Ahmad Rushan AIR 3 (99.5%)

Ahmad Rushan, a student of prestigious City Montessori School scored 99.5% and secured AIR 3 in the ISC board examinations. He gives a major credit of his success to his school teachers who have helped him in every sphere of his life. That is why it is rightly said, “Behind every successful student, there is a good teacher.” Like a true achiever, he sums up his success mantra in the following words- Remember what is required is SMART STUDY and not HARD STUDY. And in this interview, Ahmad will share some very effective study tips to guide you on your way to success. Let’s learn from the best!

Good schooling and proper parental support are imperative for a student’s success. How did your teachers and parents help you achieve this feat?
A kid’s education starts from home. Parents are their first teachers and they have a key role in shaping up their character. A balance of education at home and school moulds a student’s actual learning.

I had always seen my parents as well as my brothers as my role models. They had guided me in every phase of my life. They used to teach me, support me in my every decision irrespective of other’s thoughts and had firm belief in me . They never tried to burden me up with things, never complained and criticize for my failures. They rewarded me in my every achievements be it small or large, used to spend time with me and provide me everything I needed.

A great teacher is one a student cherishes forever. Teachers have a long-lasting impact on the lives of their students, and the best students inspire their teachers, too.

My teachers always knew the strong and weak points of students and worked on the weak point to built them and strong points to strengthen them. They also helped me in every phase of my life. They were always ready to teach me irrespective of the fact of how many times I have asked it. They took great pains to teach us even on holidays so we may reach azimuth of life and be successful. They always encouraged me that I had the capability of becoming a topper. They never let me feel down and had firm belief in me.

Toppers have many positive habits and mindsets that enable them to perform well and achieve success. Positive thinking is one such trait. Can you suggest a few habits and thought patterns which can help your juniors especially the not-so-privileged children cultivate positive thinking?
There are so many reasons for not having a positive mind-set. We fail at something, we don’t achieve what we set out to do, we don’t get what we expected we would, we experience a loss, we get exhausted from our work or school responsibilities. Feeling positive emotions helps you to identify more possibilities and options in your life. But what is perhaps even more interesting is that these extra possibilities and options seem to translate into action. People who think more positively are more likely to do things to deliver on those options. They build new skills and develop existing ones, so that they genuinely have more options in life. First of the ways to develop positive thinking is meditation. Whenever one feels depressed or stressed out he/she should meditate to drop off any negative thinking. One should always motivate oneself by saying words like, ‘I can do it’ or ‘I will do it’s repeatedly to develop self confidence. It’s important to make time for yourself to have fun. Sometimes you might need to actually put it into your diary to force yourself to make that time, whether it’s to meet a friend for coffee, or go out for a walk or a bike ride. While success may lead to happiness, there is very little question that happiness also leads to success. Finding time to be positive about your life, and to do the things that make you feel positive emotions like happiness, is vital to helping you to develop skills and grow as a person. Remember, life is a marathon, not a sprint. Make time for input activities. Reading is what exposes you to new ideas, teaches you things you would otherwise never have the opportunity to learn. Reading is a well from which you should be pulling endless amounts of inspiration. Especially in the morning, reading is a great way to get your brain (which operates like a muscle) stretched and ready to go. When you read frequently, you are cross-training your brain to stay ready to work. And if you don’t read often, you’ll notice that your thoughts can fall sluggish. Some people prefer to read books. Some read blogs. Some read fiction, some read nonfiction. I would say: read everything. Over the years, I’ve come to notice a very interesting pattern (in both myself and others) when it comes to practice.

Confidence is the result of not just doing something well, but knowing you do something well.

When you practice often, you get good. When you get good, you feel confident about your abilities. When you feel confident about your abilities, you take more risks, practice even more, and ultimately become a master of your craft.

Good revision sessions are the shortcut to success in exams. During exam days, how do you revise your lessons and ensure a quick brush up?
The best way to revise is to go through the self made notes or the notes given by teachers. Also previously marked important questions should be gone through over so as to solve questions based on them. Important contributions and full forms should be revised at last. I always planned what I had to revise and try not panicking. I used to take short breaks of at least 15 minutes after long stretches 2-3 hours of study so as not to override my brain. The most important thing for last day’s revision is that one should not use mobile phones or technology to study or for anything else. I also used memory tricks and mnemonics to remember difficult things. And if possible I would also re-revise most important topics so as to make sure they are not forgotten.

Clutter doesn’t seem to bother students much. But then, it is said that keeping your surroundings clean is important for success. What are your views on this?
Yeah, I think cleanliness plays an important role for achieving success. If a persons surrounding is not clean he/she may not be able to focus his/her mind properly in studying. A study shows that clutter can negatively affect your mental well-being, and hoarders are more likely to be depressed about mess than people suffering from OCD.

