Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Photo by Dušan veverkolog on Unsplash

You know the saying, “Slow and steady wins the race.” You most likely learned it in elementary school through the tortoise and the hare fable. It’s a valuable lesson that helps you in nearly any facet of your life that you’re trying to improve.

It is wise to follow this lesson. You’ll have the mindset necessary for achieving big goals.

But there is one element missing from this mindset. It’s implied in the lesson, “Slow and steady wins the race.” But it’s not outright stated.

So what is this missing element?

Consistency.

The act of putting one foot in front of the other. Over and over again.

It’s the secret sauce of any successful strategy for accomplishing goals.

Why?

Because consistency pushes you a little bit closer to your goals every day. This is a POWERFUL tool. Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of consistency. 

You can look at any professional musician, athlete, doctor, or any other person who is elite at a skill. They all got to where they are because of consistency. They showed up every day. Put in the work. And they refused to give up, even when it seemed like they were wasting their time. 

So, consistency combined with embracing slow, steady progress is the key to having a mindset for success.

The ideas described above are best summed by the words of the wise philosopher Confucius. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” -Confucius

Let’s use this quote to further explain how to accomplish any goal you have.

How to use this quote

Reaching big goals isn't easy. But it can be done.

It will take a significant amount of time. 

So, you must be prepared by having the right mindset. You must have patience.

Be in it for the long haul.

Don't expect fast results, as you'll become discouraged when you inevitably don't receive them.

Most people give up because they expect too much progress too soon. They get discouraged and quit, thinking they weren't good enough to achieve the results.

On a similar note, don't try to accomplish everything today.

Rushing the process will inevitably lead to errors. The faster you rush, the bigger the error may be.

Slow and steady work each day.

This means you should work at a sustainable pace for you. Push yourself to work hard. Use progressive overload and increase your workload as you go along. Do a little bit more than last time. 

But don't bite off more than you can chew. Know your limits.

Small, consistent steps every day beats a few giant leaps every once in a blue moon.

Consistency is the name of the game. Consistency builds momentum, which helps you apply progressive overload.

Wrapping up

So, if you want to achieve a big goal, you must break it into smaller components.

Don’t worry about reaching the goal today. Focus on what you need to do today to be a bit closer to your goal tomorrow.

Do a little bit of work to push yourself closer to your goal each day. This is how you’ll gradually build towards your goal.

Be patient and embrace the process.