Performance verses Progress

I always thought the moral of the Hare and the Tortoise story
was that 'slow and steady' wins the race. One day a child queried,
"Uncle, how come the hare was so stupid. Why didn't
he go to sleep after the finish line?"

That made me think, "Was hare plain arrogant? Or in his mind he
could not define winning? Maybe he gave no real importance to winning"?

Further I asked myself, "Pray, what is winning? Is it to do with
somebody else or self? Would the tortoise NOT WIN if he reaches
the finishing line after the hare? What would have happened if the
tortoise had worried about winning at the starting line? What if his
parents had told him, son, no matter what, you have to win?

What if we twist the ending to: When the tortoise reaches the
sleeping hare, he taps on his shoulder and says, "Wakey,
wakey, pal, we both have to win"!

Is performance more important than progress? Is whether I am
better than somebody more important or whether I am better
than what I was yesterday more important.
If life is all about performance, and I am in race with ten others,
all I need to be is better than these ten. Whether I can be still
better is immaterial. Moreover, if a twelfth person comes along
and beats us eleven does that mean I am defeated?

We all know, to score in many a test, all we need is the right information.
Knowledge and learning is irrelevant. Still we put emphasis on performance,
on winning. Ranks, grades, coming first in sports, drama et al is more
important than how much I learned, how much I became.

Isn't an extraneous value on a child's worth demeaning his character,
his potential? Doesn't performance consider only the end instead of the means?

Isn't it time we shift from performance to progress and reap
enormous benefits:

1. Freedom from Stress
Once a parent asked me, “Do you have any course for children to
handle stress before appearing in exams?” I said yes, only it is
for the parents to attend! Without the constant threat of 'failure',
there is actually a lot more room for success.

2. Self Esteem
Did I do my best, did I stretch myself beyond my limits, did I
enjoy doing it, and did I learn from it. Amen.

3. Freedom from Competition
Life is not a competition, so why live it like that. Life is about cooperation,
be it at home, at work or at community – let’s learn and teach that.

4. Freedom from Burn-out
Thankfully nature doesn't evaluate, it just elevates. If a tree doesn't
bloom one season, nature doesn't chop it down. It
simply waits for it to bloom next year.

5. Freedom from Short-Cuts
No cheating, no lying, no pulling the other person down, no favors,
no temptation to breach the integrity. The head is held high.

Is my worth as an individual with reference to others or with reference
to me? Is hare better then the tortoise, or just moving at a different pace?
 

By Ratnesh & Aditi Mathur
For www.geniekids.com

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