Grounding in the Present Moment The Right Mindset | Crack Civil Services in First Attempt by Divey Sethi, IRS - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


Grounding in the Present Moment: The 
Right Mindset
“Perspective about your own self plays a pivotal role in preparations.”
While studying for all entrance exams, starting right from IIT 
JEE to UPSC Civil Services, I noticed that I tend to ground myself 
subconsciously in the present moment. I have not let the past, 
which exists only in my memory, and also not the future, which is 
yet to unfold with time, disturb my preparations. I have not let the 
achievements or failures of my past entrance examinations or life in 
general, which now exist in my memories, take over me while studying 
for Civil Services Examinations. I have also not let the uncertainties 
associated with clearing the UPSC CSE, which exist in the future, the 
glamour, the fame, and prestige which I shall receive with success, 
and the miseries which I shall have to face with failure, take over 
me while preparing for the examination. In actuality, the past and 
future don’t exist anywhere. In the universe, there is a big eternal 
now. The past exists only in our memories, and the future exists only 
in the speculations of our minds. Now, when I look back, I realize 
that subconsciously, without even knowing, I tend to ground myself 
in the present moment while doing any work – whether it may be 
preparations for entrance examinations or any other crucial work as 
such. It can very well be said that I was “consumed” while preparing 
for UPSC CSE and any other entrance examination. This I would like 
to explain with the help of 4 diagrams;
Page 2


Grounding in the Present Moment: The 
Right Mindset
“Perspective about your own self plays a pivotal role in preparations.”
While studying for all entrance exams, starting right from IIT 
JEE to UPSC Civil Services, I noticed that I tend to ground myself 
subconsciously in the present moment. I have not let the past, 
which exists only in my memory, and also not the future, which is 
yet to unfold with time, disturb my preparations. I have not let the 
achievements or failures of my past entrance examinations or life in 
general, which now exist in my memories, take over me while studying 
for Civil Services Examinations. I have also not let the uncertainties 
associated with clearing the UPSC CSE, which exist in the future, the 
glamour, the fame, and prestige which I shall receive with success, 
and the miseries which I shall have to face with failure, take over 
me while preparing for the examination. In actuality, the past and 
future don’t exist anywhere. In the universe, there is a big eternal 
now. The past exists only in our memories, and the future exists only 
in the speculations of our minds. Now, when I look back, I realize 
that subconsciously, without even knowing, I tend to ground myself 
in the present moment while doing any work – whether it may be 
preparations for entrance examinations or any other crucial work as 
such. It can very well be said that I was “consumed” while preparing 
for UPSC CSE and any other entrance examination. This I would like 
to explain with the help of 4 diagrams;
Grounding in the Present Moment: The Right Mindset
Figure 1: The aspirant has a few successes which he/she remembers or recalls 
from time to time, along with moving with the arrow of time as the future unfolds. 
More importantly, he/she thinks positively while grounding himself/herself in the 
present moment. This is the most positive frame of mind and is reflected by a 
concave upward shape of perspective both in the past and future.
Figure 2: The aspirant has no or very little success in the past and thinks negatively 
about his/her past, at least in the field of cracking entrance exams and/or studies 
in general. Apart from that, the aspirant also expects the same to repeat as he/she 
moves along with the arrow of time when the future unfolds in front of him/her. 
This is reflected by a convex upwards shape of perspectives both in the past and 
future. This is the most negative frame of mind and needs to be changed.
Page 3


Grounding in the Present Moment: The 
Right Mindset
“Perspective about your own self plays a pivotal role in preparations.”
