I am sure we all grew up listening to the story of the tortoise and the rabbit. The moral of the story is, ‘Slow and steady wins the race.’ I have always wanted a moral in which the rabbit could win the race being a little more cautious about the number of breaks and naps he took! Being a tortoise and toiling away endlessly to win the race did not appeal to me.
When the author, Dr. Dweck was asked the same question, I was pleased to note that she never wanted to be the tortoise either! Even I never want to be the tortoise, even though the tortoise wins the race. And resonating my sentiments, the author explains, “No, we wanted to be a less foolish hare. We wanted to be swift as the wind and a bit more strategic-say, not taking so many snoozes before the finish line.”
True dat! I thought!
I did not want to end up feeling that as a tortoise I can only win if I compete with a not so intelligent hare! And even if I win the hare can always give me a sense of dread because, if next time the hare decides to play it smart, then I know I am a definite loser, despite my hard work and incessant plodding! Effort only pays off if the talented don’t put in their full potential, this was what the story was telling me, and it did not sit well with me.
“It reinforced the image that effort is for plodders and suggested that in rare instances, when talented people dropped the ball, the plodder could sneak through…It never occurred to me that they might be just as smart and more hardworking! For me it was either-or, and it was clear I valued the either over the or.”
It is not as limited as the story tries to embed into us, either you have the talent, or you expend effort. I choose a mix of hard work and intelligence!
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