What I’m Thinking About:
In order to be great, you must work hard. An equally important consideration is who you evaluate yourself against. Who do you compete with?
Competitiveness is a skill, which means you can practice using it, like any muscle. Similarly, there are many ways to practice. While athletic endeavors are straightforward, knowledge work is less obvious. In some cases, this could be daily output, in others, this could be the amount published each week. If you find a metric to evaluate, then you can compete.
The best use competition as a reservoir of extra energy. They don’t just want to win, they want to win more than their competition. This isn’t a prerequisite, but it certainly helps. Not everything needs to be win-or-lose. Like a splash of cold water, competition sharpens the mind. Energize yourself accordingly.
If you’re successful, you’ll notice that your competition will fade away. This is good news, because that means you get to upgrade who your peers are. Either elevate the competition, or find a new area to compete in. Either find better players or play a new game. Aim to eclipse your peers.
Quote:
The second biological lesson of history is that life is selection. In the competition for food or mates or power some organisms succeed and some fail. In the struggle for existence some individuals are better equipped than others to meet the tests of survival. – Will Durant and Ariel Durant, The Lessons of History
Links:
An FBI Hostage Negotiator Teaches Timeless Tactics (podcast).
A Question:
What would 10x you be doing right now?
- Grant