In an article I read some years ago on Economic Competition, a reader posted about how he hated competition, and the world would be a better place without competition. I thought about this for a while and just couldn\u2019t relate to this ideal.<\/p>\n
At a baseball game recently, I overheard a dad expressing to his son the importance of understanding that not only were the son\u2019s fellow teammates his competition, but when he goes overseas for baseball, his competition increases by the thousands as many are fighting for a position in a team.<\/p>\n
I heard another dad on a different occasion\u2014he was acting as a coach for a youth representative team\u2014wanting to absolutely annihilate the opposition. He wanted to send a clear message to them because he saw that baseball association as his biggest threat.<\/p>\n
I asked my 14-year-old son a little while back why he is so driven to achieve something in baseball; why does he want to keep getting better; why isn\u2019t he showing signs of fatigue and burn out? His answer floored me<\/strong> and made me revaluate how I look at competing in this world.<\/p>\n He simply said, \u201cI am competing against myself. I am my own competition. This way I go out and always want to improve on what I did yesterday.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I could stop this article right here, get a beverage of choice and spend hours, if not days, reflecting on such words: I compete against myself<\/em>. Let\u2019s look at some of the advantages of this attitude towards competition. <\/p>\n When I view my competition as other people, I want them to fail. It is a human tendency to inwardly take some delight in seeing a fellow athlete, whether a team mate or opposition, fail, because it makes us feel and look better. Sometimes it is hard to be \u2018fired up\u2019 when the light is shining on a teammate. They\u2019re my competition and if they\u2019re \u2018winning\u2019 then I\u2019m losing, our subconscious mind deliberates.<\/p>\n You can tell if you fall into this trap with your child if your conversations after games or practice express the failings and errors of others. Most of the time we will claim it is just constructive criticism. But true constructive criticism will then think about how we can help that fellow athlete improve his or her game. Yet most of the time our criticism is a subtle way to pump up our own child\u2019s tires, so to say.<\/p>\n When I\u2019m competing against myself, I\u2019m giving myself the chance of removing jealousy and envy from my mind; I\u2019m giving myself the chance to celebrate other\u2019s achievements and their great plays in the game. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Notice I write, \u2018give myself a chance\u2019. It is a challenge to refocus yourself, or help athletes refocus themselves on competing against themselves. It\u2019s not easy, especially if all your life you have viewed everyone else as the competition. The reality is you and your child will be more focused on improvement, free in spirit to enjoy the game and celebrate the achievements of others more than ever before.<\/strong><\/p>\n When our athletes are competing against themselves, it doesn\u2019t matter how good or bad or selfish their teammates are. Help develop them so their attitude is I want to improve my game, and I want to improve my skills<\/em>, each time they train or play. This way it won\u2019t matter what the standards of their team or opposition are.<\/p>\n Again, another tough challenge for the individual and opposite to what our nature wants to say. But the good thing is it helps both parents and player\u2019s eyes from wandering all over the park trying to find failings and errors in someone else. Instead of wanting to dig a hole for yourself or your child when they make a blunder, or instantly looking to lay the blame why such an error occurred, or even make an excuse, the athlete is focused on relaxing and correcting themselves for next time.<\/p>\n The baseball player (any sportsman in fact) can get frustrated and possibly live on the borderline of burn out if they focus on others being the competition. It\u2019s a lot of unnecessary energy and stress to expend on things they can\u2019t control. If your child\u2019s baseball game is something they\u2019re passionate about, and they want to give themselves every chance of attaining the highest level they\u2019re capable of without the frustrations and regrets of burn out, then they need to focus first and foremost on always bettering themselves, against themselves.<\/p>\n\n
Not wanting others to fail<\/h4>\n
\n
It doesn\u2019t matter about good, bad or selfish teammates<\/h4>\n
Avoiding burn out <\/h4>\n