Speed Racer Print

the story

The cheetah is known for being fast, achieving running speeds of up to 70 miles per hour. But what most people don’t know is that the cheetah can’t maintain those speeds for long. In fact, a cheetah spends little of its time running. It needs to recuperate and build up energy for the next hunt. If a cheetah doesn’t run, it cannot eat. But if the cheetah doesn’t rest, it cannot run. If the cheetah spent all its time doing what it does best, it would die.

The rest is just as important as the chase.

How much there is to learn from the cheetah! We have the running part down. We’re good at racing from one commitment to the next. But the resting part, that’s where we falter.

We celebrate hustle but are afraid of the hush.

A respite from the harried busyness that wears down our immune system is not a luxury. It’s an absolute necessity. If you don’t make time to rest, life has a way of forcing you to, and it might not be in a manner you’d prefer.

We need to model the rhythm of the cheetah. She knows that she can’t run all the time, even if it is the thing she does best. Like the cheetah, we all need time to catch our breath. To just be.

And to make sure life doesn’t speed by you before you’ve ever had the chance to figure out where you want to go.