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| Everything is a competition.. Everything! |
Taking first place in any tournament or sporting event, whether its for your team or just yourself is a powerful feeling. Having won several tennis tournaments myself, I can attest to the high and elated emotions I felt from the overwhelming sense of victory and accomplishment. Participating in a sport or competitive activity (chess club, debate team, video game LAN tournament, etc.,) is not only an excellent way to put your skills to the test, but also to engage yourself in a competitive mind frame. Sports is not the only way to compete however. We're constantly competing in our daily lives. Whether its racing around an overfilled parking lot to get a spot or arguing an opinion with a fellow student, coworker, or colleague, we are all essentially trying to do the same thing: Win, win, win.
From the moment we began our semi-existence as sperm, we begin our journey by overcoming numerous challenges (and wrong turns) and fighting past millions of other less worthy brethren to finally reach the highly elusive egg. Just the fact that you're reading this proves that you're a winner just like the other 6 billion other winners out there today. However, lets put things into their proper perspective: just because you've won your local tournament, doesn't automatically make you a champion.
Life is one big competition! Think about that for a second.
Our ancestors competed to secure food, shelter, clothing and protection. In some countries groups of people are still competing to secure these things. In today's modern age, most of us don't have to compete for these things. In fact, as citizens of an industrialized society, we don't really have to compete for the basics of food, shelter and clothing. So what are we competing for and why is it important to give this matter further consideration?
Competition = survival. Darwin's theory of evolution deemed that the strongest survived and went on to reproduce while the weak perished to be soon forgotten. Therefore in order for our species to survive and thrive, the strongest (not necessarily physical strength) and most capable specimens, the winners so to speak, would ultimately excel beyond the general population and reproduce, thereby creating a new generation of even more capable offspring, and so on and so forth. This is however, not how things work.
Why are the most attractive (and often times dumbest) women usually hanging off the arms of wealthy men (often times 20 years their senior)? Why do wealthy men tend to act superior and have an aura of authority? Why do handsome men often times mate with unattractive women? Why is social class, money, and material possessions such an important variable when it comes to success?
Again, because competition = survival. It is perceived that ones chances of survival are exponentially increased if they mate with a winner. A successful business person's family typically won't go lack in clothing, food or shelter. Even beyond that, such a family will be capable of providing opportunities and benefits in health, education, and lifestyle among other things.
A wealthy family will usually have well educated children who eventually grow up to become highly competent wealthy individual themselves. Low income families on the other hand, won't be able to offer the same opportunities to their children and therefore their offspring will typically grow up to having the same socioeconomic status as their parents. This is what many refer to as the "cycle." Sadly, most people are unable to break free from this cycle and are doomed to live a mediocre life (which doesn't necessarily mean they're unhappy) without the opportunities to grow and expand the opportunities for future generations. A few however, recognize their humble beginning and long for more, often achieving a great deal of success throughout their lifetimes.
Recognizing that everything in life is a competition helps us to identify the rules of the game, and more importantly, the strides necessary to succeed at it. Most high schools and colleges rank students based on their grades and performances. Companies assign roles, titles, and levels among their employee base. Olympic athletes are assigned gold, silver, and bronze. Look around! There are established and systematic ranking systems in place everywhere!
Tune your television to a nature or animal program and what do you see? Males fighting males, locking horns or gashing one another with their claws in a fight for superiority. Penguins and other mammals selectively screening out potential mates to determine whom to breed with. Birds fluffing their breast feathers to make themselves appear more attractive, stronger, and capable. The funny thing is that, we humans, as a fellow animal species, are not so different.
We need competition in order to grow as individuals. After all, if there were no medals in the Olympics, would the games even exist? Our need to test ourselves against the wits and abilities of others is a necessary function of our existence. If we didn't have competition, what would we be working or striving towards? Competition pushes us to become smarter, faster, stronger, and better. It prevents us from becoming stagnate and complacent. Our desire to achieve and succeed are rewarded through an inexplicable sense of accomplishment and fulfillment when we're classified as victors.
Always remember that whether you choose to or not, YOU ARE in a competition! You are constantly competing to survive (providing sustenance for you and your family, earning an income, receiving a promotion at work, getting a high mark in school for future opportunities, etc.,)
I once had a coach tell me the following, "Coming in second place simply means that out of all the losers, you were number one."
That stuck with me. We should never feel content with taking second place in anything. Just as my coach used to tell me, 2nd place is the 1st place loser. What an amazing concept. If we begin feeling content with taking 2nd place, what's the point of competing anyways? Nobody enters a tournament hoping they can at least take second place. No, everyone is aiming for the first place prize. Second place just means you have to work harder for the next event or opportunity. Second place means you are not a champion.
Don't settle for the backseat in your life. Take control of it and compete to better yourself and your family. Consider your schoolmates, coworkers and fellow humans as competitors. There's no need to have animosity towards these people. After all the best competitors use the strengths of those around him/her to improve his own abilities. Develop a healthy competitive spirit in every and all endeavors you choose to undertake. Don't eve be completely happy with your results.
Push yourself and take the first prize in your pursuits! (If you attain it, don't forget to be humble) Not only will you become a better person, but as a latent effect, you will be contributing the future of mankind.
-Victor
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Posted by VictorHK on 2009-10-29 14:49:05 | Rating: | Views: 24
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