Is Competition Bad?

[Jordan wang]

@Leo Gura You've said that competition is bad, instead of competing for limited resources, Creating my own (doing something only I can do) is better.

Which is why you stopped your first company.

Does that mean that all sports are bad? Because all of them involve one form of competition or another.

I'm a competitive swimmer; yep, I compete. 

I don't know if I should advance my swimming career or not, I don't know if I am passionate about it. (I know that I don't dislike it)

Jordan wang

[Markus]

Leo talks about the problems with a competition mindset. Swimming excellently for the sake of swimming excellently is something different I suppose.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Markus

[Wouter]

A crucial distinction is: do swim because of the fame, money,... it can bring you (competion and external motivation) or do you swim because it gives you a nice feeling to move trough the water/ go for something/... (internal motivation)?

Why do you swim?

[krazzer]

@Jordan wang In my opinion professional sports is useless.

There's a lot of ego involved, and you inherently have to compare yourself to others.
It doesn't do the world any good. Much energy is invested that could also be invested in helping others.
High level sports are proven to shorten life, and causes lots of injury.

Sports done recreational or to keep your body and mind healthy on the other hand I would consider good.

[S33K3R]

Why you swim is all that matters. If it is internal motivation it doesn't matter if you compete. If you are doing it to please others it may hinder your ability to remain centered/aware.

[Jordan wang]

@Wouter It's a little bit of both I suppose, I don't hate swimming, I like it when I am in the water, and I also like winning in competitions and getting medals and stuff.

[Ritu]

If competition is healthy , it is not bad then . Competition gives us a spark or we can say encourage us to do better ( provided it is healthy , not affecting you much ), So you should not leave this .

As far as I understood about the " creating your own resources " means you should try different-different methods to win the competition , make your signature moves , compete with yourself , be better everyday .

I hope I helped you ! All the best!! ?

[Lou7]

Altough there might be some ego in 'competing with others' and fact that 'It doesn't do the world any good' don't forget the part that when you compete you can inspire others by your discipline and drive.

[Leo Gura]

@Jordan wang If you haven't noticed, all professional athletes, even the very very best, retire by 30 or 40 and move on to doing something else. It's not just because their bodies age. It's largely because competition like that is unsustainable. It's a real grindy way to live.

[Nahm]

I took on the competitive mindset for a few years. In hindsight, I could have accomplished more with God. 

I look for opportunities to give not compeat. The crazy thing is, it all comes back in ways I never could have experienced. I never would have known. 

[Dan Arnautu]

@Jordan wang A swimming career is good, if you want to see if you can surpass the previous limits set in the sport, but the problem with it is that, unlike in other careers, you can't remain at peak performance forever. Your body ages. This will most likely make you switch careers early.

After you are no longer fit for competitions, you will need to either: go into another industry, become a coach for other swimmers yourself or start some kind of swimwear company or thing of the sorts. 

Think long and hard before you make any big decision. A decision of this magnitude will keep make you need to become commited to that decision usually for very long periods of time.

[Jordan wang]

@Nahm what do you mean you look for ways to give not compete? Can you elaborate on this? LIke give me a few examples and how it had benefitted your life today

[Spiral]

Shadow Philosophy:

"It's really simple, you bring two sides together, they fight. A lot of them die but those who survive are stronger,smarter and better" 

 

 

[Vladimir]

@Jordan wang I was just thinking how lucky I was to get out of the "competitive sport" paradigm myself, only around 6 months ago. I now see it as a ego bolstering activity and a huge waste of time. Yes there is of course the fun aspect of mastering the sport and enjoying the process, in my case it was table tennis, but the competitive ego far outweighed the fun and exercise part. 

There is a rated table tennis tournament here in San Diego every Thursday. Looking back on it now, I have never seen so much ego getting together in the same place, myself being part of it. There is so much egoic pressure to win and show off your skills that it often makes people perform at a much lower level than they are really capable of it. Even just for fun, wasn't ever just for fun, I think it's ego's way of denying it's competing, so that's even worse.

