Oh, Killer B, if I had a dollar for every time somebody tried to tell me, “You know, I am just not competitive,” I would be a wealthy woman.
But since nobody is just handing out free dollars for silly statements, I am here telling you about it (instead of enjoying a life of luxury aboard my yacht, obviously!).
This week on The Buzz, we are talking about being “competitive” – why it is good for you, and what you can do to get started.
Why You Should Embrace Feeling Competitive And Tips To Get Started | The Buzz
I know a lot of us say to ourselves, and others, that we are not competitive, but the fact is, you were born to be competitive. It is a biological imperative, in fact.
Way, way back in the day, if you did not compete for food or water or other resources, you would literally die. It is part of your DNA, part of your makeup, to be competitive.
As a society, and specifically for women, I think we have talked ourselves out of our competitiveness, but it is still there. And if you do not get your competitive urges out, sometimes it shows up in your life in strange ways.
For me personally, I did not think I was competitive, but I actually was. About everything.
I would get ridiculously angry about my husband not emptying the dishwasher, because I wanted to “win” the dishwasher.
It would frustrate me endlessly when somebody would cut in line ahead of me, because I wanted to be “first”. It was a constant, daily, low level of aggravation for me.
Growing up (*ahem* many, many years ago!), girls were taught that it was not ladylike to be competitive.
And for me, specifically, it was tough to think of myself as competitive when I was sort of a chubby kid who was terribly uncoordinated and rather self-conscious. And that “non competitive” idea became part of my story and my mindset.
Where You Can Find Competition
Number one, always be aware of the fact that you are only ever competing against yourself. Yes, there might be other people involved in your competition, but it always comes back to trying to be the very best of yourself.
How To Compete
Pick something that you are already pretty good at, or at least enjoy doing. Something really specific. Saying, “I want to get better at working out,” is not specific enough. Choose one particular exercise, or running distance, and really focus on it.
Then, train for it. Work toward it. Pick a date at some reasonable time in the future where you are going to see how far you have come and lay it on the line. That date will be the day that you test your skill to the best of your ability.
Tell people about your goal and invite them to cheer you on and be part of your journey. Being public about your competitiveness is part of what makes it good for you.
You might be surprised at how nervous you feel about your competition. Revel in that feeling – nerves are the best part. That excitement is a reminder that you are alive, and that you are fully experiencing life.
And then, actually compete. Do not back down, do not tame yourself. Release your wild and give it everything you have got!
What Happens When You Become Competitive
Being competitive will change the way you think about competition, and the way you feel about having big goals and putting yourself “out there” to achieve them. It is scary. But awesome at the same time.
Being competitive will teach you how to be a gracious loser. You are going to lose sometimes and you will learn how to handle it.
Being competitive will also teach you how to be a gracious winner.
Best of all, being competitive will make you “confident”. When you compete on your own terms at skills that matter to you, you will gain enormous confidence at not only the one thing that you have competed at, but pretty much everything. You will realize that you are capable of so much more than you thought.
You might find yourself enjoying the competition so much that you want to compete at other things, or that you can be less competitive about every little thing.
I would love to hear from you! What are you thinking about competing in? Or what have you been competitive about?
