A lesson I keep having to learn and relearn
“We live in a culture full of hares; but the tortoise always wins.” - Dave Ramsey
The tortoise and the hare are such a good story for children and people, but it also has a lesson to teach as well. I have always loved this story when my mom used to tell it to me, and I always find myself coming back to the lesson it has in regard to working fast and messy rather than slower and doing the best job and the right job, which will result in the outcome you want. I understand this lesson very well and it can be used in many different scenarios throughout life and work. “We define goals, become excited, pursue them with fervour, and, then all too often, get distracted and forget them, don’t finish them, and leap into the next challenge.”(Brookes) I have been on both sides of the situation many times in my life, but I always come back to the story to give me a sense of reality and what I need to do. I have used this lesson many times as a student with my classes and it has helped me throughout college to do my best work and work on my time management to set goals to get assignments done. “The story teaches us the virtue of setting and maintaining a pace to achieve our goals.” (Brookes)
Throughout college I have not always been the tortoise, with a lot going on outside of my classes, it was hard to balance everything out and find the time to do my best work. This was not in my favor because the work ended up being sloppy and I had rushed what I was doing. The hare was the way I was doing things for a while before I met some great people that reminded me of the lesson. Once I had gotten back to the tortoise, I started to plan things out more and become more organized. “The tortoise represents our overall, goals and the planning required to achieve them. These are not goals that can be completed tomorrow. You must set a pace for yourself to reach these landmarks by breaking them down into smaller, more easily attainable goals.” (Brookes) Using my support systems around me I started to become a better student, designer, and even person, and it had showed in my work, my interactions with professors and people, and I could start to plan.
This lesson has taught me a lot and I will always come back to it when I become a hare again but another lesson that is also important from the story is to not worry about how fast the other is going, just race at your own pace. This can be used in the design field by designers that feel as though they are not as good as others because they are not fast enough, because there will always be people who work fast and do not do a good job but somehow look good with business. It is important to focus on your design skills and do your best work rather than let others get in your head about yourself. “This experience may not bring speed per se, but it does bring a greater ability to reflect and put into perspective what is happening around you and respond quickly.” (Brookes)