How do you see yourself these days? Are you a tortoise or a hare? Are you impulsive? Or does it take you forever to make a decision? Have things changed for you over the years?
I found a great character lesson online from this simple story. This is from LatoyaEdwards:
What we learn from Hare:
Pride comes before the fall: The Hare’s main character flaw is his pride. It’s what makes him think it’s okay to take a nap during the race and ultimately costs him a victory.
Fast isn’t always best: Hare is sure that he’ll win because he’s fast. But being the best at something isn’t always about speed. My oldest son struggles with this during school work. He likes to speed through his assignments so he can get on to the next thing. Most of the time it ends up taking him twice as long because he makes a lot of mistakes
Boasting is not a good way to make friends: Hare liked to brag about his speed. So much so that most of the other animals didn’t want anything to do with him. My boys are just learning that boasting about what they are good at can make others feel sad.
Lessons from Tortoise:
It can be good to be the underdog: I love that the slowest animal in the forest is able to work hard and win the race against the fastest animal in the forest. I like to point out to my boys that they can do more than they (and others) think they can.
Hard work leads to success: Tortoise put in his hours of preparation to get ready for the big race. He got in shape and had a plan. I remind my boys that that need to work hard at their tasks in order to success
I remember when I was younger. I was definitely the Hare. I did not think before I jumped. I would rush into whatever I wanted just because I could. But things have changed. I guess I got burned a few times. And learned from my mistakes. Today I am more like the tortoise. I am not so fast to jump into new things. I am slower in thought and deeds and more purposeful in my activities.
What about you? Are you a tortoise or hare?
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