5 lessons I learned to overcome my initial resistance to write answers

#L1 -Embrace the imperfect you

In the initial days, I compared my answers with 'The Hindu' editorials and felt dejected. I was my biggest critic. I would read multiple articles and facts to carve out a beautiful answer. It took me close to 1-2 hrs to put pen to paper. Things changed after my first mock exam. I realised the futility of aiming for a perfect answer. From then I began to accept that my answers would initially be bad.

#L2 - A bad answer is better than no answer

The pursuit of perfection leaves us stranded with minimal or zero progress. We can always edit and refine a bad answer. But can't do much with empty A-4 sheets The key aspect here is to get feedback on our answers and improve upon the mistakes.

#L3 - You are your competition

It is good to read the topper's answers. But what we tend to miss out on is that every topper had his learning curve. Comparing our initial answers with their 1-2 years of practice-based answers might not be fair. We can compare our progress with ourselves.

#L4 - Initial goal should be to write grammatically correct and legible content

On any given topic, if we have a basic understanding, we will be able to write some content that makes sense. Our initial goal should be to achieve this. Later on, we can add statistics, examples, facts to enrich our answers.

#L5 - Let the power of compounding create wonders

Start small and be consistent to see a gradual improvement in your structure, articulation, speed and handwriting. Boring progress will eventually compound into exceptional results.