We have all heard or read this story before, since we were young. I can still vividly remember my kindergarden teacher, reading and teaching about this story during one of the story telling sessions. But recently I was reminded of this story, and I began to realise how true and applicable this tale can be even in the context and society we live in today.

This life that we live, is a race. The day you were born, it already started. There is a beginning, and of course there is an end. But let's set things straight, there are many type of participants in this race. All of us run this race with different strategies. I'll use animals as an analogy. In the case of this story, of the tortoise and the hare. This are two very different kind of animals.

Hare: Hares are very fast-moving. The European Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) can run at speeds of up to 72 km/h (45 mph).

VS

Tortoise: tortoises are frequently depicted in popular culture as easygoing, patient, and wise creatures, snapping turtles aside. Due to their long lifespan, slow movement, sturdiness, and wrinkled appearance, they are an emblem of longevity and stability in many cultures around the world. Tortoise are one of the slowest land living creature. Even the huge Galapagos tortoise walks slowly, the average long-distance walking speed of 0.3 km/h (0.18 mph).

As the story goes- One day a hare saw a tortoise walking slowly along and began to laugh and mock him. The hare challenged the tortoise to a race and the tortoise accepted. They agreed on a route and started off the race. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race.

He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise, plodding on, overtook him and finished the race. The hare woke up and realized that he had lost the race.

So there it was, the fastest gerbil losing to on of the slowest animal in the world! What was the mistake that the Hare made? I mean, he could have easily won. But the reason why the hare lost was due to complacency. He was overconfdent! Many times, we make that same mistake. We remain in our comfort zone. Everything is going well, laziness sips in. And that is the worst mistake anyone can ever make.

But see, even though the tortoise was not the best choice, not the most talented. He had one key that made him a winner, he was determined. He may not have started well, I mean he was way behind! Was he discouraged? SURE! But never once did he thought about giving up. Instead he chose to be persistent. And as the famous saying goes "slow and steady wins the race".

Many people feel that they are not good enough, like that tortoise, they feel weak and inferior. "ar! I'll never make it to the end". Negative thoughts starts to flood their mind. However, the battle was only lost when they chose to give up. No one can make us stop running this race, they may hinder us, distract us but never stop us. We make the choice to pause or to keep on keeping on.

Don't we all love stories of people finishing the race even when they are injured, handicapped (e.g. Terry Fox)? Why is that so? He did not emerge 1st position in the race. But it was the determination that inspired us. The never-say-die attitude, even though he was in pain, handicapped. See, it is not how we start that matters, it is how we end.

-i'm willing