“How can someone win if winning means that someone loses?”
John Scatman

I didn’t know I was competitive until just a few months ago. Being competitive was a characteristic I recognized in other people, but never in myself. I’m not a person who needs to win, I would have protested. That would have been half true. The other half; I hate to lose.  Because I hate losing so much I hate to see anyone else lose. And that is a problem.

When I was on a cross country team in High School I remember a race where I watched the girl ahead of me take a wrong turn on the course, a turn that would extend the length of her run. She was so far ahead she wouldn’t have heard my shouts. I placed second in that race; the position she’d inadvertently traded for third place. Even though it was the best I’d ever done in a race I felt so bad for the girl that I refused to come out of the changing room to claim my ribbon.

I blame it on the fact that I’m a community builder. I want everyone on the dance floor.  I want everyone to be happy and successful doing what they love to do. Is that possible? Yes! Only we can’t all be the best at the same things, at the same time. This is where our uniqueness climbs into the saddle; this is where our passions take the reins.

What do you do if you want to succeed in your chosen arena?

1. Set your bar
2. Jump over the bar
3. Set your bar higher
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3

I believe we all have the potential to succeed if we want to badly enough. What do you think? Are you competitive? How has being competitive served you so far in your life?

photo credit: Johnthesconea