SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE

   We must progress by steps. We cannot reach our goal overnight. This requires making slow and steady efforts in achieving what we have set out to achieve in life. This is amply illustrated by the story of the hare and the tortoise.

   Tortoises are known to be slow. They take a lot of time to cover even a short distance. On the other hand, hares are known to be fast runners. They cover long distances in a very short time. They are confident of their speed.

   Once a hare challenged a tortoise to a race, knowingthat he was sure to win the race. He was fast and the tortoise was slow. They decided on a finishing point and at the appointed time they set off. The hare took giant strides and soon overtook the slow tortoise. On the way, he decided to rest for some time to allow the tortoise to keep pace with him. After he had rested for some time, he saw the tortoise approaching him. The hare ran fast and decided to rest at the next stop to wait for the slow tortoise.

   This happened number of times on their route. Somehow the hare slept longer than he had planned at the last stop and the tortoise overtook him. By the time he woke up, the tortoise had already reached the finishing line. The slow moving tortoise had own the race against the first running hare because he was slow and steady in marking process towards his goal, whereas the hare lost it because misplaced self-confidence.