Let us recall an age old but classic tale of the race between a rabbit and a tortoise, often narrated to influence the psyches of individuals into believing that slow and steady wins the race. As a child and until now, I have henceforth believed that it was the rabbit’s overconfidence that marred his chances of winning the race and ultimately the tortoise’s consistent efforts that kept him going. However, just imagine what if the tortoise had refused to participate in the race for the fear of losing. What if it had got intimidated by the rabbit’s fast pace at the very beginning? Would we still have the tortoise’s example to explain this very important lesson? Would we still be narrating this story to our children expecting them to learn from it and pass it on? No, right? What actually made this simple race so special and legendary was the tortoise’s courage to participate in it in spite of knowing that he had near 0 chances of winning. So from now on, my view of this classic english fable changes. It was because the tortoise had conquered his fear of losing and showed the courage of fighting till the end, it ended finishing the race as a victor and becoming a heroic figure.

Image source:
https://images.app.goo.gl/juPr6MspcuBBGxs28