One Apple A Day #845 - Competition
I have a problematic relationship with competition. As a kid, I wasn't really made for sports. In any sporting event, at school or among friends, I was usually the name on the bottom of the leaderboard. Not to mention that I was the last one picked when making the teams for a match.
It hurt, so I began to keep myself out of any form of competition. When I couldn't avoid it, I learned to make fun and laugh about my poor performances.
Full disclosure; I still don't like to lose.
But I'm also not so rewarded, emotionally, by winning against someone else. Yes, it's a pleasurable feeling, but it's a fleeting one. Not strong enough to motivate me to do better or invest more energy.
So, competition is definitely not one of my strengths.
However, I can understand that a burning desire to win, to be better than the competitors, can be a massive boost for performances.
It is a trait of many great achievers.
My understanding though is that competition is healthy when we turn that need for competition inward, making it the fuel for our effort to be better than our yesterday's self.
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - E. Hemingway
Are you competitive? How is competition serving you?