Metaphor

At dawn the two began to work intensively. Within half an hour the two had managed to cut down 5 trees each. When there was little left before the end of the first hour, one of them stopped for a few minutes, which he repeated at the end of each hour. The other continued to work non–stop, cutting tree after tree, convinced that every minute of rest was wasted time. 

Thinking: “While he loses time, I keep moving forward and I will win the competition.”

By noon, the woodcutter who worked uninterruptedly had managed to cut down 33 trees. Although he started cutting 10 trees, the first hour his yield decreased and the last hour he only managed to cut 4 trees. On the other hand, his opponent had managed to cut 45 while maintaining a constant pace of 9 trees per hour.  Intrigued, the former asked him: “How is it possible? I worked non-stop and saw you rest several times.” The other smiled and replied, “I wasn’t resting. Every time I stopped, I sharpened my saw.”