Without any sugar coating I will speak truth and plain. Yes it is difficult to crack civil services in the first attempt.
Everyone around us has two cents of wisdom to lend on civil services. Be it our friends, neighbours, a far flung distant relative who tried his hands on UPSC once, an unknown accidentally encountered on a road , for that matter anyone or everyone will keep littering in our ears once they know you are an aspirant.
When I started preparation I had totally wrong perception of civil services preparation. I felt it needs rigorous efforts like studying 12-14 hours a day, it will take years of preparation, I need to study lot of books, only few lucky people make through the exam and plethora of such misconceptions imbibed in my mind mainly due to those so called two cents of wisdom heard from people who themselves had no idea what UPSC is all about.
And the outcome was as expected I had a very confusing start, half hearted effort with a already inbuilt perception that failure is bound to happen. And the result was I even failed to clear prelims in my first attempt.
The point I am trying to make is simple. It is so difficult to clear in 1st attempt not because we lack capabilities or because exam is too difficult to clear in first attempt. It is mainly because of lack of proper guidance and direction to our preparation. It is due to lack of planning, strategy and consistency. It is due to lack of self confidence.. Most of us fall flat on our feet and then learn the right way and slowly and steadily make our way. On the other hand people who already come enlightened find it easy to sail through and make it in their maiden attempt.
So point is simple, if you really want to clear civil services you need to overcome the above mentioned weaknesses. For that some essential things to do include.
Clarity of goal – First be clear why do you want to be a civil servant, clear motive is very important if you want to succeed. The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential. these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. And this will happen when you know what you want and why.
Self Confidence: It is the common people who do the uncommon things when they repose a leap of faith in themselves. UPSC is no rocket science, trust me all toppers had same butterflies in their stomach when they were aspirants. What made them successful is that they held their nerves tight and believed in themselves. Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it. Each one of us has our own story and we craft it with our own hands. You just need to believe that your’s is going to be a beautiful one .
Consistency and persistence for goal - Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek. Keeping that in mind remember each day is new , you need to have goals and targets for each day. Its important to wake up with a clear purpose and sleep with a dream that aspires towards goal attainment.
These are the common yardsticks to ensure success in first attempt. Apart from it is important to do the following things:-
1. Having clarity about Civil services examination: what is the syllabus, is coaching needed, which optional to chose, what UPSC needs etc . I have made a small video that might help in this.
2.
Understand UPSC preparation process – Booklist, timelines, how to write answers, make notes, read newspaper, how to cover books etc. UnAcademy, Insights, Mrunal will help here. Also I have written one article that will help.
Link: Chandra Mohan Garg's answer to How do I study for civil service examination?
3. Make your plan– make your own plans – how to prepare for prelims, how to cover subjects, how to get myself evaluated, how to revise, how much time needed , daily targets , weekly targets etc.
For a fact let me tell you, it is half our fear and half our lack of understanding of what UPSC demands that make us fall in our first attempt. Just be aware, be planned and prepared and be confident .You will surely succeed and achieve what you wanted even in your first attempt.
Someone beautifully said that Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity. Successful men act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel successful, conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results.