You already know the story of the Rabbit and the Turtle. Turtle challenges Rabbit to a race. Rabbit mocks Turtle for being too slow. Getting too confident that he’ll win the race, he took a nap. Too long a nap. By the time he woke up, Turtle was ahead of the finish line. Moral of the story? Don’t get too confident. Never underestimate your opponent. And most importantly, no matter the pace of your journey, consistency matters. I would have ended it there. But a part of me wants to expound on consistency and the difficulty in keeping pace with the present world.
Despite entering software development, I was seldom a fast thinker and decision-maker. I would always ask for relevant data and context. To keep my decisions informed and sound. But that takes time. And time in the software development industry is precious. Amplified by the proliferation of code assistants and AI agents, expectations for how much time software must be delivered are lower than ever. And that pressure can sometimes be a bit too overwhelming for others, including me.
A few times, my self-esteem was affected. For being told that I’m “hinay” (slow) at deciding or preparing things. Or being told to analyze a problem at work, and ended up thinking too long without uttering an answer. It’s why I cope by preparing in advance. To plan things out so that I don’t often place too much thought. But even that has its limits. I can still fail, fall short. But I keep trying anyway. And that’s the difficult part: to keep going even if almost everyone tells you or makes you feel otherwise.
Keep going.