How positive pressure can lead you to great heights!
THE POWER OF POSITIVE PRESSURE
It is a commonly held notion that pressure forces you to succeed. When there is no pressure, the best is not brought out in you. In fact any high achiever would invariably have faced pressure and a lot of it. This is because the act of achieving itself entails going a little more than you comfortably can. By the way this is one of the underlying philosophies of bodybuilding. Stress your muscles out in the proper way and then feed them adequately so that they grow and become stronger than before.
When I was doing my bachelors in mathematics I was also part of a music group. I joined college really late and missed my first semester almost completely. As there was no attendance I could not write my papers. During my third semester due to a lackadaisical approach, and partly because of my having excessive shows, I flunked in 4 papers out of 5. I thought that I could write my 1 semester papers in my 5th. (Odd semester arrears can be written in odd semesters and even in even).
(I was in quite a spot now. The last year (5th and 6th semester) had papers only pertaining to mathematics and tough subjects like real analysis and complex analysis)
Now I had 6 papers of my 1st semester plus 4 arrear papers of my 3rd semester plus 5 papers in my 5th semester. (Keep in mind that if I flunked any one of them, I would not be a graduate) The first two years had subjects like physics practicals and chemistry practicals. I actually HAD to be in the lab to master the experiments. This I could not do because I had computer practicals in the same time the first year students had the physics one. Added to all this, my real analysis teacher told all of us that this is the subject which has had maximum failures and demands serious study if one even hoped to pass.
I bore you will all these details because you must know what I was up against. 5 papers for most students in the 5th semester – 15 for me in addition to not being able to be there in the lab for my physics and chemistry subjects!
Since it was more than an uphill task, I knew what was in store for me. I also knew that if I did not do daily study, I was screwed. What followed were a blur of activities. Having made friends with a first year student, I made an arrangement that EVERYDAY after college, I would take XEROX copies of his notes for ALL subjects. Having done this I made it a point to come home and religiously do 2 hours of study for my subjects and 2 hours of study for my arrear papers, one hour of study for my third semester papers. [I had to manage my music shows too, for in many instances I was the only lead singer in the troupe and had to sometimes handle shows entirely on my own]
There were moments of deep personal doubt and frustration when I had to keep on working relentlessly just to keep afloat. My only aim was not to flunk as I would not get a second chance. During such times what kept me going was the boundless love and care my mom showered on me. I really felt I had let her down and the least I could do for her was to come out in flying colors.
When the exams finally came, it was really nerve wracking. My mom used to accompany me to my shows and I clearly remember there were days when I used to write 2 three-hour exams at a stretch with just a break for lunch. I lovingly recollect how my mom used to come to my college in a TVS 50 (a very small bike) and pick me up. Her only concern was that I do well and avoid the humiliation of failing graduation.
It was finally results time and to my delight I had not only passed but had also come out with distinction in many papers. Some of my friends who thought of me as a person with limited intellectual ability (owing to the debacle in previous papers) were dumbfounded when they saw my mark sheet. It was a long list of subject names along with the marks I scored. My grandfather promised me a bike if I came out successful and I did.
More than all these material things, it is the feeling of elation I got when I realized how very much I (and for that matter all of us) was capable of. How much we could really achieve if we just go a little further everyday?
Fortunately we do not have to wait for crisis issues to come up (like it happened in my case) to actually determine how much we can achieve. The habit of setting your mind on what you really want in life and making yourself a little uncomfortable everyday by applying positive pressure on yourself is one of the keys indeed to leading a life that is rich and rewarding.
