UPSC results 2022: For this 25-year-old, failure wasn’t an option — she ‘saw no other career path’

Her first two attempts to crack the UPSC exams not succeeding, Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) resident Swati Sharma followed a strategy this time that did not follow the strategy of others — including her own formula in the two previous years: she led a “normal” life, as against closing the world around to prepare for her third attempt.

In previous years, Sharma had followed the “formula” everyone in her coaching classes in Delhi swore by: she had stayed off social media, reduced her interaction with family and friends, and barely attended any social event.

Not this time.

“When I stopped interacting with people (in previous years), I used to get really depressed, which affected my studies,” the 25-year-old told The Indian Express. “I thought if I want to become an IAS officer I cannot live in a cocoon. I need to be connected to society. So I led a balanced life this time — I met family and friends, used social media, and interacted with people outside of my life of preparations. That made all the difference.”