Sloths are very unique animals that live in Central and South America. They are in the Pilosa order, which means that they are actually related to anteaters and armadillos. Fun fact: Skeletons of now-extinct sloths show that some species used to be the size of elephants!
As I’m sure you know, this creature has a reputation for being extremely slow. They move slowly, eat slowly, and even digest their food slowly. (It can take up to a month to digest their food.) However, sloths are amazing swimmers. They can swim about three times faster than they move on land and can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes.
The great thing about being a good swimmer is that sloths are able to (relatively) quickly cover more ground when they’re looking for a mate or a new place to stay. They do a sloth-version of the breaststroke as they move at about 18 feet per minute. Of course, swimming is essential to their survival, since sloths live in rainforests that are prone to seasonal flooding.
Sometimes, business requires us to take it slow and make sure that we don’t stumble on our way up the ladder. But there are other times that we know we’re in a solid position, we have just the right skill sets, and we need to get going. Take note from the sloth: know when to slow your roll and when to pick up the pace. We all need to do a bit of each at different times. Knowing how to apply yourself and which speed to use should be an ability that everyone should sharpen.
