LEARNING ISN'T A SPRINT; IT'S A MARATHON
“The world doesn’t remember how fast your learn;
it celebrates the impact you make with your knowledge.”
Unknown
A
couple of days ago, in a session I was conducting for the underprivileged kids
(helping them to speak and write in English and motivate them to become better
human beings… Call it with its exotic name - ‘Personality Development’, if you
like!), there was this mother alongside her 11-yeal-old daughter. Mother worked
as a ward-maid in one of the local nursing homes and had realized her handicap
while interacting at her workplace in English. So, she was the most
enthusiastic and determined learner in that otherwise group of 20-plus kids.
The 11-year-old daughter studied in a local English-medium school. Thus, she wasn’t
facing the problem which her mother did. But, the level of motivation of the
mother was manyfold higher… She was absolutely determined to overcome her
handicap despite her hectic schedule at home and workplace… For daughter, there
was nothing to spur on… It was one more ‘class’, you see.
As I always do
during such sessions, that day, I had asked the participants to narrate the
childhood story of ‘The Rabbit and the Tortoise’ in, both, Past and Present
tenses. At the end, everyone had the
moral of the story ready: The slow and steady wins the race… Don’t be
overconfident… Don’t’ underestimate the strength of others… Aaram Haram hai…
and so on.
I saw the eyes
of the mother welled up… “Kya hua, madam?” I gently asked…
“Kuch nahin,
Sir,” she said with hesitation and a slight embarrassment.
After the session,
this woman stayed back. “Sorry Sir,” she said sincerely, “I found myself running
like that tortoise… It gave me hope.”
Obviously, the
mother wasn’t able to say this in English… But, her Hindi was poking me hard
saying “And, you their English teacher… Yes, you had Hindi in your school as a third
language. But, you have been living here in Mumbai for more than 45 years and
yet, you are nowhere near the finish line when it comes to speaking or writing in
Hindi.”
I
knew my own struggle to learn English. My medium wasn’t English and I was
dreading to open my mouth while interacting with English-speaking students. It
was during my degree college, that I had dreamt of becoming a fine teacher and
writer like my idol, Prof. B.S. Raman. Thus, to achieve my dream, I had to beat
my two handicaps – my poor English and my terrible stage fear… My faith had to
be stronger than my fears… It took many, many years - and consistent and
determined efforts - to overcome my handicaps. But, along this learning process,
I developed the expertise to help others to overcome their own handicaps… I
dedicated my life to do that.
Did the slow and
steady win the race?
Well, life – or the
process of learning - isn’t a ‘race’ at
all. That has to be learnt by each and every ‘Rabbit or tortoise’ in this world…
Speed can never
be the indicator of one’s potential. The mighty oak tree takes years to become ‘mighty’…
but, it goes on to live for centuries. Similarly, the legendary Chinese Bamboo grows
ninety-foot tall… but, to get there, it takes five years under the ground and just
six weeks above the ground…
The longer it
takes, the stronger it gets!
As the wise words
remind us: “Learning isn't a sprint; it’s a marathon… Pace yourself and
enjoy the ride.”
GERALD
D’CUNHA
Pic’s: Pixabay 2. Shutterstock
Video: Talent Recap (AGT)
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