While studying for all entrance exams, starting right from IIT 
JEE to UPSC Civil Services, I noticed that I tend to ground myself 
subconsciously in the present moment. I have not let the past, 
which exists only in my memory, and also not the future, which is 
yet to unfold with time, disturb my preparations. I have not let the 
achievements or failures of my past entrance examinations or life in 
general, which now exist in my memories, take over me while studying 
for Civil Services Examinations. I have also not let the uncertainties 
associated with clearing the UPSC CSE, which exist in the future, the 
glamour, the fame, and prestige which I shall receive with success, 
and the miseries which I shall have to face with failure, take over 
me while preparing for the examination. In actuality, the past and 
future don’t exist anywhere. In the universe, there is a big eternal 
now. The past exists only in our memories, and the future exists only 
in the speculations of our minds. Now, when I look back, I realize 
that subconsciously, without even knowing, I tend to ground myself 
in the present moment while doing any work – whether it may be 
preparations for entrance examinations or any other crucial work as 
such. It can very well be said that I was “consumed” while preparing 
for UPSC CSE and any other entrance examination. This I would like 
to explain with the help of 4 diagrams;
Grounding in the Present Moment: The Right Mindset
Figure 1: The aspirant has a few successes which he/she remembers or recalls 
from time to time, along with moving with the arrow of time as the future unfolds. 
More importantly, he/she thinks positively while grounding himself/herself in the 
present moment. This is the most positive frame of mind and is reflected by a 
concave upward shape of perspective both in the past and future.
Figure 2: The aspirant has no or very little success in the past and thinks negatively 
about his/her past, at least in the field of cracking entrance exams and/or studies 
in general. Apart from that, the aspirant also expects the same to repeat as he/she 
moves along with the arrow of time when the future unfolds in front of him/her. 
This is reflected by a convex upwards shape of perspectives both in the past and 
future. This is the most negative frame of mind and needs to be changed.
Figure 3: Figure 2 needs to be amended or changed to Figure 3. Here, despite the 
aspirant having no significant achievements or successes in the field of studies, 
as indicated by the convex upward curve of the past, the present moment acts as 
the inflection point. This leads to a concave upward mindset in the future as time 
unfolds the present moment continuously.
Figure 4: These will be quite rare cases, but because they are rare, they are 
extremely tough to handle. Why? Here, the aspirant has bagged a few educational 
achievements in his/her kitty in the past, yet doesn’t consider the future to be as 
bright as the past and, contradictorily, considers the future bleak with the concave 
upward shape of expectations/perspective while galloping in the present moment. 
They are suffering from a depressive mindset and, therefore, need to be molded 
to Figure 1.
Page 4


Grounding in the Present Moment: The 
Right Mindset
“Perspective about your own self plays a pivotal role in preparations.”
While studying for all entrance exams, starting right from IIT 
JEE to UPSC Civil Services, I noticed that I tend to ground myself 
subconsciously in the present moment. I have not let the past, 
which exists only in my memory, and also not the future, which is 
yet to unfold with time, disturb my preparations. I have not let the 
achievements or failures of my past entrance examinations or life in 
general, which now exist in my memories, take over me while studying 
for Civil Services Examinations. I have also not let the uncertainties 
associated with clearing the UPSC CSE, which exist in the future, the 
glamour, the fame, and prestige which I shall receive with success, 
and the miseries which I shall have to face with failure, take over 
me while preparing for the examination. In actuality, the past and 
future don’t exist anywhere. In the universe, there is a big eternal 
now. The past exists only in our memories, and the future exists only 
in the speculations of our minds. Now, when I look back, I realize 
that subconsciously, without even knowing, I tend to ground myself 
in the present moment while doing any work – whether it may be 
preparations for entrance examinations or any other crucial work as 
such. It can very well be said that I was “consumed” while preparing 
for UPSC CSE and any other entrance examination. This I would like 
to explain with the help of 4 diagrams;
Grounding in the Present Moment: The Right Mindset
Figure 1: The aspirant has a few successes which he/she remembers or recalls 
from time to time, along with moving with the arrow of time as the future unfolds. 
More importantly, he/she thinks positively while grounding himself/herself in the 
present moment. This is the most positive frame of mind and is reflected by a 
concave upward shape of perspective both in the past and future.
Figure 2: The aspirant has no or very little success in the past and thinks negatively 
about his/her past, at least in the field of cracking entrance exams and/or studies 
in general. Apart from that, the aspirant also expects the same to repeat as he/she 
moves along with the arrow of time when the future unfolds in front of him/her. 
This is reflected by a convex upwards shape of perspectives both in the past and 
future. This is the most negative frame of mind and needs to be changed.
Figure 3: Figure 2 needs to be amended or changed to Figure 3. Here, despite the 
aspirant having no significant achievements or successes in the field of studies, 
as indicated by the convex upward curve of the past, the present moment acts as 
the inflection point. This leads to a concave upward mindset in the future as time 
unfolds the present moment continuously.
