Secret 1/59: Play Football every day instead of practicing Volleyball

 

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Secret 1/59

Play Football every day instead of practicing Volleyball.

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Stop Practicing Volleyball for a Football Exam: The Real Reason Your Hard Work Isn't Raising Your Grades

The first secret says, "Do not practice volleyball throughout the semester to play football in the examination."

You spend hours reading, highlighting, and memorizing. You feel busy, productive, and certain you’ve put in the work.

But when the exam arrives, the results are disappointing.

Your grades don't reflect the effort you invested.

If you've ever wondered why your diligent studying doesn't translate into better exam performance, you're not alone.

According to Dr. Sujendra Prakash, the issue isn't a lack of effort but a fundamental mismatch between how students prepare and what exams actually demand.

It’s a problem of practicing for the wrong game entirely.

You're Practicing the Wrong Sport

The core problem is simple: most students spend months practicing "volleyball" when the final match is "football."

These "volleyball" activities are passive study methods that resemble learning but don't develop the skills necessary to succeed on an exam.

Common "volleyball" practices include:

• Reading the textbook line-by-line
• Listening to the teacher passively
• Memorizing isolated points
• Copying notes from friends
• Highlighting, underlining, and decorating notes

These tasks create a dangerous illusion of progress, convincing you that you're learning when, in fact, you're only going through the motions.

You might become an expert at reading a chapter, but that won't help you win the match.

Do not practice volleyball throughout the semester to play football in the examination.

Exams Are a Different Game Entirely

Exams are "football."

They are not a test of how well you can read or memorize; they are a performance that tests a completely different set of skills.

The rules are different, the required abilities are different, and the pressure is real.

Exams actually test your:

• Understanding and Application
• Logic and Clarity of explanation
• Ability to recall key ideas quickly
• Ability to organize answers
• Ability to solve problems under pressure

When you’ve only trained for volleyball, showing up to a football match isn't just difficult; it's a recipe for failure.

This is why students panic, get confused, or "blank out" during a test.

This isn't a failure of intelligence; it's a predictable failure of strategy.

Start Training for the Game You're Actually Playing.

The solution is to match your preparation to the exam.

If the exam is a football match, your training all semester must also be football. 

This means shifting from passive reception of information to active application and creation.

You must train for the exact skills the exam will test.

Start implementing these "football" practices today:

• ✔ Practice answering questions, not just reading chapters
• ✔ Practice writing, not only memorizing
• ✔ Practice explaining concepts in your own words
• ✔ Practice organizing answers logically
• ✔ Practice real exam-type problems
• ✔ Practice recalling without looking at notes

When you make this shift from passive studying to active, exam-based preparation, everything changes.

Your practice now mirrors the final performance, leading to deeper understanding, sharper thinking, faster revision, more confidence, and ultimately, higher marks.

Stop Studying Randomly, Start Training Intelligently

Stop measuring your study sessions by the hours you put in.

True effectiveness is about strategy—ensuring every action directly prepares you for victory on exam day.

Stop studying randomly and start training with purpose.

What is one "volleyball" habit you can swap for a "football" practice this week?

S1 Secret: Summary

The provided text advises students on effective study techniques by drawing an extended metaphor between academic preparation and sports training, asserting that many students fail because they practice volleyball when the test requires football. The source outlines the problem, explaining that passive activities like reading textbooks line-by-line or copying notes do not prepare students for the critical thinking, application, and problem-solving skills required on exams. Instead of these ineffective methods, which the text calls "volleyball," students are urged to adopt "football" practices such as answering exam-type questions, writing explanations in their own words, and logically organizing solutions. This shift ensures that the student’s preparation matches the demands of the final performance, ultimately leading to better comprehension, greater confidence, and higher marks. The core secret highlighted is that successful studying requires active preparation directly aligned with what the exam actually tests.

Watch the video on SECRET 1 here:

Secret 1: “Do not practice volleyball throughout the semester to play football in the examination.”

INTRODUCTION

Most students study very hard during the semester.
But when the exam arrives, they suddenly realize that what they practiced all semester has nothing to do with what the exam is actually testing.

It’s like practicing volleyball for six months…and then being asked to play football on the day of the match.

No matter how good you are at volleyball, you cannot win a football match because the game is different, the rules are different, and the required skills are different.

This is exactly why many students fail to perform at their true potential.

THE PROBLEM: WRONG PRACTICE

Throughout the semester, students:

·         Read the textbook line-by-line

·         Listen to the teacher passively

·         Memorize isolated points

·         Copy notes from friends

·         Highlight, underline, decorate

·         Spend time feeling “busy” but not actually learning

These activities feel like studying…
but they do not prepare you for the thinking, writing, and problem-solving required in the exam.

This is “volleyball.”

The exam, however, is “football.”

WHAT EXAMS ACTUALLY TEST

Almost every exam tests:

·         Understanding

·         Application

·         Logic

·         Clarity of explanation

·         Ability to recall key ideas quickly

·         Ability to organize answers

·         Ability to solve problems under pressure

But very few students practice these skills throughout the semester.

They only practice reading and not thinking.
They only practice memorizing and not using the information.

So when the exam comes:

·         They cannot remember

·         They cannot organize

·         They cannot explain

·         They panic

·         They get confused

·         They blank out

Not because they are weak, but because they practiced the wrong sport.

REAL EXAMPLES

Imagine this:

A student spends the whole semester reading chapters.
But the exam asks:

·         Compare

·         Analyze

·         Explain with examples

·         Apply concepts

·         Solve problems

Reading does not train these skills.

So even after studying for hours, they struggle on exam day.

THE SOLUTION: MATCH YOUR PREPARATION WITH THE EXAM

If the exam requires football, then all your semester practice must also be football.

Meaning:

✔ Practice answering questions, not just reading chapters

✔ Practice writing, not only memorizing

✔ Practice explaining concepts in your own words

✔ Practice organizing answers logically

✔ Practice real exam-type problems

✔ Practice recalling without looking at notes

Just like a sports player trains for the exact match they are going to play…

A student must train for the exact exam they are going to face.

WHY THIS SECRET CHANGES EVERYTHING

If you switch from passive reading to active exam-based preparation, you will immediately notice:

·         Better understanding

·         Better memory

·         Faster revision

·         More confidence

·         Less panic

·         Higher marks

·         Sharper thinking

Because now your practice matches the final performance.

FINAL MESSAGE

Don’t study randomly.
Don’t study passively.
And definitely don’t practice volleyball when the exam is a football match.

Throughout the semester, learn in a way that prepares you for the exam.

This is the foundation of the 59 Secrets.

You can go through the website by choosing your desired language

Podcasts are available for the whole course in both Hindi and Kannada.

Hindi Podcast:

Kannada Podcast:

List of 59 Secrets