To succeed in annual exams, one needs to be consistent in his or her studies throughout the year. But it is easier said than done and one is likely to burn out. What are the things that helped you overcome mental and emotional fatigue?
Where possible, people should try to reduce sources of stress. They may be able to take on fewer tasks, delegate to others, and ask for help. I always tried to take less stress and asked for help whenever I needed. Living a healthful life can improve physical and mental health and foster resilience. I always tried to eat a balanced diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean sources of protein used to exercise for 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. I had established a sleep routine by going to bed at the same time each night and getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

Being bored is almost impossible in this digital age. But then, boredom has been proven to boost creative thinking. Do you spend some tech-free time to clear your mind? Does it help?
Actually I am not in the habit of using technology for long hours as I also bored of it. So that’s why I spend free time without any tech gadgets just to expand my creative mind.

It helps a lot and makes me think about different ways to get through a particular situation. Boredom might spark creativity because a restless mind hungers for stimulation. When you’re bored, it can feel like your world is at a standstill. But boredom sparks significant activity at the subconscious level. Those quiet, boring times allow your mind to wander, rewiring your brain in ways that help you achieve more.

As it is said, your attitude determines your altitude. How do you keep a positive attitude and beat stress and anxiety during the hectic exam season?
Positivity can alone beat stress and anxiety during hectic exam season. I would advise that one should not leave anything to study at the last hour as it could make you stressed out. I used to revise the topics taught at school regularly and also used to exchange self made papers of various topics with my closely friend to analyse the learnt things.

However if at times I would miss my pattern of revising each day I would revise during exams the most important topics of that particular topic so as not to lose. Remember what is required is SMART STUDY and not HARD STUDY.

Students of government and budget school do not have adequate resources and facilities. Can you share some simple self-study techniques and tips for them?
‘Sharing is caring’ and what I would suggest that one should exchange knowledge with or another which would make you learn particular topics. I always used to take help of my friend when I cannot learn something or grasp it. In exchange I also taught him. We used to have regular paper exchange to tracks our level.

Also nowadays everyone has a smartphone in its family and a jip sim. So they can easily watch study sessions on YouTube to learn things and study. Along with it many free study apps have come which can be used to study and give tests to.

What are the most important things that students should focus on while preparing for the boards?
Board exams are considered to be extremely crucial in shaping the career of a student. The scores are parameters which decide admissions into prestigious universities and colleges. Nowadays, even employers seek board exam marks in job interviews. These factors combined make it extremely essential that a student prepares well enough for the board examinations. Confidence is the key. What matters is that a student must keep in mind certain basic things in order to crack the exam.

The most important thing is to create a proper atmosphere for studying by choosing a proper place and a correct posture. You have to study all the relevant course material and revise it thoroughly.

Quality study is essential — meaning important topics should be revised at the last moment rather than doing everything again and again. You must try to make notes and pointers of important concepts and formulae from each topic which makes revision easy at the end of the day. Hence, planning your studies is essential; meaning a time-table should be made. Sticking to it, no matter what, is customary.

To ensure you give it your best shot, you have to make sure that you at least orally go through previous years question papers. This will help you understand better the relative importance and weight-age of each chapter and how it has been treated till date. Reference book usage of any kind should be avoided because it unnecessarily adds to the burden. Your paper should be presentable and neatly written with important points underlined and headers at appropriate places.

Apart from regular revisions, a lot of other factors separate the top brass from the other excellent performers. Simple things like a balanced diet, a good 8-10 hours of sleep which gives proper relaxation to your brain and improves performance, keeping stress levels to a minimum by engaging yourself in outdoor activities, chatting with family and friends and music is also important.

Winners often live in the present. They don’t waste their time lamenting about the past or unnecessarily worrying about the future. How do you ensure that you make the most of your time by being present in the present?
There is only one time and place where you can be and have any control over-The present moment.
But most of us still spend a lot of our regular days lost in memories, worried about a failure either in exams or other ways and more commonly repeating an old conflict or negative situation over and over in our thoughts.
We get lost in scenarios about what could happen in the future. Maybe we would end up good Mark’s or not or we would fail or we would get in a good college or not.

But these things will make things against you so rather live in present so that your future gets better.
I and many others have often written and talked about the importance of single-tasking your work to get it done more effectively. So when studying I do not care about anything else.

If I check the email, Facebook and other websites online early in the day then I have found that I will have more thoughts bouncing around in my head. And so it becomes a lot harder to concentrate on anything, to stay present and to not be dragged away into some negative thought loop. So the kind option towards myself has become to not check anything early in the day. And to check things as few times as I can.

Your life and productivity are both enhanced when you actively participate in what is going on around you. And nothing is more productive than being present in the moment.

Priya Sarin
priya[at]thestudentsdigest.com

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