Figure 4: These will be quite rare cases, but because they are rare, they are 
extremely tough to handle. Why? Here, the aspirant has bagged a few educational 
achievements in his/her kitty in the past, yet doesn’t consider the future to be as 
bright as the past and, contradictorily, considers the future bleak with the concave 
upward shape of expectations/perspective while galloping in the present moment. 
They are suffering from a depressive mindset and, therefore, need to be molded 
to Figure 1.
Grounding in the Present Moment: The Right Mindset
Directly going into the preparation of the UPSC Civil services 
examination without identifying which figure your mindset is in is 
absolutely not advisable. You should be clear and fully aware of which 
figure your mindset is in. It will help you address your subsequent 
preparation. The left portion is generally quite clear by the time you 
step into the field of CSE Preparations, as the minimum criterion for 
that is graduation. So either you are through with graduation or have 
probably completed some years of graduation but have yet to graduate. 
Nevertheless, you are aware of how you have fared in your studies 
from schooling, especially after class IX and up until now, whether you 
have cleared some entrances or not. Therefore, I find that most of the 
aspirants can very well identify the left part of the aforementioned 4 
diagrams, which reflect the past. What is difficult is to evaluate the right 
part of it – whether you have a positive mindset or a negative mindset 
while entering into the preparation of the Civil Services Examination.
You will find that very strange; the more you ground yourself in the 
present moment, the more positive your mindset becomes! When 
saying the previous sentence, what I mean is how you utilize your 
present moment, the now that exists, and only that exists actually, 
because the past is made up of memories and the future is made up 
of speculations or evaluations, whichever term we may use. The more 
positive framework of mindset is what you shall get along with it. More 
importantly, time ‘flows’ because of the perception of the mind, as the 
mind only has the function of being nostalgic while digging out the 
memories of the past and speculating the future, which is yet to occur. 
Nevertheless, not going into too many nuances of the functionality of 
the mind, let me limit here to “mindset” and how to change Figure 2 
into Figure 3 and Figure 4 into Figure 1, both by grounding yourself in 
the present moment.
I will give you a live and very simple example. I could only write this 
book when I grounded myself in the present moment. Although I have a 
plethora of achievements in the past, if I dwell on the future of whether 
Page 5


Grounding in the Present Moment: The 
Right Mindset
“Perspective about your own self plays a pivotal role in preparations.”
While studying for all entrance exams, starting right from IIT 
JEE to UPSC Civil Services, I noticed that I tend to ground myself 
subconsciously in the present moment. I have not let the past, 
which exists only in my memory, and also not the future, which is 
yet to unfold with time, disturb my preparations. I have not let the 
achievements or failures of my past entrance examinations or life in 
general, which now exist in my memories, take over me while studying 
for Civil Services Examinations. I have also not let the uncertainties 
associated with clearing the UPSC CSE, which exist in the future, the 
glamour, the fame, and prestige which I shall receive with success, 
and the miseries which I shall have to face with failure, take over 
me while preparing for the examination. In actuality, the past and 
future don’t exist anywhere. In the universe, there is a big eternal 
now. The past exists only in our memories, and the future exists only 
in the speculations of our minds. Now, when I look back, I realize 
that subconsciously, without even knowing, I tend to ground myself 
in the present moment while doing any work – whether it may be 
preparations for entrance examinations or any other crucial work as 
such. It can very well be said that I was “consumed” while preparing 
for UPSC CSE and any other entrance examination. This I would like 
to explain with the help of 4 diagrams;
Grounding in the Present Moment: The Right Mindset
Figure 1: The aspirant has a few successes which he/she remembers or recalls 
from time to time, along with moving with the arrow of time as the future unfolds. 
More importantly, he/she thinks positively while grounding himself/herself in the 
present moment. This is the most positive frame of mind and is reflected by a 
concave upward shape of perspective both in the past and future.
Figure 2: The aspirant has no or very little success in the past and thinks negatively 
about his/her past, at least in the field of cracking entrance exams and/or studies 
in general. Apart from that, the aspirant also expects the same to repeat as he/she 
moves along with the arrow of time when the future unfolds in front of him/her. 
