The Race

The Race dan skognes motivation blogger speaker teacher trainer coach educatorI don’t understand people who say, “Life is not a competition.” The problem with that statement is that the evidence is overwhelmingly opposed to it. We compete on so many things in life that the list is seemingly endless. We compete to get into the right school, get on a team, stay on a team, and beat opposing teams. Men compete to win the hand of a fair maiden. Women compete to win the heart of their man. We compete to get jobs, keep our jobs, and then excel in our jobs. We compete in business to have the next best widget. We begin by learning to compete with ourselves; then we take it to the next level by competing with others. Even Heaven had a competition between God and the devil. I thank God that He did not just give up His throne to the enemy of our souls. That battle is still being played out.

In every completion there are winners and losers. Everyone does not get a ribbon. I realize that there are exceptions…like little kids and people with special needs…but even special needs people have their Olympics to teach them how to win.

If you don’t learn how to play the game, you’ll be looking for someone to blame. Winning is a habit, and so is losing, and habits are learned behaviors. Competition is not bad, and losing is not fatal. Just because we lose at something does not make us losers. We only become losers when we quit…give up…and start blaming our circumstance, our competition, or even ourselves. Placing blame is not the issue. Learning the lesson is the issue. Every competition is an opportunity to learn. Whether you win or lose, you learn more about yourself, your competition, your company, your mate, etc.

Find the lesson in every competition and you begin to understand the rules of the game. When you negotiate, you look for a win-win situation, right? The truth is that even then you want to come out on top more than your competition. Think of life as a chess game. You have a limited amount of moves and resources. You have opponents who seek to win as well. Learn to think ahead. Don’t just consider you next move, but consider what move you will make after that, and then the one after that. Consider the consequences of each move and by all means…know your competition. To know your enemy is to know your next move.

Enjoy the game.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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