by Aesop
A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.
“Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a mocking laugh.
“Yes,” replied the Tortoise, “and I get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you a race and prove it.”
The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agreed. So, the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off.
The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare, he lay down beside the course to take a nap until the Tortoise should catch up.
The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time.
The race is not always to the swift.
This old childhood fable about the hare and the tortoise is a reminder to us that we should not compare ourselves to others or be fazed by the speed they are moving at. You are going to come across people who seem to be achieving every goal they set, everything they touch seems to turn to gold and this may make you feel small and that you are moving too slow. But remain focused on you. Your journey is yours and does not anybody else’s. Focus on achieving your goals and as the story says, the race is not always for the swift, you might be surprised that in the end you have achieved so much more.
This bible verse from Ecclesiastes sums it up well.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NIV) says I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.
