Friday, October 6, 2017

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

We all have heard the story of the turtle and the rabbit. The world-famous race with the turtle winning because he moved slowly and carefully towards the end, while the rabbit took a nap. The rabbit was passed by the turtle for the victory. The moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the race, a concept I have never totally understood until lately.
            
            Growing up, I always raced through the jobs that I did. When it came to mowing the yard, I never left high gear. I was always racing back and forth as fast as I could. When the spring came, I always tried to go as fast as I could in the tractor to keep up with my father or grandfather, usually with no luck. I would always miss a spot in the field or break down and be in the shop while everyone else kept chugging along. Until about a month ago I truly kept believing that fast and steady was the way to work, but I just couldn’t make it pay off.

           
             At the beginning of September, I was introduced to a quote by Wyatt Earp, “Fast is fine but, accuracy is everything.” When I heard this, the story of the turtle and the rabbit… still didn’t make any more sense but rather I saw a little different way of going about things. You can still go fast, but if you slow down enough to be accurate then you are ahead at the end of the day. This idea was put to the test in my feedlot class, where for the day we were breaking cattle to lead. I wanted to rush through the process and get the cattle caught, but as we worked my instructor had us all slow down and take our time. As my classmates and I did as he said, the cattle moved easier and they worked quicker than they would otherwise. By moving a little slower we were able to go fasted and result in a better product. So maybe slow and steady does or doesn’t win, you can decide. However, as we move further into our school year and tests, projects, and daily tasks loom, I would like to pass on “Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything,” Wyatt Earp.

Chase Brinegar
Southeast State Vice President

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