From very early on in our lives we are exposed (or subjected) to this word called TEST. As we enter the higher grades, the role that TESTS play or are supposed to play in our lives steadily increases. If we look back, for most of us, tests have always been part of a trinity, they have always been concomitant with two other things — fear and prayer.
At some point of time all of us, when faced with a test (including yours truly), have felt at the least a sliver of fear running through our bodies prior to a test and even the most unbelieving of us has muttered a tiny, little, prayer under our breaths.
What a TEST has come to mean
For most Indians, given the supply-demand asymmetry, the word TEST has come to signify something larger than a set of questions, it has become
- a marker of where one stands in society or rather how one is evaluated (our Xth marks have the potential to become the first chip on our shoulder or the first albatross around our neck)
- a marker of how far one can go in life (if one gets into an IIT or an institution of great national repute, it is assumed that one would go very far in life)
- a door that opens opportunities that might otherwise remain closed forever
A TEST thus becomes something external to itself; the things that clearing a test can give us become more important than what a test actually is and thus from a very early age we carry a very distorted view of what it is.
Our fears and prayers were always centred around the same thing — may the paper have only what I have learnt. I still remember crying into a plate of food after the Physics paper when my X board exam threw up questions worth more than 10 marks from exactly the one page that I omitted in my prep.
So, when as children we were asked how the test went, our reply would be — I did well, it was very easy!
What a TEST really means
The word itself means an examination or being called to give an account of oneself when faced with certain problems that can be related to academics, that can be posed in any format or related to real-life itself.
When we came back home happily after a paper and said the test was easy, the fact is that we were not tested!
Why the word TEST before the 5-day format of cricket? It signifies a test of skill and strength to perform over 5 days not over a few hours or even a day but over 5 days. Why the hesitation over granting TEST status to associate countries or weaker teams? Apart from commercial considerations, the fact remains that it will be a test only for the minnows and not for the established teams.
Why do we so eagerly await a clash between two great teams? We know that the players will have to play at their best, we know that their ability and their attitude will be tested to the fullest.
So before we go any further, we need to accept and embrace the fact the test is supposed to challenge you and one of the pre-requisites of triumphing in a challenge is to first enjoy or relish the prospect of a challenge.
One of the reasons that VK and MSD perform(ed) so well in pressure situations is that they know that that is where the crux of a contest lies, the real test of competing is when you are in a pressure cooker situation, that the game has been building up to this point, the real stage is the biggest stage and all of the greatest players are measured against their ability to deliver on the biggest stage, be it the World Cups or the Grand Slams.
So wanting an easy test is wanting to not be tested at all!
CAT will not be the last big test you will take
Given the inordinate amount of importance we place on tests, we tend of think of tests as phenomena that stand apart from life, as interludes that have an outsized impact on life but are not really a part of life.
In reality though, whether we like it or not we are going to be continuously tested. It will start right from the moment you enter into an IIM or any b-school with the summer placements. The placement interview will be a test, your summer project will be a test, your first job will be a test, love is always a test, bringing up children will be a test, managing your post-retirement life will be a test, and dealing with your mortality will be a test.
Unfortunately, we see only some aspects of life as tests and not others, we might actually fail miserably at them and might not even notice until is too late.
So CAT will not be the last test you will take and it might not be the toughest test of your life; your biggest hurdles still await you.
This does not mean that we have to live in fear but rather it means that we are constantly being summoned to give a good account of ourselves as individuals, we might succeed at some and fail at some but we need to be aware and view things in the right perspective at all times.
What is life without a TEST
I have always been guided by the light of the myths, be it Indian, Greek or Christian, there is a learning from them that can hold us in good stead.
All the great demons or anti-heroes from the myths be it a Ravana, a Medusa or the Minotaur are complete in themselves even before the God or the hero arrives on the scene — superhuman strength or powers accompanied by an evil act or an oppressed people. Even a contemporary demon, like Hitler, was complete in himself.
The hero though needs the demon, needs the anti-hero, needs the villain. The slaying of the demon is what makes a goddess, a goddess; a hero, a hero — Lord Rama, Perseus or Theseus. The centrepiece of the story of their lives will always be the slaying of the demon.
Even America today takes on the role of the righteous saviour waging the just war only because it played a crucial role in overthrowing Hitler; only because of Hitler it can go on creating newer evils with imaginary WMDs that need to be vanquished.
To use an example from contemporary sport — Roger Federer is maybe the greatest but what would his career have been had he not faced a Nadal or a Djokovic? Would his legacy have been the same if his career only showed slam victories over Lleyton Hewitt and an Andy Roddick at best? Would he even have the motivation to play for this long?
The demons we need to slay to become the heroes of our lives are not always outside of us, they can be the fears residing in our heads, the unique circumstances that each of our lives will throw up in front of us.
Those who succeed in life are those who are willing to embrace the tests life that throws up.
It does not mean that fear and prayer need to be banished. We will always have a bit of fear, the proverbial butterflies in the tummy but we should also know that it is natural, we should relish the uncertainty and should not let it overwhelm us.
One should pray but not for an easy test or for there to be no struggle but for the emotional fortitude to handle all the hurdles and challenges that we will encounter on the way knowing that they are inevitable and form the very warp and weft of life.
The CAT Writer 
Hi sir,
I understand the thought process you are conveying here.
In the end,every Tony Stark needs a Thanos.
Thank you!!
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And every Mangalassery Neelakantan needs a Mundakal Shekaran 🙂
All the best!
