Not #1?

We are like these chickens...all winners, but also always second.

Not #1?

Competition....the driving force in society all over the world. Competition is not just for the traditional sports such as football, soccer, and baseball...to name a few. You see it in mobile apps and games...have the biggest city!...get the most points!...win a prize! And in social media...have the most followers!...have the most likes!...make the most money!...win a prize! At work...sell the most products!...have the most customers!...earn a prize!  And on and on and on....


Unfortunately, competition is necessary.  It's what drives us all to succeed.  It drives every market you can think of from housing to cars to video games.  It keeps prices low and  standards high.  

However, if you're like me, you don't like competition on a personal level.  Playing a board game with family?  Playing the lottery?  Playing for some in-game prize in a community competition on some app you play? Don't care for any of it because the chances of winning are usually quite low.  Additionally, that driving force within all of us, the need to be "better" than everyone else, makes these types of competitions quite stressful.  Added to that, those times when you know you drew a "bad hand", and you know you're inevitably going to "lose", takes the fun out of it.  Now you have to work even harder to succeed.  

So why is it so important that we win at everything? To be #1?  For a long time I thought it wasn't important; that there will always be someone else that's better than me at something.  At least that's what I was told when I was quite young.  Maybe I took that to heart a little too much, because, you see, my drive to be #1 at anything almost completely left me in that moment.  Why should I care if I'm not first?  There will always be someone in line to take it away from me.  Even my last name, (all of them as I was married twice), puts me somewhere at the end of the "line".  I wouldn't even be first if they reversed the order since none of my last names began with "Z".  However, in the few times I have been #1, it made me realize how good it feels to be the "best" at something.  Some of my competitive drive returned...and with it...more realizations.  The saying is true...there will always be someone to take it from you...eventually.  

To my point....

There can only be 1 winner and everyone else just comes in second.  That winner will eventually be replaced to take their spot as second alongside everyone else.  It's not about being #1...it's about having fun getting there...doing your best...being proud of what you've done, even if it's not #1.  The fact that there is always a #1 will ensure that all the "seconds" continue to learn and do better, no matter what it is.  It's not important to be #1...it's only important to try.   So now it becomes important to show your best work, even if it's not the best.