Slow and Steady Doesn’t Win the Race; but Fast and Steady Does.

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.