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WHY YOU SHOULD NOT BECOME A CIVIL SERVANT ||WORST REASON FOR GIVING THE UPSC EXAM

Have you ever thought about giving the upsc exam and becoming an IAS/ IPS officer?

Maybe you were charmed by all the amazing things you hear about being in the civil services-. The power, the khaki uniform, the respect, social status, etc.

Maybe someone in your family inspired you to go down this road. Or are you driven by a desire to be “someone important”?

If you clear the civil services exam or UPSC EXAM, perhaps you think your parents will be prouder of you. Or that you will be more popular in your friend circle and relatives. Maybe You will appear as more attractive to others if you become an IAS officer.

No matter what your reasons are, it is crucial to expose these reasons to your own self.

What you think you know about your reasons may be wrong because humans are very good at self-deception. Research suggests people are not good at self- knowledge and are often wrong about themelveshttps://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-25587-001

https://psycnet.apa.org/buy/2010-00584-009

The easiest person to fool in the world is yourself.

And this is worth spending time on because a lot depends on it. Possibly the rest of your life.

Reasons Matter

I think that there are right reasons and wrong reasons for choosing a career in the Civil Services, or for that matter any job in the world. These reasons are not always obvious from the start but become apparent only over time.  

While none of these reasons speak for any ethical or moral judgments about anyone, they can be useful as good indicators or predictors of future happiness and job satisfaction.

I can confirm this from my own experiences, and research seems to support it. https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/11.+Job+Satisfaction

The Right reasons are reasons which are likely to lead to job satisfaction and success. Your productivity and efficiency are also expected to be higher, which is good for both you and the organization you are part of. Your professional life, generally speaking, will be smoother and more enjoyable.

Wrong reasons can lead to dissatisfaction and confusion. Basically, they can prevent you from enjoying your ideal professional life. Something everyone should strive for, given that the average person spends ~80,000 hours in their life doing work or in their professional life.

Which is a LOT of hours to spend doing something while being less than happy. (((link to 80,000 hours website—à https://80000hours.org/ )

It is not a good feeling to realize that you have been working very hard all your life to get yourself in the wrong profession.

In any case, The UPSC will spend a year or more testing you for this same thing. So, before committing years of life, should you not check for yourself first?

WRONG REASONS for UPSC EXAM

You are doing it because of Others

This means that you are doing this while not really thinking for yourself but about what others will think of you. Or because of the mythical popularity of the Civil Services Exam in our country where successful people get hero-worshipped.

Something so sought after must be worth going after, right? Not necessarily.

If the primary motivation for doing this is social, you might be a victim of FOMO or the Fear of Missing Out.

FOMO is a tendency where we want to do what ‘others’ are doing in the fear that we will miss out on our lives if we don’t do what the other ‘cool’ people are doing.

You heard about someone becoming an IAS officer, and now you keep thinking about how they will lead a better life than you. Anxiety grips you when you think you will miss out on all the salutes, power, and glory that they will surely enjoy.

You should beware of FOMO because of it as a powerful force.

You can watch the incredible video about FOMO on the internet here.

 FOMO video by school fo life

And from someone more relatable-

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