Day 41 Appearances Part 2 The Tortoise and the Hare

Not everything is as it seems. Take the tortoise and the hare. We all know the famous tale of the race between the two and how, although on paper no one would have believed that the tortoise would have won, we know that he did. His is a story of overcoming limitations and of perseverance, tenacity and keeping going. The hare’s story is about one with every physical advantage but who is lazy and sleeps whilst the tortoise walks past him and wins the race. So never judge a book by its cover. It’s what’s inside that counts. If the hare had had the same virtues as the tortoise, he would have easily beaten him. But he did not. He lost focus, got distracted, just wanting to enjoy sleeping out under the sun. Sometimes we don’t believe we can do what we are feeling called to do. We look around and see all the hares and on paper, they should get there ahead of us. However, when you feel like that, remember the good old tortoise. He put one foot in front of the other day after day after day. He lost sight of the hare who was so far ahead of him, yet he kept focused on the race and on not stopping until he was over the finishing line. He wasn’t distracted by everything going on around him. He had made up his mind to finish the race and he didn’t care what the odds were against him winning, he just followed his dream. He knew that it wasn’t his external appearance that mattered. It was what was inside. His character. His morals. His desire. His energy to succeed at what he had set himself to do. Those are the qualities and attributes which took him over the finishing line. It will often be the plodders in life who will achieve more than those with every physical advantage but who fall by the wayside, overcome with sleepiness. Remember this story and if you ever begin to doubt yourself, let the tortoise become one of your heroes.

Which areas of your life make you want to give up as you feel like a tortoise?

What do you believe are the parts of your character which have brought you as far as you have so far come?

Celebrate your strengths of character by listing them and pinning them on the fridge door. Celebrate these parts of yourself.