FEMOSPHERE

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is a short story from the children’s book “Aesop’s Fables.” The story depicts the two characters, the fast hare and the slow tortoise, competing in the race. The hare, who starts out fast and burns out towards the end, ends up losing the race.

Aesop’s Fables is considered “morality tales.” A collection of short stories that teach children different morals and values with practical applications. For the Tortoise and the Hare, the moral is very clear. Slow and steady wins the race.

Human nature tends to reject hard labor. As a collective, we resent the hard work needed to achieve our goals. Whether that be coming to work early and staying late or eating bland food and working out every day to hit our goals, we don’t appreciate the boring labor it takes to achieve big goals.

However, that boring labor is what paves the way for the goals to be achieved in the first place. If you got everything you wanted tomorrow, you would lose it quicker than you received it.

A whopping 70% of lottery winners end up broke within three to four years of their big win. This is because they reaped the rewards without putting in the labor. The labor is important because it teaches you the skills you need to manage the reward.

If you woke up and had your dream body, you’d have no idea how to maintain it. You would still have your regular habits and diet, and you would be back to your current body in a matter of months.

If you woke up with a million dollars in your bank account you would not value it as much as if you worked for it. You wouldn’t know the best ways to invest and multiply your money.

If you woke up and suddenly had your dream job, you’d probably get fired by the end of the week. Without the skills you gain from experience, education, and knowledge, you would have no idea how to maintain that position.

If you woke up as a famous celebrity, you would have no idea how to manage your money or the fame. You wouldn’t have the media training to know how to handle things like paparazzi or inflammatory interviews and hit-pieces.

The things that we learn along the way are what gives us the ability to maintain the rewards of our labor. This labor is an investment, not only in the initial reward but the maintenance of that reward. A desire to bypass all of the work should not be encouraged.