The Hare and The Tortoise

The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals. "I have never yet been beaten," said he, "when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to race with me."

The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."

"That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you all the way."

"Keep your boasting till you've beaten," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we race?"

So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap.

The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race.

Then said the Tortoise: "Plodding wins the race."

Moral of the story: Perseverance is surer than swiftness.



This story has been told many times in many different ways, but the premise is always the same. Select your goal, focus on it, and steadily work toward achieving that goal. If you race toward it, you will miss many important points along the way that could help you out. More importantly, you will have used up so much energy in trying to get done quickly, you will burn yourself out, or may believe the task is too difficult. Instead of completing your goal, you'll turn away from it and quit. Follow the tortoise's motto... slow and steady wins the race.