I remember feeling really negative, if I only just lost one game in the tournament, because I was always supposed to beat everyone, because my skills were much better than what I played every Thursday night. It would also start a downward spiral, leading to as far as "my life sucks, and I'm a loser, because I can't get good at anything". Competitive sport can really suck you into a very rigid paradigm, because you so strongly identify and measure your level of success based on your performance and feedback from other competitors, which can easily percolate into personal life, you will never feel satisfied because there will always be another level to reach and someone who is better than you. 

What I presented here is from my own experience of participating in a competitive sport and what kind of ego traps I experienced. I believe it can be a fun, enjoyable activity, though I think it's very difficult to approach it in this way if you're competing. 

PS: It was very difficult to drop this activity for me because I was so identified with, my whole life revolved around it and it became part of me, it was like breaking up from a relationship, but turned out to be one of the best decisions I made in my life.

Edited July 15, 2017 by Vladimir

[Jordan wang]

@Quantum Mike if you think that there is nothing original you can create, then that is the reality for you. You get what you think about.

I can get a patent before other people copy me.

[TJ Reeves]

@Jordan wang

As an athlete, I think about this question a lot.

Some of my credentials:

• Walked on to the #1 NCAA lacrosse team in the nation
• Started every college football game through Junior year, winning 3 championships along the way
• Won indoor and outdoor track and field championships and broke several school records 
• Competed on this season of American Ninja Warrior
• Now I'm getting ready for Broken Skull Challenge 

One of the best things about playing so many sports is the perspective it's given me. My athletic career has progressed in direct proportion to my understanding of the nature of competition. 

Here's what I noticed:

• Lacrosse - External Competition is a drag on your mental-emotional health when taken to the extreme
  • the most depressed and stressed I ever got was as a walk-on to the lacrosse team, despite it being one of my childhood dreams.
  • why?
  • The head coach, Dave Pietramala, was and still is a huge fan of making us compete for every scrap of play time. 
  • There were times where he would insult and/or intentionally neglect players so that they would "toughen up" and "grab the brass ring"
    • the problem was that everyone was constantly trying to one up each other and grab this ring, so life turned into a competition of who put in more practice time
    • it got to the point where we'd all neglect studies to try to practice and outdo everyone else
    • Obviously, such imbalance created issues in school, and relationships, as well as burnout
    • And to top it off, no, you might not actually get better than the competition - so you did all of that for almost nothing. 
  • Another element of the competition was that the players did not help each other very much - why help someone who's gunning for your spot?
  • By game time, the team was pretty of tired and stressed out from practice
  • During games, instead of focusing on the joy of the game, players would focus on trying not to fuck up - there was always a 2nd string player ready to jump up and take their position.
    • So players did not have the looseness and creativity necessary for top level performance
    • The one's who did have that looseness were essentially crazy people who gave zero fucks since day one.
  • The result?
    • The worst season in Johns Hopkins History... a 41-year playoff streak ended
• Football - In small, friendly doses, competition has it's merits, but it doesn't contribute much to personal growth
  • The most efficient team I ever played for was the football team, which was like a tightly knit family
  • Practices were just as well organized as the D1 lacrosse practices.
  • The difference was that we were all focused on growth and development through support
  • We'd "compete" with each other, but it was just more friendly fun.
    • Practice felt like being a little kid in a playground.
    • No one took any one competition that seriously.
  • Seniors were always helping freshmen learn positions and techniques
  • Come game time, we were so confident in our preparation and support, it felt like we were floating through the air.
    • For the entire regular season, we'd win by +30 points, celebrate with sick parties, and then go fuck the brains out of our fans.
    • Those were Good times.
    • ...But not exactly the most Conscious.  
• Track - Focus on beating your self and breaking past your own limitations
  • Emotionally, I began to flourish on the track and field team, where, for the first time in years, I didn't have to compete against others. 
  • track is all about how you do versus yourself. If you didn't get it by now, this is the most important question in life.
  • It was nice to have teammates help each other try to beat their personal records
  • The track athlete who lives his life trying to beat the competition is an inefficient jack-ass. The same would go for the swimmer. 
• Ninja Warrior - The top athlete finds creative solutions to the problem of never-before-seen obstacles in competition, mainly these problems come from within. 
  • I think the most accurate metaphor for life came from competing on Ninja Warrior
  • With Ninja Warrior, athletics stopped being about competition entirely and became about how to find solutions to the problem of training for never-before-seen obstacles 
  • You have at least one shot in the spot light and it's a blessing you're even there.
  • Everyone cheers you on, even the other competitors
  • Back stage, no one badmouths or glares at each other before the competition 
  • The only real way to do well on the show is to meet with other ninjas, figure out how to train for the obstacles, and work on your skills as best as possible using creative methods
• Broken Skull - there is no competition - there only is and then we create the false label "competition"
  • Broken Skull Challenge advertises itself as being all about beating the other man in front of you
  • The secret is that there is no other man in front of you. 
    • That person in front of you is you. Literally. Existentially. 
  • Moreover, the whole idea of competition is not even close to being capital T true. There is no competition and there has never been competition - we just play a game with ourselves thinking that it's true and that we should be afraid or nervous or whatnot. 
  • All versions of you that think in terms of competition automatically limit themselves out of fear - of pain, humiliation, and uncertainty. 
    • This is the mindset that helped Peter Ralston win the 1978 Martial Arts Championship
    • This is the mindset that helps Me train
    • This is the mindset that will help You in life.

