So, I have this â??friendâ??â?¦this chick whoâ??s very, I guess you could call it a combination of sensitive-feminine-spiritual-happiness-my-religion, or at least she tries her absolute best to convey to everyone that’s who she is. Sheâ??s one of those people who are constantly quoting positive messages and making lists of things like â??the top ten things happy people doâ??. In other words, she gets her philosophy from motivational banners on Pintrest.
Needless to say, these little nuggets of positivity are constantly showing up on her FB page and in turn, in my news feed. 99 out of 100 I ignore, but itâ??s that one every one-hundred Iâ??m tempted to make a snide comment on and every now and then I just canâ??t help myself.
It was something about â??not being competitive with anyone but myselfâ??, followed by a bunch of yadda-yadda-yadda about how itâ??s not about competition or winning, and some more boo-boo bah-bah, pink daisies and butterflies, and then it ends with â??Iâ??m me and Iâ??m freeâ??.
I didnâ??t say anything rude, but commented on how I love competition (with myself, and against others) and thatâ??s what drives me to do my best. I donâ??t try to â??just finishâ??, I try my absolute best to finish first. Of course her reply was â??whatever works for youâ??, and I wasnâ??t expecting nor wanting an argument or debate. But I just felt like saying not all of us are just content to show up to the race.
Some of us want to win. Even if the odds are stacked against us we still want to take home the prize and weâ??ll do our best to make that happen. Weâ??re not crushed if we donâ??t win. But at the same time, we go with the mindset of winning and taking it all.
Iâ??m all on board with competing against yourself. I love a new PR as much as the next guy and feel great when I beat my old self. Iâ??m also happy to beat someone who I perceive as either better than me, or an equal. I think â??winningâ?? or proving yourself better is a great feeling.
I canâ??t remember the last time I placed first in any sort of competitionâ?¦I got a first place trophy as a teenager in board breaking at a Tae Kwon Do tournament. But Iâ??ve yet to win a 5k, or hold a record at the gym for most weight lifted or reps. But the other day when I out-squatted my younger and stronger partner, I felt pretty awesome. He later went on to beat me in some other things that day, but for that moment when I showed himâ?¦it was great.
I guess as a man, it feels good to win or to be better. And as long as youâ??re not a dick about it, great. When someone tries to disregard competition, like itâ??s a negative aspect to what we do in life, I think theyâ??re dulling one of our natural survival instincts.
Iâ??m reminded of a great quote from World War Z, the book not the movieâ?¦
America is a very all-or-nothing society. We like the big win, the touchdown, the knockout in the first round. We like to know, and for everyone else to know, that our victory wasnâ??t only uncontested, it was positively devastating.
