History is one of our greatest teachers. The experience and wisdom of others serve as a guiding light on the new paths we forge. The Parable of the Tortoise and the Hare is a well-known parable.

You’re familiar with the basic story, a hare ridicules a slow-moving tortoise. Annoyed with the ridicule the tortoise challenges him to a race. Being obviously unequal in speed the likelihood of the tortoise winning looks slim. With the hare speeding ahead he soon leaves the tortoise behind. Feeling very confident of his ability to win the hare takes a nap midway through the race.

However, when the Hare awakes he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, has arrived before him.

The obvious, and most common, take away is that slow and steady wins the race.

I disagree.

The fact is the tortoise didn’t win the race because he was slow, he won in spite of being slow.

He won because he was steady.

Through our lifespan, we are constantly changing. We feel on top of the world at one moment and crushed by its weight the next. Do not let situational rollercoasters of emotions dictate your dedication to being steady.