This is reflected by a convex upwards shape of perspectives both in the past and 
future. This is the most negative frame of mind and needs to be changed.
Figure 3: Figure 2 needs to be amended or changed to Figure 3. Here, despite the 
aspirant having no significant achievements or successes in the field of studies, 
as indicated by the convex upward curve of the past, the present moment acts as 
the inflection point. This leads to a concave upward mindset in the future as time 
unfolds the present moment continuously.
Figure 4: These will be quite rare cases, but because they are rare, they are 
extremely tough to handle. Why? Here, the aspirant has bagged a few educational 
achievements in his/her kitty in the past, yet doesn’t consider the future to be as 
bright as the past and, contradictorily, considers the future bleak with the concave 
upward shape of expectations/perspective while galloping in the present moment. 
They are suffering from a depressive mindset and, therefore, need to be molded 
to Figure 1.
Grounding in the Present Moment: The Right Mindset
Directly going into the preparation of the UPSC Civil services 
examination without identifying which figure your mindset is in is 
absolutely not advisable. You should be clear and fully aware of which 
figure your mindset is in. It will help you address your subsequent 
preparation. The left portion is generally quite clear by the time you 
step into the field of CSE Preparations, as the minimum criterion for 
that is graduation. So either you are through with graduation or have 
probably completed some years of graduation but have yet to graduate. 
Nevertheless, you are aware of how you have fared in your studies 
from schooling, especially after class IX and up until now, whether you 
have cleared some entrances or not. Therefore, I find that most of the 
aspirants can very well identify the left part of the aforementioned 4 
diagrams, which reflect the past. What is difficult is to evaluate the right 
part of it – whether you have a positive mindset or a negative mindset 
while entering into the preparation of the Civil Services Examination.
You will find that very strange; the more you ground yourself in the 
present moment, the more positive your mindset becomes! When 
saying the previous sentence, what I mean is how you utilize your 
present moment, the now that exists, and only that exists actually, 
because the past is made up of memories and the future is made up 
of speculations or evaluations, whichever term we may use. The more 
positive framework of mindset is what you shall get along with it. More 
importantly, time ‘flows’ because of the perception of the mind, as the 
mind only has the function of being nostalgic while digging out the 
memories of the past and speculating the future, which is yet to occur. 
Nevertheless, not going into too many nuances of the functionality of 
the mind, let me limit here to “mindset” and how to change Figure 2 
into Figure 3 and Figure 4 into Figure 1, both by grounding yourself in 
the present moment.
I will give you a live and very simple example. I could only write this 
book when I grounded myself in the present moment. Although I have a 
plethora of achievements in the past, if I dwell on the future of whether 
I will get the results associated with the book, such as whether I shall 
get a publisher or not, whether aspirants will like it or not, and so on, 
the more I became of a Figure 4 mindset. Therefore, after writing the 
book in 2014, 2015, and 2016, I could not come up with subsequent 
editions. Apart from having other priorities in life as I aged from a 
fresher to a mid-career bureaucrat, the aforementioned reason played 
an important role in not being able to come up with the fourth edition. 
It was only when I again self-reflected holistically on the entire process 
of cracking the Civil Services Examination and grounded myself in the 
present that I could come up with this fourth edition.
Now that you are aware of the fact that grounding yourself in the 
present moment shall change your mindset and align it with either 
Figure 1 or Figure 3, which is most important for clearing the Civil 
Services Examination, the most immediate and natural question is 
how to ground yourself in the present. The answer is so simple that it 
evades or goes unnoticed by most minds. The answer is that you should 
enjoy what you are doing. Think and self-reflect that at times when 
you are doing any activity that is enjoyable for you; you are most likely 
grounded in the present. That is, neither the memory of the past haunts 
you nor makes you feel nostalgic, and neither do the speculations of the 
future take your attention away. If what you are doing captures your 
attention, you can very well say that you have grounded yourself in the 
present moment.
But isn’t this a utopian thing I am talking about? That is, how can the 
studies for Civil Services Examination capture your attention so that 
you ground yourself in the present moment and subsequent changes in 
mindset happen? The answer to this question lies in the next chapter.