How do you deconstruct a competitive mindset?

[Panteranegra]

I'm trying yo decostruct my competitive mindset.

It seems, in this world, everyone is competing, with everyone else because of our social conditioning and all that.

Do you think is ultimately useful?

What are.the pros and of competition? Can you grow without competitors?

[Leo Gura]

Just realize that being creative feels way better, and you're always winning.

Why play a game you can lose?

[mmKay]

First of all,  you can differentiate between conscious and unconscious competing. 

I would argue that many people are not developed enough to give up competing, and forcing yourself to give it up before you've actually honestly outgrown it may be counterproductive for your development. I've interacted with plenty of minds that thrive on competing with others and that see very little value in creating for it's own sake or even colaborating with others. It's a huge source of motivation and they involve their sense of self-worth with how the're performing . This tendency seems to be heavily influenced by their upbringing , web of beliefs and even perhaps genetics. These people wither without competition.

As long as you're alive you will be competing with others to different degrees in different scenarios .  But if you're wise enough you will not architect your life and specifically income around competing .

Also, our current society heavily rewards being the top dog therefore plenty of people dream their whole lifes about archiving celebrity status.

You can certainly  grow without competition. It's more difficult but also can get you way further. Competing gives a clear metric for progress, success and sense of archivement:  being better than the next person, or group of people.  I would argue it's hardwired into the human psyche (  and specifically males ) . Competing for mates, resources, status , atention, approval . . .

I've been playing competitive videogames for more than a decade, so here are some insights I've catched of what competing entails once I had I developed a better understanding of my own psyche :

Adrenaline rushes ( potentialy addictive) , plenty of emotions and entretainment, love of the drama, defending your honor, attention seeking , desire for status. desire to be recognized. being involved in ego clashes, being part of a comunity, desire to be best of that comunity, desire for fame, potential to earn money, desire to be sponsored by big brand names, sense of progress by "  climing the ladder " , consistently getting in flow state and very present. enjoyment of peak perfomance and performance at high your best, illusion of doing something important and noble . . .

As you can see, pretty low consciousness stuff. But the chimp part of us still loves it .

 

If you really want to overcome it, compete mindfully, observe your psyche over the years and become aware of the structure of what is going on. See where it takes you , how it makes you feel, how it affects your motivation and lifestyle, etc. You would be burning through your karma here in a sense . 

You could also have a insight into the nature of meaning / value that could collapse your paradigm and you would find competing laughable because you could see through what is actually going on. But that would also completely re-wire your mind and it may get very uncomfortable.

 

TLDR: Be wise and definitely build your life around creating and colaborating instead of  competing. You can still enjoy competing mindfully here and there because it's fun and attractive to the human mind.

Edited November 9, 2022 by mmKay