Don't stress yourself, take exams joyfully, Modi tells students

New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday advised students to give up any stress compete with themselves and not with others and take examinations as an opportunity to realise their own potentialAddressing students preparing for board and competitive examinations on his Mann ki Baat programme on All India Radio Modi gave them some tips to perform well stressed the need to move positively ahead in life without feeling any undue pressure and urged them to convert festival of examinations into a festival of joyReferring to performancerelated stress among students and even reports of suicides he in his over 25minute address delivered in a conversational tone asked students not be worriers but warriorsThe prime minister who has taken up on several issues in his radio talk including drug use said that the situation of tension in examination is not good Never feel stressed There should be a determination to do good the morale should be high but examination should not be a burden It is not a test of your lifeModi confessed that he himself had been a very ordinary student with bad handwriting and jested that he sometimes passed his exams as the teacher could not read his answers He also asked parents not to compare their children with those of their relatives and friends and not see their wards performance as a way to earn reputation This insect in your mind puts pressure on your child he saidThe life is huge Cant you connect the child with that If you talk to children talk of grand dreams of flying high and you will see that change has begun he said He also noted that for a persons selfdevelopment competition with others does not give so much inspiration as competition with ourselvesCompete with yourself to do good to do fast to do more and reach new heights Tomorrow should be better than yesterday focus on that and you will see that this spirit of competition will give you so much satisfaction and happiness that you cannot imagine he said referring to Olympian Sergey Bubka who had repeatedly broken his own record in pole vaultModi asked boys to learn from girl students who do well in examinations despite helping their mothers in household work while he stressed desire to achieve something should not waver in a student Desire plus stability is equal to determination Determination plus hard work is equal to mastery siddhi he saidPut yourself totally in the task Keep your resolve positive A person who daily competes with himself no challenge is big for him We should take our own examination daily he said terming examinations an opportunity to realise ones own potential and not prove anything to the world He asked students to have confidence in themselves and not to worry about resultsModi also suggested that teachers should organise examination festival once a week every six months where there could be satire and poetry about examinations as well as cartoons and declamation contests He said there can be lectures on psychological aspects of examinations to remove fear and suggested that it can be part of syllabusStressing he wants every student going for the examination to be happy he said Make examination a festival go in a happy mood and take pleasure from each days achievements and change the atmosphere Parents teachers schools every one should do it and see how it brings a change He also conveyed his best wishes to students