If there’s one truth about life it’s this. You will be expected to compete for various things along the way.
In many instances, that competition will supposedly be against others. The reality is, that’s actually pretty much never the case.
It’s not that there aren’t others involved in many competitions, just that you’re not really up against them.
As hokey as it sounds, the person you’re consistently challenged to best, is yourself.
You may or may not, manage to outdo others in that contest as well. If you’re not doing the best you can manage, the chances of that happening, are slim.
I was inspired to talk about this as a result of issues I see in the modern day, here in the United States.
In my mind, there’s a concern with the general tenor of folks, when dealing with others, as well as within themselves.
This is certainly a result of what’s going on inside a lot of individuals, as such, that’s somewhat the place to start, where it’s concerned.
I’m not silly enough to think a video, podcast, or article, is going to change that in people, and I’m not at all interested in trying to shame them, either.
What am I trying to accomplish then? I would love to get others to examine where they are, figure out whether changes are called for, and determine exactly how to go about affecting them.
A large part of what I believe to be driving folks, can be counted to be external influence.
Whether that’s parents, siblings, friends, teachers, mentors, or whoever, is pretty much bside the point.
The important thing to remember is, you’re responsible for you. Others may be able to help you to make yourself, into who and what you want to be. Though that’s true, in the end, it’s on you to decide what’s good, desirable, and correct.
There’s nothing at all wrong, with working hard when you compete, unless your reason for vieing for success, is bad. If it’s not, the old expression, “Leave it all out on the field,” is entirely valid.
Here’s the rub. If you try, you will fail in all likelihood. There are those who rarely ever fail. For the most part though, I wouldn’t count on being one of them—not that it’s not a good thing to aim for, mind you.
That said, you’ll note the expression above, “rarely ever.” Even the most successful folks, have lost or will do so, at some point. From there, the question is whether or not they pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and move on.
If they do, the chances are good they’ll live to fight another day, in most cases. If not, well, I think you get the gist.
The simple reality is, you didn’t learn to walk, by not trying and failing, likely multiple times.
Put succinctly, if you continue to try, so long as your goal is reasonable, you may not succeed. Then again, you just might.
As I’ve stated, in not trying, you may not lose per se (though, technically, by default, you sort of do just that), but you shan’t win either most of the time.
Nobody likes to fail. It’s not as satisfying a thing, as succeeding, or winning. That said, it is something you must assume is going to occur.
In some things you do, there will be actual competition with others, obviously, in those situations, you can win, or lose.
Where you can count it winning, when you’re in competition only with yourself, you might just as easily refer to it as success.
The obvious point is, the words success and winning are not quite synonymous, thought they’re rather close to being so.
When competing agaist others, remember, it’s about you doing the best you can. Looking back doesn’t help when you’re not out front. It doesn’t really help when you are.
It doesn’t matter if the contest you’re in, is a track meet, a math test, a spelling bee, or just getting the job done first and most correctly, remember that it’s about doing your best, and not worrying about others.
You might be able to use the acts of your fellows, to help egg you on, or spirit you ahead, but that’s really the best that can generally be hoped for. That said, if you’re not “out front” in races against others, you’re not winning.
If you are ahead, run and run hard.
I have a bad tendency in the heat of things and after, to gloat. Thankfullly, I’ve mostly overcome it these days. I hope you can do likewise, if that’s an issue for you.
These days, I work hard to be humble—to realize rubbing people’s noses in things, is a bad idea.
On another topic, my Moderately Autistic son, tends to throw fits, when he loses (as well as gloat, on winning). Considering his Autism, he’s going to melt down at times. As well, he doesn’t always understand the result of his reactions.
As for me, and I think for most folks, we really have no such excuse. If we do behave in such ways, we need to learn to deal with the world in better, more proper manners, just like my son does.
When you gloat, or throw fits, you just make things worse, both for yourself, and for others.
I think the tendency to do such things is a sign of a larger problem, that being that folks are prone to react in emotional or empassioned ways; this seems particularly true for younger folks.
More often than not, this will only cause more or greater problems, since others are likely to respond badly as a result, and argue or disagree. Instead, it pays to be logical and understanding.
Remember too, what comes out is a sign of what’s within. As such we should be looking to “fix” those issues that are internal to us. This is what’ll result in a better outlook and response.
I say some other things in the video, but I want to try to keep this piece relatively short, so I’ll let you check it out, if you want to hear them.
Remember this, though. Healthy competition is a good thing. Responding badly to winning or losing? Not so much. If you’re a Christian, you need to work on giving things to God, and reacting humbly when you win, or succeed. If you’re not, you probably ought to work to root out frustrations, and learn how to release them in constructive ways. In the end, it’s about having peace inside.
Thanks for reading, and may your time be good.