The first time I remember it happened was when I was about 12 yrs old. Mom said.. "This is the most crucial exam for you ever. Make sure you do well this time beta. You get through this and you'll get admission into a good school. Life will be good after this."  I got lured into it. And studied so hard that I easily cleared the 7th standard entrance exam question paper, which was given by mistake instead of the 6th standard one.

And it hasnt stopped since then. Somebody or the other has made sure that every exam sounded to me like the most crucial one till date and like it was the last hurdle ever. And strangely... I fell it for it every single time!

My teachers did the con job throughout my schooling. "Last time you have to  struggle hard in your life. Trust me, if you do this well... you'll be a king", Razia ma'am told us before our class X exams.

Crap.. it just got worse. Thanks to the academic legacy of my brothers, every guest at home had just one thing to tell me "Look at them. Do it well this one last time time and everybody will look upto you the rest of your life!". Two years of consistent brain-washing and I got fooled again into struggling for it. I am sure thats when my hair started greying.

Anyway, I did cross that hurdle. Only to realize that the next 4 years of graduation were defined by just one word - slogging. And somehow hoping that it would end some day, I scraped through the those myriad of hurdles. I distinctly remember our placement head, Prof. Bhaskaran telling us.. "Gentlemen, this would be the last time that you'll be put through a strain. Life is waiting with open arms after this". I couldnt wait. And I put my best foot forward.

How wrong I was. Life was waiting.. with not just open arms but a lot of ammunition too.

At work, every project milestone was the last big thing according to my manager.
Every certification was the opening door to an enchanting career growth according to our training co-ordinator. Sigh!

"Get an MBA and your life is settled". That was the only time my dad really told me something like that. I gave him the benefit of doubt. And took it on.

B-school was obscurely funny. Those tests, those presentations, those crazy deadlines, those placement interviews.. I am sure, most of us got through based on just one school of thought.. "Put crack this one last time."

I am now almost 4 years into corporate life after that and it has been no different.

Maybe thats how life is defined. You struggle hard to get past a hurdle hoping that it would be all rosy after that... only to stare at another big one.
But, perhaps that is the only thing that keeps us going... keeps us awake... keeps us alive... the next big hurdle.