2 . You have won so many awards and prizes . Which one was the most difficult or satisfying to get , and why ? I wouldn ’ t say that the difficulty was always with the competition or the medal I won . The difficulty was in improving my timings . So even if I win a medal , if I don ’ t see an improvement in my timings , I don ’ t feel fully satisfied .
Taking that into consideration , the most difficult was winning a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly stroke in the Senior Nationals 2018 , Trivandrum . This was because the training I went through for it was intense . Also , it was my first time participating at the Senior Nationals and I knew I was up against people far older than me ( around the age 20-40 ). Some of the competitors were even Olympians .
The medal was rather unexpected . I did not know if I would win a medal , but at that moment , I was only focused on doing my best . And when you do that , the result surprises you sometimes . It was really satisfying to give my personal best and know that I did well among really difficult competition .
3 . What is your secret to being so good at what you do , and what is your advice to those who look up to you ? I don ’ t really have a secret as such . But apart from the obvious things , like consistent training , sincerity , eating healthy , and sleeping well , I think the most important thing is a proper mindset . This is what defines almost everything that you do , no matter how well trained you are . It is very important to keep a neutral mindset . You have to be careful to stay grounded to what you do so that you can take up anything that comes your way , be it success or failure .
Being overly driven by failure , or overly dependent on success both limits you . If you are driven by success and you fail , how will you bounce back ? If you are driven by failure and you succeed , how will you get motivated ? Do not give too much importance to any one success or failure , because there were many more in the past and many more to come .
The most important thing you can do is focus on being balanced , having fun , and being earnest in what you do . Everything else is nothing but passing experiences or life lessons .
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