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Will there be any video session before the D-Day sir?
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Yes, tomorrow, a stress buster session.
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Hello Sir,
Your articles never fail to inspire!
Truly agree with your point that life is always testing us, we only name a few 🙂
Thank you.
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Glad that you exactly got what I wanted to communicate.
All the best, Karishma!
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Sir Your RC & VA masterclass were awesome.Feeling much confident after seeing that. Your techniques are mind blowing for me.Thanks a lot for your effort on our dreams.
And you have to do one final thing for me. Please Wish me with all your blessings for the D Day. I will break the leg for you.
Lots of love from Chennai.
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Glad you found the Masterclasses useful, looks like you got to them late 🙂
All the very best for Sunday, Harish!
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Hello sir,
Thanks a lot for all your articles. They have always inspired me.! Understood very clearly what you are conveying. For every Virat there must be an Anderson.
My Cat-19 was similar to virat facing English bowlers in 2014 tests. I hope it to be 2018 one this year.
Thank you.
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Haha, you are right about the Virat-Anderson comparison!
May your CAT-20 be Virat’s England 2018!
All the best for tomorrow, Shranith!
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Hi sir,
I’ve been quite stressed about the D-Day for a while, but reading your about your posts that speak more of life than about CAT really helps me collect myself. I cannot even begin to describe how helpful your posts and videos have been in this prep journey so far. Right from set selection to how to keep a cool on the D-Day to even the motivation to continuously test ourselves further in life, you’ve quite literally covered everything. Thank you for everything that you’ve done. 🙂
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Thanks for the effusive praise, Sushant!
Good to know that the posts and webinars have made a meaningful contribution to your prep.
All the best for tomorrow!
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As always thank you for the wonderful article on the mindset to have now.
Got some questions buzzing in my head and would like to know your thoughts on these.
The hero though needs the demon, needs the anti-hero, needs the villain. The slaying of the demon is what makes a goddess, a goddess; a hero, a hero — Lord Rama, Perseus or Theseus. The centrepiece of the story of their lives will always be the slaying of the demon.
Sir what do you think will be the story of the hero without the demons?Will the hero even have a story to tell if there is no demon to slay?
If so is it only the slaying of demon that made them the hero they were?
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Until the hero overcomes the biggest obstacle, achieves the toughest task, he is pure potentiality, it is only when the hero achieves that, fulfils his potential is he anointed.
This is reason why Maradona is considered Dios he bought the cup home through a major contribution of his own (and this was acknowledged by his team mates as well) than any other playmaker (not striker) did for his team.
Messi might have more talent might shown more dizzying skills but to play and score in the most richest of clubs with the best players and coaches money can buy is one thing, to win the WC and win a city (Napoli) is another.
That Maradona did not slay his other personal demons did not matter.
So yeah, if the hero does not slay the villain he will have no story to tell – no demon, no challenge, no crisis, no test of character, no story to tell.
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Good evening Sir,
This might not be the right question to ask at this point, but still I have to ask.
Sir what score do you think we should look at for a 99%ile in actual CAT of difficulty around simcat 17 level.
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Good evening Sir,
I know this might not be the right question to ask at this point of time, but still I can’t resist but ask. So what score do you think we should look at for a 99%ile in actual CAT of difficulty around simcat 17 level.
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Thank you for the perspective sir.
I will have a story to tell about this sunday for the rest of my career.
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Your Blogs are the Best Part of this CAT journey. Thank you for everything sir. Big fan of yours
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Glad to have been a companion on the prep, that was what I set out to do with the blog, good to know it’s seen that was as well.
All the best for tomorrow, Mohit!
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IT WAS AN AMAZING ARTICLE: A LOT OF MOTIVATION AND AN ATTITUDE CHANGING ARTICLE.
A LAST MINUTE BOOSTER…
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Glad you liked the article, Varun.
All the best for tomorrow!
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Greetings for the day Sir!
Before the D-Day, just wanted to drop a note of thanks for all your blogs, the masterclasses, the webinars and all the content that you have put accross for us!
All the details have been so comprehensively incorporated that after every time one finds an issue during the prep stage, one just needs to go back to these content and work on what’s advised on that particular area.
Yours as well as J’s content are undoubtedly the best one can avail out there, one just needs to inculcate the approaches and execute properly.
Geared up to deliver my best for tomorrow but even if things don’t turn out the way they’re expected, there surely has been a lot to learn from you & J 🙂
Once again, Thanks a lot for everything, Sir! 🙏
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Thanks a lot of the appreciation, a lot of work goes into what J and I do with the blogs and this is over and above what the job demands, so good to know that you guys find it useful.
All the best for tomorrow!
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One of the best articles by you sir.
“Those who succeed in life are those who are willing to embrace the tests life that throws up.”
Loved it.
Thanks for motivations 🙂
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Glad you liked this article, now you know why I saved it for the end 🙂
All the best for tomorrow!
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Thanks a lot for your VA Masterclass sir. Really helped me a lot.
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Glad you found the Masterclasses useful.
All the best for tomorrow!
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positivity is the biggest thing i learned from u sir..u taught how to stay motivate throughout our journey whether its life or CAT..hope one day we meet and share my sucess & struggle story with u and have a cup of tea..when life give us a chance be like tony sir..mr.perfect
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Thanks for the generous praise, Dilshad. Yeah, once things open up I will be part of some IMS on ground event where we can meet 🙂
Far from being perfect, I speak only from having faced bigger problems than exams and not really handling all of them well 🙂
All the best for tomorrow!
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