Don’t compete with anyone. Let everyone compete with you. When you compete with others, you're living up to their standards, not your own. Don’t compete, perform at your highest standard and do your best.
In my writing work I'm mostly trying to approach competitiveness as a vehicle towards self-esteem; being able to adapt the mindset of a competitor (and having the experience of working towards a goal) feels like a victory I can earn "for me."
I guess where I'm stumbling is that thought that I could always bes pending my time better, and the idea that "competing against the person I was yesterday" never seems satisfying, because I'm not giving myself the credit actually doing valid work in that time.
I feel like this piece comes from the position of high self-esteem (not sure if you equate that with your "high ego/low ego" definitions or not); there doesn't seem to be much questioning of the motivations, the validity of the motivations, or a negative perception of self along that journey. I realize you've only volunteered a small side of yourself in the anecdotes here, but would love for you to write on that if you have it in you.
I think this is a super interesting dive into our relationship with competitiveness. To my surprise, I've been called competitive by a number of people. I don't think it's particularly a good/bad thing but it does seem to be a characteristic I need to accept.
In martial arts, my most regular partner is a woman my age and similar size - and I think that's been an informative partnership in many ways. We do each other a disservice if we "go soft" on each other because we're friends who care about each other.
Competition in some ways, seems to actually be collaborative, and might have something to do with showing up honestly and allowing the full experience of the thing to manifest.
I think your article does a great job of explaining those dynamics. Subscribed, and look forward to reading more of your work!
Don’t compete with anyone. Let everyone compete with you. When you compete with others, you're living up to their standards, not your own. Don’t compete, perform at your highest standard and do your best.
A great post, as always.
In my writing work I'm mostly trying to approach competitiveness as a vehicle towards self-esteem; being able to adapt the mindset of a competitor (and having the experience of working towards a goal) feels like a victory I can earn "for me."
I guess where I'm stumbling is that thought that I could always bes pending my time better, and the idea that "competing against the person I was yesterday" never seems satisfying, because I'm not giving myself the credit actually doing valid work in that time.
I feel like this piece comes from the position of high self-esteem (not sure if you equate that with your "high ego/low ego" definitions or not); there doesn't seem to be much questioning of the motivations, the validity of the motivations, or a negative perception of self along that journey. I realize you've only volunteered a small side of yourself in the anecdotes here, but would love for you to write on that if you have it in you.
Thank you for writing this. Your thoughts on competitiveness, as well as your writing on low-ego, have kneaded out a knot in my own thoughts recently.
Only person we can truly compete with is ourself. Agreed.
I think this is a super interesting dive into our relationship with competitiveness. To my surprise, I've been called competitive by a number of people. I don't think it's particularly a good/bad thing but it does seem to be a characteristic I need to accept.
In martial arts, my most regular partner is a woman my age and similar size - and I think that's been an informative partnership in many ways. We do each other a disservice if we "go soft" on each other because we're friends who care about each other.
Competition in some ways, seems to actually be collaborative, and might have something to do with showing up honestly and allowing the full experience of the thing to manifest.
I think your article does a great job of explaining those dynamics. Subscribed, and look forward to reading more of your work!