In my junior classes, namely seventh and eighth, I started playing chess at the state and national level. This made me skip a lot of classes for chess practice sessions and thus it made my base for higher mathematics very weak. With Mathematics being a practical subject that requires conceptual clarity and a lot of practice, I had to sacrifice it in my pursuit of playing chess. This ultimately led to the lowering of my grades and invoked a fear of the subject in my mind. This influenced my decision of not opting for mathematics in eleventh and twelfth standards.
But when I realized that mathematics would play a vital role in my preparation for the MBA entrance exam, I went on to study it from the very beginning in order to understand the nitty-gritty required to solve any problem. All these efforts not only helped me get a good score in the exams but also helped me to get into my desired B-School in order to pursue my MBA. All these efforts even helped me to develop an interest in the subject.
My first major learning from this problem was that even after running away from my fear for years when I was finally forced to face it; the right amount of effort not only helped me overcome the fear but also made me push myself out of my comfort zone. So, I feel for every challenge all that is required is a continuous effort from our side.