Why passing CA in the first attempt is overrated!

“Wow! CA at 21, what an achievement!” this statement was uttered on a loop every time I met someone in the first year of clearing my CA in the first attempt. Success is like a double-edged sword there are some who do not allow it to affect them and then there are others who take it into their head. I will not deny that I was relieved that I did not have to give the exams again. I entered the real world a little to overconfident for my own good, riding high on the accolades I had received in abundance. I forgot about all the hard work I had put in to achieve this feet, I thought that I was invincible and could achieve anything even if I do not put in the right amount of efforts.

After completing my post CA formalities I immediately applied for jobs in the highest paying industries without considering whether that job role or industry is what I saw myself doing 5 years down the line, gave my MBA entrance exam without even thinking whether MBA would help me in achieving what I really wanted to become and applied for various other degrees just because my peers were doing it. The fear of missing out or being left behind or failing we can call it by any of these names, drove me to do anything new I heard of without factoring in the repercussions.  I lost sight of what I wanted, and I proceeded thinking I could clear CA I could accomplish anything!

Whatever I took on from this point on was done half-heartedly. I never realized that doing these things was not what I wanted to do but what I had made myself believe I wanted to do just so that I wouldn’t be left behind, I was that scared of failure! This led to a 2-year journey of continuous failures, realizations, and self-discovery.

I had never been so clueless in my life; I had my entire life in front of me, but I was running to the next best shiny thing like a small child. I did not take time to think about what I wanted to do and the way to achieve it. After 2 long years of trial and error I learned the importance of failure.

"Everything you want is on the other side of fear." - Jack Canfield.

Failure taught me so much more than success ever did.

• Failure made me take a step back and view my life from a new perspective.
• It gave me clarity in my thinking process.
• It made me stronger as a person, made me realize that life is not always rosy
• It made me realize that you cannot take anything for granted and made me more self-aware

For years I feared failure, but now I realized that it was one of the most knowledgeable experiences in my life. I needed this experience to grow as a person and understand myself and my goals better. It made me analyze every small detail in my life, gave me an opportunity to look at my life through a different window and made me more tolerant of making mistakes because after all we are all humans. Now I think before any important decision in my life and evaluate all the options. Failure has made me patient, calculative and self-informed.

What I am today is not because I passed my CA in the first attempt, it is because of the many failures and indecisions I faced after it. I am incredibly happy with what I am currently pursuing, it might not be the highest paying opportunity or something which maximum of my peers are doing, it may involve a lot of risk from an outsiders perspective and a high possibility of failure but its what I want to do and I would not regret it even if it did not work out.

So, to all the competitive exam takers out there do not be disheartened if you fail, consider it a steppingstone to understanding yourself better. Do not give up or get discouraged, take this time to evaluate your mistakes and focus on improving your weak points.

The Blog solely reflects the personal views and opinions of the author.