Be Like The Flash: Slow Down…?
Why you should slow down when working toward a goal.
Welcome to EFFIGIES, a weekly newsletter offering actionable insights from my journey through reading and writing comics, designed to inspire you toward building a better life. To become our best selves, we must burn away who we are today.
What’s Inside:
Progress toward a unified approach to achieving goals.
Velocity vs. Sustainability.
Flash: The Human Race and The Tortoise and the Hare.
Approaches for making effort more sustainable.
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, trying to coalesce some of the less refined ideas that have been kicking around in my head. I’ve been trying to piece together a sort of “unified” theory of how I think about and approach goals and success, especially in my writing.
One of the topics, in particular, has to do with velocity. There was a time when I thought that going all-in and powering through a goal was the best approach. Yes, there are some instances where that approach can serve us well. Sometimes a sprint is the answer. In most cases, though, the binge model is at best unsustainable and, at worst, detrimental.
The Flash: The Human Race.
As I was thinking about all of these things, I went back and reread The Flash: The Human Race. Written by Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, with art by Paul Ryan, Ron Wagner, Pop Mhan, and Josh Hood, the story sees Wally West forced by god-like aliens into a cosmic race against another speedster for the fate of their worlds.
In typical Flash fashion, Wally leans on his speed to win the race. It’s a binge, brute-force approach to the problem, but after ten grueling days of running, Wally realizes that he can’t win, at least not like this – it’s not sustainable.
In a pivotal moment, Wally decides to slow down, stopping altogether. This is the Dark Night of the Soul scene for the story, where Wally thinks all hope is lost. But by stopping, Wally is able to catch his breath, reassess, and importantly, it provides a key moment for him to communicate with his rival, who is also an unwilling participant in the race. Together, after slowing down, they are able to find a solution.
I wouldn’t necessarily describe myself as a Flash fan, but there are many Flash stories I enjoy. A lot of the best stories stress the power of perseverance – if The Flash can just push himself to or past the limit, the day will be saved! But The Human Race takes a decidedly inverse approach and is illustrative of a counterintuitive tenet of making progress: going slow can be powerful.
The Tortoise and the Hare.
This lesson is reminiscent of the classic fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. Here’s a quick refresher on the tale:
A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.
"Do you ever get anywhere?" he asked with a mocking laugh.
"Yes," replied the Tortoise, "and I get there sooner than you think. I'll run you a race and prove it."
The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agreed. So the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off.
The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare, he lay down beside the course to take a nap until the Tortoise should catch up.
The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time.
The race is not always to the swift.
The Hare, confident in his speed, races ahead but becomes complacent and rests, assuming he has plenty of time to win. Unlike when Wally stops, the Hare is simply being cocky. The Tortoise, on the other hand, moves slowly but steadily, never losing sight of the goal. In the end, it is the Tortoise’s consistent, unwavering effort that secures victory.
The moral of the story is clear: slow and steady wins the race. This isn’t just a children’s tale; it’s a powerful reminder that consistent persistence (aka sustainability) often beats out velocity.
How to make effort sustainable.
The stories of The Flash in "The Human Race" and the Tortoise and the Hare both teach us that a slow and steady approach often leads to better outcomes. Whether you're racing to save the world or striving to achieve personal goals, consistency and sustainability are key.
The alternative – or the “Binge” approach – rarely works, and if it does, it comes at a cost. If you sprint at the start of a marathon, you may start off fast, but you’ll tire faster and lose any edge you’d gained. For dieting, we have tons of data showing that people who restrict their eating in extreme ways will eventually fail and, in many cases, end up heavier than when they started. In the world of investing, buy-hold strategies yield slower, but larger, returns than trying to beat the market. The truth is, achieving any goal will take time, and binging does not help you achieve any worthwhile goal.
The answer, then, is to find sustainable approaches. Making effort sustainable involves adopting strategies that allow for continuous, manageable progress. Here are some practical steps:
Set Small, Achievable Goals - As I wrote in the Micro-goals issue, breaking down your larger objectives into smaller, more manageable tasks makes achieving a goal easier. This prevents burnout and keeps you motivated. As James Clear suggests in Atomic Habits, focus on getting 1% better every day.
Develop Daily Habits - Consistent daily actions build momentum over time. Incorporate small habits into your routine that contribute to your larger goal. Remember, success is the product of daily habits, not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.
Celebrate Small Wins - Acknowledge and reward your progress along the way. Celebrating small milestones helps maintain motivation and keeps you focused on the long-term goal.
So, next time you find yourself tempted to rush, use a hack, or take shortcuts, remember these lessons and just pace yourself. It’s cliché, but life is a marathon and not a sprint – act accordingly.
- Frank
I’m Frank Gogol, writer of comics such as Dead End Kids, No Heroine, Unborn, Power Rangers, and more. If this newsletter was interesting / helpful / entertaining…
You can also check out some back issues of the newsletter:
After credits scene.
I usually use this section of the newsletter to make recommendations, but this week, I want to flip the script. Between reading and listening, I consume a lot of books. And while my backlog is ever-expanding, I like to get some outside perspectives too.
So, what are you reading right now? What have you finished recently? What’s a book that changed your life? Let me know by using the “comment” button below. Extra points for nonfiction!
Great point, Frank! I heard earlier this year "writing is a marathon not a sprint." It sounded so obvious and yet so powerful. I'd never thought of it that way. I wrote it on a Post-It note and left it on my computer monitor. Some days I don't feel like writing but I see that sticky note and it makes me think - some days I just need to do a little, even just 100 words or a few ideas jotted on a note card toward my story and it is something.
As for book recommendations, I recently read Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett which I enjoyed a lot.