How to Become an Exception

Chapter 1: What it Means to be an Exception

Anything that defies a pattern, that refuses to follow the general rule, is an exception. This word first crossed my path while I was studying chemistry. Back then, I hated exceptions. They don’t follow the rules; they don’t fit the standards. But I’ve grown to love them. Why? Because the general pattern for over 99% of people is to follow, to blend in, to stay average.

I refuse this. And if you’re reading this, I suspect you do too.

To become an exception is a conscious decision. It’s looking at the path of least resistance and deliberately turning the other way. It’s the choice to operate on a different level, to push past what’s comfortable, and to embrace the grind that leads to extraordinary results.

The Idea of this Blog is to share my ambition and journey of becoming an Exception

Chapter 2: The Grind of Consistency

My journey into DSA began not with a grand ambition, but with a simple, almost trivial goal: solve just one LeetCode problem a day. That was it. No pressure, no complex strategy …just a commitment to show up. That single daily action, however, started a chain reaction. It snowballed into a 1250+ day active streak, landing me the Guardian badge on LeetCode, a status reserved for the top 0.5% of users.

This wasn’t about genius or some innate talent. It was about the raw power of consistency. It reminds me of Michael Phelps. We see the 28 Olympic medals, but we don’t see the five years he trained every single day, including weekends and holidays, when no one was watching. His greatness was forged in the routine, in the discipline to show up when it was hard.

This is the heart of James Clear’s “Atomic Habits.” He argues that you don’t achieve your goals by focusing on the outcome, but by building a system of tiny, daily habits. My goal wasn’t to become a Guardian; it was to solve one problem. By focusing on that small, repeatable action, I was casting a vote for a new identity: “I am a person who is consistent.” Eventually, these small votes compound until that identity becomes your reality.

I Started Small, Then I witnessed the snowball Effect

2022 — Just one Problem a day

2023 — Cant break the streak

2024 — Climbing the Rating Ladder

2025 — Feels like addiction now

Extraordinary Results for doing Simple Things

✨👕 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗵𝗿𝗮 𝗪𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! 🤝💫 On this auspicious…

Chapter 3: The Contest Arena

Contests are where theory meets pressure. It’s easy to get caught up in the ratings, to feel the sting of a falling rank, and to decide it’s not for you. But you must resist the rating trap. Your rating is a temporary data point; the learning is permanent. The most important thing you can do is show up, contest after contest, regardless of whether you feel “ready.”

The real growth isn’t in the two hours of the contest. It’s in the hours after. It’s in upsolving. This is the non-negotiable rule of improvement: go back and solve every problem you couldn’t finish during the contest. This is where you confront your weaknesses directly. Analyze the solutions of others. You’ll find new techniques and more elegant ways of thinking that will expand your own toolkit. Showing up to the contest is the entry fee; upsolving is where you collect your prize.

Chapter 4: Making Consistency a Habit

At first, a habit requires conscious effort. My daily LeetCode problem certainly did. But after a while, something shifts. The habit becomes ingrained in your identity. It feels less like a chore and more like a part of who you are.

I saw this happen again recently. I started doing the LinkedIn Zip game. I now have an active streak of over 150 days, and it doesn’t feel like an effort at all (Seriously what I am doing 🙃). It’s just what I do. It’s an automatic part of my day. I’ve also started a SIP, hoping my investments will compound as exponentially as my habits 🤑!

Chapter 5: The Magic of Compounding

When you start a new habit, you often enter what James Clear calls the “Valley of Disappointment.” This is the frustrating initial period where your efforts feel monumental, but your results are barely visible. You’re putting in the work, but your LeetCode rating isn’t moving. You’re showing up every day, but you still feel like an imposter.

This is the point where most people quit.

But if you keep showing up, something incredible happens. You break through the valley, and the magic of compounding takes over. Those small, 1% improvements suddenly start to stack on top of each other, leading to exponential growth. Your progress is no longer linear; it’s explosive. The key is to have faith in the process and to just keep showing up, especially when it feels pointless.

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Chapter 6: A Real-Life Exception: The Story of Gravit

I want to end with a real-life example of someone who embodies this entire philosophy: my friend Garvit Aggarwal, Please find the link below and find out how he forged himself to become an Exception

It's done. I am an exception now. A long wait comes to an end - one impossible task is now a reality. It's more than a…

Chapter 7: An Invitation

Becoming an exception is a choice you make every single day. It’s choosing the disciplined grind over passive consumption. It’s choosing to enter the contest arena when it would be easier to stay in your comfort zone. The path isn’t glamorous, and most of the work happens far from the spotlight.

But the consistency you build, the habits you forge, and the challenges you overcome are the very things that will separate you from the crowd. Keep showing up. Keep casting those daily votes for the person you want to become. Embrace the grind. That is how you become the exception.