take a chance in this respect. You would at least buy some time to bolster your economy or work out an alternative route to give your career a boost.
4. Now go ahead and take your decision with an attitude "Heads you WIN and tails you WIN" and "Never be afraid to negotiate and never negotiate out of fear".

Q 12: I have been reading your articles in Management Compass and think you might be of help.

I started preparing in May and have been regular with my input since the day my college exams got over but recent scores in Mock exams have been low. It demoralizes and discourages me when I don’t see my effort being translated into scores. I have my college exams in 1st week of December and so I give some time of the day to my college studies as I plan to be through with the curriculum latest by October end.

I practice Kanishtha Pranayam and Bhastrika regularly followed by meditation.

I tend to overeat sitting at home and studying all day, especially when anxious or bogged down by my perfomance and haven’t been able to put a check on that. I have gained considerable weight and it depresses me further. Please suggest what you think I can do about this problem - P. G.

ANS 12: Your problems are inevitable because you have stepped on two boats simultaneously. You have not provided enough details about yourself and your college curriculum. If you are already a graduate and doing some other post graduate course, you must provide more attention to CAT. However, if you are doing graduation in your college curriculum then you need to provide more attention there, as even if you clear CAT, you need a minimum graduation to get admitted to MBA course.

Visit my web site, especially the ‘FAQ’ section, which contains detailed answers to queries raised by other students. Go through those letters carefully and you will find plenty of affirmations and suggestions to tackle demoralization and lack of confidence problems.

Bhastrika activates your sympathetic outflow and also increases appetite and that is why you are restless and also are eating too much. So, stop practicing Bhastrika with immediate effect. What you need for quietness and concentration is to activate your parasympathetic outflow. Practice Nadi Shodhan and Aulom Vilom as explained in September article. Bhastrika is good in a different way but at the moment it is not good for you. In words of Carl Marx, "Theory without practice is sterile and practice without theory is blind". Pranayam is a wonderful tool but if practiced without proper knowledge it is a lethal weapon. As you have strongly triggered your appetite, you will need to fight this acquired body emotion even after stopping Bhastrika. Take a strong affirmation such as "I eat only and as much food as is good and necessary for my body" and practice it as explained in ‘Affirm your desires’ in July article.

Anxiety and nervousness enhance the feeling of insecurity, which in turn triggers a desire for excessive sleep or desire to eat excessively. You are obviously more aggressive and as such have opted for excessive eating and as if this is not enough, you have added fuel to the fire by practicing Bhastrika. Bhastrika, by activating sympathetic outflow, brings a person into a ‘fight or flight’ mode. I am not telling all these things to you so that you may get further discouraged and demoralized. To the contrary, I am guiding you into understanding the root cause of your problem and then attack it strategically with full force.

I have analyzed your state of mind from whatever you wrote in your mail. In future if you need help try and provide as many details as possible so that I may be in a position to understand you perfectly and help you better. After all you need to bestow an element of trust in your counselor.

Q 13: I am a student and preparing for CAT and from last 3-4 Months I am continuously reading your column "looking inside" in Management Compass. I am really impressed by you for bringing the matters like spirituality, self-energy and yoga into consideration of youth, which also made me to share my problem with you. The problem With me is that I can’t stabilize my mind, not during studies, but I can't stop it from wandering from my Goal, my Motive and most of all from my Decisions. I wouldn't call it a lack of concentration but I will call it a Loose Grip over my mind. Sometimes I cannot go on with my Decision, which requires some sort of mental and physical binding. I know that the answer to my Problem lies in my own inner self. Please help me to build my will stronger - R. S. B.

ANS 13: You should have written more about yourself so that I could have a better insight into your problem. However, your acceptance that the answer to your problem lies in your own inner self is a very positive factor.

Wandering away from your goal is suggestive of impatience especially in terms of plucking the fruits of your endeavor, which is normal for your age. However, wisdom is the only answer to such impatience. Everything takes its own time to manifest but you need to put your efforts in that direction until you achieve your goal. Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras say "Sa tu deerghakala, nairantarya, satkarasevito dridhbhoomi"; meaning that the efforts committed over a long duration, without a break and with total reverence come to fruition. Have you forgotten that you put in twelve years in order to get a piece of paper in your hand that declared you qualified in higher Secondary exam? Setting a goal is easy but working towards its fruition needs patience.

Take yourself some strong affirmations such as "Life is a continuous process of achieving worthwhile goals one after the other." "I give everything I have got to everything I do until I achieve my goal". Read these affirmations to yourself aloud every morning and every evening and whenever you find your mind wavering away. Write them down as explained in ‘Affirm your desires’ technique in July issue.

