Competition: It's good for you

Competing in sports gives one a great insight into their own character.  Competing in sports is not necessarily about being number one.  It is about doing your best and trying your hardest.  It is about training your mind to keep on trying even when everything in your body (and your head) is telling you to stop.  As basketball coach John Wooden said,  “Sports do not build character.  They reveal it.” 

To me, a champion is one who keeps on getting up no matter how many times they are knocked down.  A champion keeps trying even if the first place medal is out of reach… a champion pushes those ahead of them to strive harder.

Competition is hugely motivating if viewed in the right way.  It is fun to see who has the most drive and daring.  I am not so impressed with the winners if they have not earned the spot.  I am far more impressed with the one who struggles and does not give up.  It is about toughness to me… who shows me the biggest desire to win…  If you know you gave it all you have then you can be proud to be so strong.  If you won…kudos!!  Then you get to work on trying to stay in the spotlight!  If you did not win… learn!!  What do you need to do to improve the next time?  Pat yourself for being out there and plan for the next go…

I would tell those who stress about competing to relax and enjoy the journey…  How often do you get to know yourself so well?  If you don’t like the person that you see, then work at changing.  More likely, you will be amazed at the strength that you have.  Learn to dig deep and stay focused on you.  It is about you… and your ability to encourage yourself, work hard, and keep on trucking.

Finally, competing in sports is also about the love of your sport.  If you have an honest love of your sport then it is natural to want to be better at it.  It is normal to live, breath, eat, and sleep your sport.  Of course, the more A-type personality you are (know any of those?? ha ha) the more important it is to remember to keep a well-rounded outlook on things.  But basically, you should love what you do… otherwise you will question your sanity at the difficult times (we all do!) and those doubts will stifle you.

“Competing in sports has taught me that if I’m not willing to give 120 percent, someone else will.” Ron Blomberg

Remember, we should want to compete to get better…to test ourselves against others who also want to get better.  I run races to best my personal run times.  I run with others who are doing the same.  Those competitors motivate me to try harder…to beat myself!  I want to give 120 percent…anything less is to doubt myself and cheat myself.

What does this year hold?  For me, I know what my goals are.  I also know that I will do everything that I can to attain those goals.  I know that I am still learning…we all are…  I will make mistakes and I will have disasters.  I am not worried about that.  Actually I welcome it because I know this is all part of me learning about my sport.  The one thing that is pretty certain to me is that I know that as long as I am breathing… I will not give up…  Failure and winning are all on the same journey for me.  I am learning…and I am a tough girl…  Bring on the competition!