One of the most renowned fables ever created is the one about the Tortoise and the Hare. The story is simple: the tortoise and hare run a race and by default the tortoise is significantly slower. The hare, acknowledging the tortoise’s handicap, becomes overconfident during the race; hare then decides to take a nap upon obtaining a clear lead. When the hare eventually wakes up, to its distraught, it discovers that the tortoise had already won the race. So when exactly does a tortoise surpass a hare?
Story of a Tortoise
This thought first came about after I’d stumbled across yet another article where commenters attacked millennials for their choices in life. The article spoke about a single guy in his 30s who lives with his parents and managed to save $930,000; he’d managed to do so in 10 years with the goal of retiring early.
My initial thought on the story was to commend the guy for his accomplishment. Many people, however, saw it differently. They preferred to downplay what was accomplished and went on and on about the “negatives”. They just could not seem to let go of the fact that the guy was still living with his parents. All in all, they essentially believed he should be ashamed of himself.
To be or to not be a Hare
Whether the comments that follow some of these articles are real or not is another story. What’s definitely real, however, is the amount of hatred that is commonly expressed to anyone who refuses to be like a hare based on what is deemed acceptable by the (m)asses. It’s even more interesting that most of society seems to prefer being a hare. And this is despite the popularity of sayings such as “haste makes waste” and “the race is not to the swift”. Because “being a hare” seems to be so attractive, it’s worth properly evaluating what it typically means to be one.
A hare is like that independent man or woman who seems to grab life by the cahunas; they always gives the impression that they have their s**t together. They’re the go-getters of the world. At any given point it can come across like such people are doing something new or better. They just consistently reek of success. Based on this, the majority of people aspire to be hares.
To put it into clearer perspective: hares are like celebrities or high level business execs. They may own a house, car and family by the age of 25. Some may have a truckload of degrees and work experience and believe that sleep is for the dead. Hares are always busy and often for good reason.
What makes a Tortoise
Tortoises, on the other hand, are generally much less celebrated. Everyone knows a tortoise is slow. Watching them run (or crawl) is almost the same as watching paint dry. They can appear to take their precious time in life and not much seems like it’s happening year after year.
Examples, from a real life perspective, would be people who delay having a family past their 30s; those who seem to hold onto the same job for too long; and those who have little interest in traveling the world or entering new relationships. And of course, like the opening example way above: those who don’t seem that eager to move out of their parents’ house. Losers they call them; yet in the story about the tortoise versus the hare it’s the “loser” who actually wins the race.
Don’t hate the player, hate the game
Perhaps there is only one reason so many people become angry when someone finds atypical ways to win in life. Perhaps it’s because they feel as though the individual cheated and does not deserve the fame. But the same can be said about a hare that was born with superior genes. Genes that allow the hare to naturally be able to move multiple times faster than the competition; yet it’s almost like no one seems to consider that this too may not be fair.
People’s fascination with taking the fast lane in life is far-reaching. And if you want absolute proof of this, you only need to ask yourself one question. What’s the most popular event at The Olympics? Hands down, it’s the 100m men’s sprint. Everyone just can’t wait to know who will walk away with the title, “the fastest man on earth”. Meanwhile in comparison, the average person barely remembers the name of the person who wins the marathon.
When haste makes waste
There is constant hype about making swift movements and consistently trying to move forward while racing against a clock. However, there are usually some unseen drawbacks in trying to live life too quickly. Yes, the average person attempts to race through life because they feel that time is running away. But in doing so they constantly make more and more critical mistakes in the long run; this occurs due to lack of planning.
They prefer to be daredevils and just claw their way through everything: “yah yah, wah, rahhhhhhhhhhh!”—like a true wolverine. It usually works for a while until they eventually meet up a foe with an impregnable armor. And this foe forces them to play defensive until they can hopefully figure out a way to defeat the opponent.
When the going gets tougher
In the real world, you can consider the “wolverine metaphor” to be like a naive newlywed couple. Such a couple might have moved out of their parents’ house at 22; their combined monthly income is $5000; they have a mortgage of $4000; three children need to be taken care of; they are in debt of $100,000 with student loans and living in the most expensive country in the world. They may be “struggling yet making it” but for how long?
It’s not that it’s impossible to make it by doing what you need to do till better can be done; however, it’s a much tougher fight for no real benefit but to say you fought really hard and made it. And this is providing that you actually do so without eventually being crushed by life. This is also all being said knowing that many Baby Boomers and Gen Xers are probably collectively rolling their eyes at this point. But people continue to overlook one very important fact. It is wrong to believe that there is only a single path to winning in life.
More than one way to win
Yes, life is all about working hard, making swift decisions, being courageous and taking risks. And in life there will always be ups and downs, which you must navigate. After all, it is the only way you can come out on or remain on top. But these are not the only factors.
Do you know how much discipline it can take to generate almost $1 million dollars? Now try to thoroughly imagine doing so using nothing but your salary? Forget all the conditions that the money may have been accumulated under. Just look at the discipline. It’s the same level of discipline the tortoise had when it was up against the hare. Knowing the advantages it was facing it never once gave up. It continued to move forward, slowly and steadily even while understanding it was unlikely that victory would be attained.
Now one can’t help wonder, what would have happened if the hare had never stopped to take a nap? Perhaps the hare may have actually won the race. Perhaps. But it still would not have taken away from one simple fact. Irrespective of what the hare did or didn’t do the tortoise still moved forward.
Admittedly, there are downsides to being either a tortoise or a hare. Some hares succeed at what they do; some succeed and then burn out midway. And some are forced to keep running in the fast lane to stay in the race. A tortoise, on the other hand, takes much longer to reach its destination. And is still not guaranteed to succeed after its prolonged efforts.
When Tortoises win
A tortoise surpasses a hare the moment it stops trying to run like a rat in race; it wins when it starts thinking things through before moving at its own pace. People may make a mockery of the 30-something year old guy above who lives with his parents. But a guy in 30s with a million dollars plus unwavering discipline can attain ultimate freedom for life. This is the same freedom many desperately hope to achieve one day. And it is this freedom that will forever evade most people or (if they’re lucky) they may obtain it when it’s too late.
To all the tortoises in the world who are moving slowly but are progressing in life, just ignore the naysayers. The moment you accomplish what the majority of people will fail to do is the moment you would be respected.
People really do fear what they do not understand. It’s just a shame that they also don’t seem to understand another fact. A disciplined tortoise may quicker help them move forward compared to the hare only concerned about first place. You tend to be proud being seen as second when you know that one day you will unquestionably be first.
