Lessons from Competition

I like competition. I like the reason and meaning it gives to an activity. I like the added pressure to perform. If I lose I learn a lesson. If I win I celebrate. There is just a complexity to it that I find mentally and physically enjoyable. In my life I've competed at things recreationally or socially but also "for real". What's the difference? Social or recreation competition is between friends or family, is ad hoc, has no larger organization behind it and likely didn't cost much money to make possible.

Examples would be board and video games, who can do the most push ups, local 5k races, most things that are "I bet you..." or "Let's see who can...". Those sorts of things.

While the "for real" type of competition is against others trained in the same thing, is scheduled, has a larger organization involved and likely cost some money to be involved. School sports, sports leagues, things with a ranking system are good examples. In this category I've done wrestling, tennis, mountain bike racing, pistol shooting, trail running and Brazilian jiu jitsu. I've participated in these things competitively at all different stages of life and personal development so I want to share with you the lessons this type of competition has taught me over my life.

-Get comfortable being uncomfortable. By this I mean a physical resiliency. Developing the strength and personality to have outside, environmental things have less of an effect on your attitude and body. Bad weather, time of day, temperature, gear not being perfect, soreness. You're used to hurting and you accept it.

-You don't lose, you learn. There are more lessons to be learned in our mistakes and than in our successes. If you can objectively look within in, you'll hopefully find them. You have to suffer to learn and that suffering can be either physical or mental.

-Things take time. Basically encompassing the idea that results take work which takes time and to look at things over a longer period of time versus a shorter one. Cutting weight, building speed, learning a new technique all take time.

-Focus on actions, not outcomes. This was from a sports psychologist and it has helped me immensely!! Rather than focusing on winning the race if I focused on my breathing, pedal stroke, line selection, race craft and so on then the result would take care of itself. A subset of this could also mention the importance of being in the now. Where is your focus? If you focus on what you're doing now, you're more likely to get where you want to go versus just thinking about where you want to go.

-Be careful in what you buy. Aka don't chase success through gear. Yes, there is crap out there and yes there is the apex item for whatever you're involved in doing. But the trick is to know where the line is between a crappy product that will hurt you and an appropriate or good product that will do nothing to impede your progress. If your gear is working against you it is more than worthless, it is harmful. Your "stuff" at a minimum should be unobtrusive. Appropriate gear is basically invisible and that is the minimum of what you should find acceptable. If you have that, what you have is good enough.

-Speed. Know when to be as fast as possible and when to be patient. The mental side of speed. And also the physical side of speed. Just how fast can I move my eyes, my hands, my feet. You learn the maximum of your human potential at speed.

-If it is going to happen, it is up to me. From my list you can see I participated in almost exclusively in individual sports. I can't rely on teammates, a coach or anyone else to make things happen. If I don't do it, it won't happen. Tuning a shifter, changing diet, studying film, getting up on time, have gear cleaned, tracking practice, working on my mindset and so on. I have to do them or they don't happen. Rely on yourself and hold yourself accountable.

-What's it worth? It is an extreme saying but I think it gives a point to think about, "You might die for it, but would you kill for it?" We all have something we say we'd die for like family/country/religion but do we have something we'd kill for? They are very different reactions to the same "thing". So what are you willing to do (kill for) versus what you're willing to give up (die for) to accomplish your immediate action or long term goal? There is a difference between omission and commission. And when you assess what you're willing and actually doing of either, then you can see what value you place on something. What's it worth to you.