Q 14: I am a career launcher student. I find your column very helpful for the problems students like me face. I have a very peculiar problem and I think you can help me out. I'll come straight to the point. Whenever I sit for studying I feel sleepy and exhausted but if I engage myself in some other work I am very much awake. I don’t know why but it happens to me every time. This problem of mine is bothering me a lot now because as you know there is not much time left for preparations.

I am 22 yrs old and I'll not be having many chances for appearing for CAT. May be this is the first and last chance for me and I want to give my best shot for the same. So, kindly help me out about how to overcome this problem, as I am serious about the exam but can’t help myself out about it.

Once I heard from one of the faculty member of career launcher that some students have approached him for the same problem and the teacher said "Abhi to aapki neend ud janee chahiye". I know he was right but how to do that?

My concentration is also not good. My mind keeps wandering and I am a very absent minded person. Quantitative aptitude is the section which is causing me trouble. Whenever I touch the subject I have this feeling that I won’t be able to solve the questions and it happens so. Somehow I am lacking confidence and I don’t know how to cope up with it. Please guide me how to motivate oneself not depending upon others for the same. I have heard people saying and writing that we have a huge source of energy within but how one should generate this resource?

Please help me through this. I know you can – S. L.

ANS 14: You say your problem is peculiar. Never affix an adjective to your problem as it inadvertently strengthens itself subconsciously. First of all read the May and July articles. The September article on Pranayam has already been uploaded on my site. You need to practice Pranayam seriously.

The problem like yours arises out of the in-built survival mechanism that seeks to keep you in perpetually happy mood. There can be one of the two reasons that cause your problem. It is possible that you may not agree with any one of them. This instant disagreement also is the gift of your survival mechanism. It is not convenient to provide an array of explanations to convince you by writing letters. For solving your psychological problems an element of faith and trust in your counselor is essential. Therefore, think about these reasons coolly, sincerely and honestly.

1. It is possible that you may have opted for MBA because of the job prospects, success and money by giving a back seat to your own inner interests and aptitude either under the lure of success and money or under somebody’s forced advice. The desire for money and success is very natural but think of the route that you have to walk upon for achieving them. Ask yourself sincerely if this is what you really want. Ask yourself what is it that you can do the best while still remaining happy and you will get your answer. If you are genuinely interested in the opted course and the job you will be involved with throughout your life, your problem is the other one.
2. It is possible that you may have lost your confidence due to some setbacks, emotional or otherwise and/or you may be afraid of failure. If not interested in the subjects of study the boredom induces sleep, which everybody is aware of. On the other hand, fear induces excessive sleep into a person who is not so bold. It is a typical ‘Ostrich Syndrome’. When an ostrich faces danger to its survival, it buries its head into the sand with the logic "I no see you and you no see me". The same fear causes an aggressive and active man to eat excessively because a filled belly provides a feeling of security.

Now forget about everything else and take the following steps.

1. Dhanurdharasan: Dhanurdhar means an Archer and this aasan implies assuming an archer’s posture. The technique: Put your right foot forward firmly on the ground and rest your left knee on the ground such that your left leg lies horizontal on the ground. Adjust your body such that your right leg is in a truly vertical position, right thigh parallel to the ground and your left thigh is in truly vertical position. Hold an imaginary bow in you right hand and stretch your right hand forward above your right knee and simultaneously pull your left hand behind your left ear as if you are pulling the cord of the imaginary bow. Obviously your right hand is stretching forward and the left hand backward as you are applying full strength on pulling the cord. Now arch backward as much as you can without disturbing your leg positions as if you are aiming to shoot an imaginary demon high up in the sky. Keep your eyes open looking at the tip of the imaginary arrow and be aware of the stretch in your arms, shoulders, waist and the entire back. Hold this position as long as you can but not more than three minutes. Repeat this exercise by reversing leg and arm position that is left foot forward, bow in the left hand and cord in the right. You will instantly feel enhanced blood circulation, surge of extra energy and mood elevation. You will loose all lethargy and drowsiness. Use your own discretion in practicing this aasan as you will not be able to sleep for at least two hours thereafter.
2. Practice Pranayam as explained in the September article.
3. Take the following affirmations seriously and read them aloud to yourself as many time as you can every morning and evening. Also write them down as explained in ‘Affirm your desires’ technique in July issue. "I know what I want and I will do every needful to get it UNTIL I GET IT". "Yesterday is a dead man and tomorrow an unborn child and as such I transact only with the PRESENT". "I can surpass every challenge with my strong determination, commitment and grit". "If there is anyone who can bell the CAT, it is ME".
4. You must have read the rationale on roaming mind in my July article and from there you know that if you want a bright future you need to earn it NOW. One of the affirmations given above will adequately motivate you into staying in present.
5. Practice ‘Ekagra Tantra’ as explained in May article.