 

Edited July 16, 2017 by TJ Reeves

[Jordan wang]

@TJ Reeves I sometimes compete against other people in swimming. (if someone is about the same speed as I am in an event, and I beat him, I would be really happy) 

Sometimes instead of doing the event that I want to do, I go for the event that I have a relative advantage in, because I want to win a metal or such.

To be honest, if I want to get onto the SFU swimming team (their NCAA div 2) I can, I just have to train hard for around 1 year or so. 

At this point I don't even know why I am swimming, I guess it's because my parents threw me into the pool when I was 5, and I became really good at it, being pushed by the coaches that I've had. (I am also talented in swimming because of my big feet and long and narrow body, and my flexibility)

Now I am finally an adult, looking back, I don't even know if I liked swimming or not. 

But it is the only sport at the moment that I am really good at. (but I guess I can always learn others when I find out that I like them)

Are you passionate about all those sports that you've played?

Can you explain in more detail that last mindset I didn't exactly get it.

[Joseph Maynor]

On 6/26/2017 at 9:18 AM, Jordan wang said:

@Leo Gura You've said that competition is bad, instead of competing for limited resources, Creating my own (doing something only I can do) is better.

Which is why you stopped your first company.

Does that mean that all sports are bad? Because all of them involve one form of competition or another.

I'm a competitive swimmer; yep, I compete. 

I don't know if I should advance my swimming career or not, I don't know if I am passionate about it. (I know that I don't dislike it)

Jordan wang

No.  Competition is good if it is in line with your life-purpose.  What is bad is when people compete for stupid reasons that don't really benefit their lives or anyone else's life.  If you wanna live a BIG, FULL life you're gonna be competing your whole life.  Learn to love competing to achieve your goals.  But also know when to turn that off though too.  A lot of Type A people don't know how and when to shut that competitive mentality off.  So, mindfulness and high-consciousness is key when strategizing when and where to compete for resources.  

Edited August 13, 2017 by Joseph Maynor

[RichardY]

"Competition is a Sin"  John D Rockefeller.

"To sin is to miss the target."  Jordan Peterson

Tortoise and the Hare. Aesop Fables. Why would the tortoise compete, it does what it does and yet it succeeds.

Why do clothing stores locate in the same area and not block all the other clothing stores?

[SFRL]

Think of it this way. You mainly compete against yourself. Competing with other people is just a measurement tool of how well you are doing. It's not about beating them. It's about pushing yourself higher and higher.