Slow and Steady Doesn’t Win the Race; but
Fast and Steady Does.
The famous Aesop’s Fables narrates how the Hare
was defeated by the Tortoise in their race. It's because the Hare took a nap
when the Tortoise passed by. The fable being read, every man was and is being
indoctrinated the phrase “Slow and
steady wins the race.” However, considering all other factors remaining
same; slow and steady never wins any race in any man’s life, but fast and
steady does. Therefore, “slow and steady
wins the race,” should be written and
read and understood as “fast and steady wins the race.”
A
child who learns faster and steadier always has more accolades than the one
whose pace is slower and steadier. If a slower and steadier wins, that’s an
accidental, indeed. It's doubtless that a man who is a hare like marathoner
will cross the finish line much earlier than the tortoise like. It's a team
that plays swift that wins the game and not the one that plays otherwise.
Who would expect a slow learner to top the examination at
the end of the year? Such a weird expectation would always remain an
expectation, and never be realised. Unable to grasp fast what the teacher
teaches, by the time the slow learner understands the concepts, the fast
learner would reach the next level. By then, the difference between the two
extremes is unimaginably conceivable. There is no hope for the slow learner
catching hold of the fast learner. While the slow learner is a river that
meanders through the valleys and takes longer time, the fast learner is a
waterfall that reaches earlier.
If Usain Bolt had run slower and steadier and competed
with others who sprinted faster and steadier during the 2012 Olympics, there
could have been no hope for the Jamaican adding coveted gold to his CV. You may
argue that he does so and still wins every competition. It may be true; it may
just be true. But, the fact is that, all the competitors, knowingly or
unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, might have gotten shadowed by the
phrase “slow and steady wins the race”.
I'm sure the following example won't be as convincing to
the point to you as it's to me. Chelsea FC deserves to sit on the top of the
EPL table this season, as of now. They have been playing consistently good
throughout the season. Who would have expected Manchester United to be on the
top of the table at this time of the season? No. Not a single soccer fans would
have. Not you and not I. They have been playing clumsily the whole season. If
Manchester United continue the same inelegant plays, neither would you and nor
would I expect them out running Chelsea FC.
The phrase “slow
and steady wins the race” simply makes a man complacent. Therefore, if a
man is to win the race, he should run faster and steadier and not slower and
steadier.
Slow and steady doesn’t win the race; it's fast and steady that does.
Slow and steady doesn’t win the race; it's fast and steady that does.
