Life is a competition…and it’s not.

Pros: With the current state of the world, you must compete to survive.   For most things that everyone wants, the demand exceeds supply, so there’s competition for jobs, opportunities, limited products and services, etc.  Furthermore, If you never compete, you can become a burden on those who support you: taking more than you give because you lack the skills and resources necessary to give back.

Cons: At the same time, you shouldn’t spend your entire life with a competitive mindset. When you take advantage of whoever you can, whenever you can, you become someone people avoid.  So sometimes you need to take a pause from the competition, and have a break with your competitors, make some friends, and have some humanity (kindness, gratitude, care).

When you’re on the court and in the game, give it your all: no mercy.  When you’re off the court: mercy.

But when are you off the court, and when are you on the court?  You are technically playing the game of life every second you’re alive, so should you be in a competitive mindset your whole life?  I believe you should take a break, and here’s why: for health reasons.  Presumably when you compete, you are giving it your all, meaning your full body is operating at maximum energy levels.  You physically can only do that for so long: you have a limited amount of physical, mental, emotional, willpower and strength.  At some point, you need to rest and recharge.  In fact, in order to be your best, you need down time.

A trap I see many people in is that they compete for selfish reasons.  Even though it is true that competition is inherently selfish–you’re not trying to help your opponent win, you’re trying to help yourself win–there is still a difference between competing for yourself and competing for yourself and others, and the difference is found in the game that is being played.  Competing with someone else to see who can provide the most food and shelter to other people is something that is a competition, but also a benefit for others.  Competing with someone else to see who can hoard the most food and shelter away from everyone else is a competition that only benefits yourself.  Between the two, I would recommend competing for yourself and others.

However, it is also a tricky question to answer: who are the “others?” It could be family, friends, people you know, a group or organization of people, all of humanity, etc.  Everyone has a different team, and sometimes two people are both on the same team and on opposing teams.  For instance, John and Sally are friends and therefore on the same team. Bob and Sue are friends with John and Sally.  Bob and Sue are not friends.  When Team Bob, John, and Sally competes with Team Sue, John, and Sally…complications arise.  I have no answer to this problem, but I want you to be aware of its existence.

When one competes only for themselves, one ends up with no-one and nothing.  No glory stands the test of time, and no life stands the test of time: a life of competition is a life of selfishness that ends with loosing everything. One’s existence will have been a net loss for everyone else.  Unfortunately, that person probably doesn’t care because that person doesn’t care about others, except one’s self. So speaking from a selfishness point of view: life can be better with others than alone, if one learns how.

This post is part of AttemptedLiving’s Life Education Curriculum, a collection of core knowledge everyone should have.  See Guide to Achieve Balance in the “Life Philosophy” section.

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