The Race; The Competition

If you live the longest - do you win?

Or, if you die with the most money - are you the victor?

Or, if we get more awards than someone else;  or if we are in better physical shape - are we then better?

What if you have the most "Likes" on Facebook.  Is that how you win?

Certainly there are things in life that are a competition:  a road race, a football game, competition between business rivals (hopefully not within the same enterprise).   That's legit.  But how we live our lives (contrary to what is propagated on popular culture)  should not be a competition.

We should not think of  the abundance of life in such scarce terms that we believe that we have to "win" at the expense of all others.  If we consider life as such, then certainly life is unfair because our basic competitive philosophy dictates always there is a winner. . .and lots of losers.

And that simply is not the reality of life;  the reality of life is that it is richly abundant with resources.  Our job is to choose those things which fulfill us and support the community around us.  A life well-lived is not one that is a constant competition or comparison, but instead is one of personal satisfaction.   That personal satisfaction is not gained by "beating others;" instead it is gained through supporting others.

Perhaps we need to change our internal definition of winning.   If we fulfill our potential, live lives that are satisfying to us and support our communities - then, truly, we win.

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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders" is available on Amazon Kindle.