What does “slow and steady wins the race” REALLY mean?

I mean come on.

There comes a point where some quotes need a little more explaining. Slow cannot possibly win the race because racing is all about speed. They’re all about whoever crosses the finish line first, wins. Period.

Obviously this isn’t the case here and I think the reason why is because of our definitions of winning. Let’s zoom out and look at the race not as a track, but as a timeline. That timeline will show our journey to happiness. So the slower ones take more time to be happy and the fast ones are satisfied instantly.

Also, let’s use the classic tortoise and the hare example:

Let’s say, tortoises are people in life who have bumpy beginnings. Daily life is a struggle either because they just don’t understand everything or they’re still finding their way but regardless, they don’t give up. They were never taught how to win the race quickly (but maybe that’s a good thing). They don’t know any shortcuts and take everything head on.

The hare on the other hand, is a metaphor for people that only know shortcuts. Why participate in clubs or extracurricular activities when all you need is credits? Why fall in love and work on a relationship, when I can just sleep with new girls every night. They haven’t encountered any bumps along the way because well, they simply avoided them.  

Winning in this case would be a metaphor for learning. Although the tortoise has stumbled on rocks, gone up hills, through caves, under mountains, he’s truly learned valuable lessons because he experienced them. And although he’s having a hard time finding his way, he’ll get there eventually. 

Meanwhile the hare, avoids obstacles. He wants a simple, easy life. He goes around mountains, he goes downhill, and avoids rocks because he doesn’t want to bleed. The hare doesn’t want to experience valuable lessons. He wants instead to read them in a book and never truly learn them.

Although he’s first to the finish line, who really won the race?

The tortoise won because he experienced the rough end of living. He’s learned from it and strengthened himself. He’s 100% learned priceless lessons through pain and work and looking back he’ll be forever grateful. The hare however, has ended the race in the same state he started it. He’s learned nothing. For him, this was just a race.

 

Now comes the important part, how can we apply this lesson to our life?

Do we want to be a tortoise or a hare? Do we want everyday to be like the last or do we want to live and experience? Do we want to avoid the bumps in the road or do we want to trip and fall on them and get up better than before?

I’m a tortoise and I say be proud of anything rocks you stumble on. I say be proud of any hills you go up and any mountains you climb. Be proud of any pain you’re going through right now. Remember: you’re going through a tough time because you dared to tackle it on, whereas other have avoided it. 

If you agree with me, drop a like. If not, argue with me in the comment section. Either way, make sure to follow to read my next post on Tuesday!