Decades ago in an unnamed private school bathroom a group of grade school boys gathered.\u00a0 There was an underground tournament.\u00a0 I happened upon it on my way to the boy\u2019s bathroom. Three of my peers were testing how far they could get from the john and still make the stream reach without missing the urinal.\u00a0 It was hysterical, partially because one of my peers showed a reckless disregard for his target the other reason was the sheer magnitude of distance another friend was making.<\/p>\n
Regardless of this boy\u2019s room fiasco there is a complexity to the scenario of competition, more specifically of all healthy competition.\u00a0 All competitions create a type of escalation.\u00a0 In society we see it in smart phones, politics, art, and life in general.\u00a0 In a lot of ways there is a cooperative competition much like powerlifting is a cooperative competition or cross fit is a cooperative competition.\u00a0 People gather to see who can best the other.\u00a0 This chronic one-upmanship is what makes sport interesting, but also what sustains a competition and builds people\u2019s desire to compete.<\/p>\n
Often time\u2019s once our glory years are behind us it is hard to maintain our competitive zeal though I think our best efforts come from when we are competing and when there is a deadline.\u00a0 If anything competition can tell you a lot about who you are as a person, but also it can help you become more than you though you could be, or at least get you closer.\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m writing this to encourage people to compete, to compete in running, lifting, or even craft beer making what matters is your mastery of your art.<\/p>\n
As a coach sometimes I once half-jokingly told an athlete that competing is a lot like breathing. You really can\u2019t feel alive unless you are. \u00a0I find there is some truth to that idea. It is a lot like Shakespeare\u2019s quote \u201cbetter to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.\u201d\u00a0 Though I look at it as better to have tried, and failed than never to have tried at all.<\/p>\n
There are many types of competitors and a myriad of fields to compete in.\u00a0 In weightlifting though I think if you have never left some skin or blood on the bar you never really lifted.\u00a0 Taking risk is all part of competing if you never expose yourself to some risk maybe you should start. \u00a0Separate yourself from the spectator, and the critic, participate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Decades ago in an unnamed private school bathroom a group of grade school boys gathered.\u00a0 There was an underground tournament.\u00a0 I happened upon it on my way to the boy\u2019s bathroom. Three of my peers were testing how far they could get from the john and still make the stream reach without missing the urinal.\u00a0 … Continue reading Pissing Contests or Healthy Competition<\/span>