The Competitive Mind does not operate based on comparisons with others, the Competitive Mind always contrasts itself. It works in terms of the Growth criterion, not Development.
For the purposes of this, there is a difference between Growth and Development, because the first involves qualitative changes of state, while the second only a consolidation of improvements (if viewed from the positive angle).
The mind of high competition athletes, unlike what one might suppose, is not guided by what others represent or achieve, it is always directed to overcome their own state. The Competitive Mind considers the Result as a product of YOUR performance, never the performance of others.
There is a simple explanation for this: acting based on the performance of others represents being a follower, doing it in terms of overcoming one's own status means being a Leader. And the Competitive Mind specifically seeks that: leadership. The Leader grows as his condition improves, while the follower "possibly" develops his conditions from comparing himself with others. There is quite a difference in both.
The great exponents of any physical or intellectual activity compete against themselves, thus they change state and grow. If as a result of this they exceed the performance of others, they additionally crown their efforts, and if they do not, they continue with the process.
This generates another basic difference, the one that exists between a Winner and a Competitive man.
The "winner" man par excellence does not exist !, since nobody always wins. Instead, the Competitive man maintains a permanent condition, one that at the same time can frequently lead him to victory.
Another factor that justifies the orientation of the Competitive Mind towards self-improvement lies in the fact that the most important obstacles to grow and prevail over others are always "within" each one, "ballast" accumulates there, the " anchor ”and inhabits the genuine adversary. The "external" victory is only achieved by defeating the "internal enemy".
The Competitive Mind understands the following very well:
That man is a Perfect Being, never a finished product
The optimal state, say the ideal condition, does not exist. The job that is done, and Life itself, is a process that only "ends when it ends." The goal is not to get anywhere, just to build a better state than the last, permanently. There is no “crown or laurel” for the Competitive Mind, at least not one that concludes the work of improvement, there is only the prize for internal victory, and the intimate satisfaction of feeling the growth in each cell.
The man with a Competitive Mind runs through life with a carrot tied to his forehead, he never reaches it, but he enjoys a process that in itself is a genuine victory. This is something that few know: the reality of the Process as Victoria and not only as an event.
Does this mean that the man with a competitive mind is an eternally dissatisfied being or a frustrated perfectionist? Sure not! Dissatisfaction rarely reaches men of action and frustration is typical of those who do not compete. Ask the man who participates in a race if he is somehow dissatisfied "while running," or if he becomes frustrated as he places one foot in front of the other to continue the test. No way! This man is competing, and while he does, THAT is the only thing that matters.
And considering yourself a Perfectible Being is very different from being a “perfectionist”. There is a huge distance between those who honestly know they are imperfect and those who believe that everything must be done perfectly.
Loser will always be considered a "finished product", while the one that is understood as Perfectible grows with each victory it achieves over its condition.
That Competition is greater than Victory and infinitely greater than defeat
The Competitive Mind understands that Competition is not private to anyone, everyone can compete! This generates a worldview full of possibilities, and few things produce more positive energy. If it is a fact that EVERYONE will win or lose sometime, then victory or defeat are not important, what is significant is the possibility of competing.
The Competitive Mind does not divide the world into winners and losers, because that is the same as defining life as "what happens" between birth and death. Life is of course much more, just like Competition.
Someone may say that you are finally competing to win, or that at least this is the desired result, and that's fine, even if for a slightly silly reason: no one competes to lose. But the fact that competition is accepted as a precedent to any of the two events confirms its importance and places it above the “accidental”. Because in short, winning or losing are eventualities that happen on the route, but they strictly happen to those who have undertaken a journey.
The man with the Competitive Mind knows victory before winning, and thus never loses. This is what the mere fact of loving the Competition achieves, and what the mediocre minds ignore.
That the "best version of oneself" has NO competition
The Competitive Mind has always known that every Human Being arrives in this world with incomparable gifts and qualities. No two models of men are alike! In this there is no comparison and there can, of course, be no competition. Each one is a winner from birth. Recognizing this wonderful fact constitutes the great drama of life. Because there are more who leave this land without having realized the value with which they arrived, than those who are satisfied with what they were, and therefore with what they did.
And here an important precision must also be made: the Value lies in what IS, since this defines the value of what is done. The relationship is never reverse, no matter how mediocre souls try to justify themselves by their actions. The valuable man does valuable things, period! And they all have distinguished value from the cradle. There is no Being whose actions conclude justifying something that is not, because a bad tree does not bear good fruit, and tomato juice is extracted from some orange.
Given this fundamental fact, the Winning Mind seeks to build the "best version of oneself". That's what it is all about.
This is not a challenge, it is an Obligation that Life presents. The English language provides a harmonious statement to express it: "be the best you can be".
All are born being a good model of human beings, then it is up to each one to be the "best version of himself".
That Success must be associated with Competition, not with victory or defeat
The Obligation is to Compete, and who does it with diligence, pleasure and resorting to the virtues of the "best version I have", is a person who achieved Success.
In a culture that mystifies victory, the Competitive Mind asserts:
- Only the one who wants to win only loses the one who competes, the one who overcomes himself has the advantage, the one who overcomes himself has not been defeated
In a culture that ruthlessly judges defeat, the Competitive Mind asserts:
- If there were no defeat, there would be no point in Competition. If there were no failure, Life would deprive the greatest teacher there is. If there were no defeat, in terms of what would greatness be measured? If failure did not exist, man could never achieve humility. without humility man would lose his future…
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Carlos Eduardo Nava Condarco, a native of Bolivia, lives in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, is a Business Administrator and Entrepreneur. He currently works as Manager of his Company, Business Strategy and Personal Development Consultant, writer and Entrepreneur Coach.
Author of the book: “Entrepreneurship is a way of life. Development of Entrepreneurial Awareness ”
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