“Practice makes excellence”- 24 January 2016.
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Q. I am in 12th science and I need your help. Actually I want to make my career in photography. But my dad is not allowing me for that, so how I convey him. And can you please suggest me some photography colleges and courses after 12th.
Ans. There are courses in photography in colleges that run design programs such as the National Institute for Design, Ahmadabad; design institutes in Chennai; Pune etc. You might have to search on the net for colleges running design courses. Another option is to do a graduation in any faculty such as science or arts or commerce and take short term courses in photography from local resources. You could after that go for advanced courses too for short term duration. Photography can be a good career in the long run.
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Q. My concentration level is quite weak as a result I commit various calculation mistakes in my subject and also face memory problems. I always fall prey to various distractions and get easily distracted by trivial thoughts during study, ma’am please tell me the secrets of concentrate or way to meditate to increase concentration.
Ans. The main problem of poor concentration is distractions. If your mind is occupied by other unnecessary things it is surely going to interfere in your attention and concentration. Whatever you focus on and pay attention to the mind gets occupied by it. The idea is to de-clutter the mind of unnecessary issues that are eating into your attention. The idea is to take the mind away from the worthless issues and focus it on the topic you have to study. If the topic is boring or tough it becomes an added challenge to keep the attention focused. Alternately if the subject at hand is interesting your mind will be glued to it and will flow into it. So first pick up interesting subjects for study and get into a flow. Then pick up the difficult ones and take up the challenge. Write on a piece of paper the issues that are distracting you and take a decision to pay attention to them at a given time during the day. Once you have given them the needed attention forget them for the day. Also pray and meditate and calm down the mind for studies. Do not get worried or agitated or excited while studying.
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Q. I am a kind of a person who works only under intense pressure i.e. I study only when there’s a test or so and even though I am a ranker; it is very bad for me as I preparing for one of the most difficult exams of today- The JEE advanced. I am very casual in my approach towards things till I am on the last moment of doing it. Ma’am please guide me through this problem as I need to study for even more than 12hrs a day and I always find ways to procrastinate things and burning the midnight oil…
Ans. Take a test daily. At the end of the day or at the end of a subject you are studying take a test of what you have studied. You could ask a parent to help you by setting the test or you can do it yourself. Also set a target in term of percentage that you want to achieve in the exams. Write the percentage in bold letters on a paper and stick it on your wall in front of your study table at home. Another thing you could do is to write your career goals in bold letters on a paper and stick that too on the wall to remind yourself of your future dreams. Then see if that acts as a motivation for you to sit for studies seriously daily. Daily study and practice is important. Over confidence will let you down. You should see how professional sportspersons, artists, dancers, etc practice daily without fail otherwise they lose out on their expertise. Everything needs practice to make it perfect. Excellence does not come by thinking alone but by action. The mind needs practice just like the muscle needs practice. Do not waste away your talents and regret later. Many good students fall prey to over confidence and do not study daily and hence lose out on their rank or marks. What’s the point in doing that? Work hard and daily too- That is your only responsibility.
