Slow but steady wins the race.
AesopRead
Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large misfortunes.
Interpretation
People find it easier to cope with major challenges than with small annoyances.
Aesop's quote highlights the human tendency to be more affected by minor grievances than by significant hardships. It suggests that everyday irritations can weigh heavily on individuals, often consuming more emotional energy than larger problems, which might be confronted with greater resilience and fortitude.
In practice
In a discussion about coping strategies, this quote could be used to illustrate how we often let small issues overwhelm us.
Slow but steady wins the race.
We often despise what is most useful to us.
The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagle's own Lures. We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction.
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
If you are a friend, why do you bite me so hard? If an enemy, why do you fawn on me?
The unhappy derive comfort from the misfortunes of others.
We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.
I think the Negro people should feel secure enough by now to face a reasonable ridicule without terror. I am unalterably opposed to all efforts to put down free speech, whatever the excuse.
After the Tiananmen Massacre, I felt compelled not only to continue writing but to actively resist the restrictions placed on freedom of speech. I set up the publishing company in Hong Kong, with offices in Shenzhen in mainland China, and managed to publish works of fiction, philosophy, and politics by unapproved authors.
Fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.... The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it. If you fail anywhere along the line it will take away your confidence. You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
As far as this business of solitary confinement goes, the most important thing for survival is communication with someone, even if it's only a wave or a wink, a tap on the wall, or to have a guy put his thumb up. It makes all the difference.
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