It seems to me that all of life these days is about competition, winning, being the best, and I just don't relate. I have never been competitive, which is surely why I haven't done very well in terms of financial success, fame or whatever the yardstick is that signals "success." In fact, anytime I am doing well at whatever it is I am doing, the mere presence of a competitor knocks the wind out of my sails. It's when I notice that someone else is in the race that I lose all interest. This is not a literal race I am talking about, although it happens then too. Out walking in the morning, I go along at quite a clip, trying to do better than I did the day before, but if someone else shows up on the path behind me, I slow way down until they pass by. Hey, I'm not going to play that game!
My husband is the complete opposite, spurred on by the mere presence of someone he can best. This explains why he is so devoted to his fitness cult called Crossfit. Not only do all the other cultists work their butts off trying to do well, but the day's results are then posted on a big "white board" at the gym and also online, so everyone can see just how they performed in relation to everyone else, as if their own performance is made better or worse because someone else did better or worse, if you know what I mean. It's just plain dumb.
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