Double Down on What Works - Use Overkill to get lucky

This is the fourth and the last article in the 4-part series where I have tried to demystify luck. This one deals with Overkill and Practice as tools to get lucky.

The other articles of the series are :

Recently, a friend of mine was discussing with me how he missed his chance just by 1 mark.

That was hard luck – he said.

I wondered if that should be attributed to luck or bad strategy ?

It’s not luck

In 2009, I was preparing for GMAT. I was getting around 700 score in all my practice tests at home.

Assuming that was a good score clubbed with my experience, I decided to take the test.

In the actual test, I could score only 640.

Now, how did that happen ?

For me it was probably test pressure, but multiple reasons can contribute to such an outcome:

Test Day Pressure
Health Issues
Bad Mental or Emotional state

Anything out of millions of possible hindrances can come your way.

But if you Overkill, you will be able to compensate for those.

How I turned my GMAT from 640 to 710

In my next attempt, I practised hard for 2 months.

I looked at data after every practice, spotted error patterns.

Prepared again on weak areas. Tested again.

Then practised with a timer.

Again, and Again, and again.

I practised till I started scoring 760-780 everytime in home tests.

I now took the exam. An unexpected event occurred as expected.

There was some construction going on near the test centre.

Even with the ear plugs on, I was getting disturbed. Everyone was.

Had it not for my practice, I would have failed miserably.

The practice allowed me to take on most of the questions almost mechanically.

I wasn’t very happy with 710, but I knew it was my ticket to my MBA.

How to Overkill through practice ?

There are 2 major elements to overkill :

Finding out what works for you
Practice, Practice Practice (Abhyas , Abhyas , Abhyas ) –

Practice has been enough and more emphasized in religions as well. In the Gita, it is stated that continuous practice ( abhyas ) can tame the mind, which is otherwise not easy to control.

This was the last of the 4 part series on beating luck.

I hope I was able to deliver some value.

So what are you waiting for, lets get lucky in 2023 by using these methods:

Part 1 – Understanding the nature of luck
Part 2. How to turn failures into learning outcomes and move towards the success zone?
Part 3. Avoid what does not work – Increasing luck through elimination of errors
Part 4. Double down on what works – Overkill as a way to increase luck.

Also Read – How practice builds nervous circuits that help you.