Healthy vs unhealthy competition

[Anders Lindman]

There is healthy competition in for example business and sports. That's good. What's suspicious however is that we have been programmed to ALWAYS be competitive. That's not only stupid, that's insanity. Like mechanical robots unable to think for ourselves, always in a struggle against everything and everyone. Ha ha. That moronic behaviour benefits, not the sheeple, but those who manipulate and control the sheeple.

[sorath]

It is stupid. I often think of the way the world could be if everyone stopped hoarding stuff like it was going out of fashion. People are so brainwashed to be competitive that it would be very hard to break it. How can you convince Mr brand new BMW that he doesn't need it to be happy?

[Anders Lindman]

It is stupid. I often think of the way the world could be if everyone stopped hoarding stuff like it was going out of fashion. People are so brainwashed to be competitive that it would be very hard to break it. How can you convince Mr brand new BMW that he doesn't need it to be happy?

I think there is a shift going on. Maybe not a big one, but for example, pure Wall Street competition is no longer considered something to always automatically strive for. Behaviour that was admired in the past has become almost an embarrassment, even among the mainstream public.

[bobbydiva]

It's amazing, if you help out your competetion, you get so much more in return.

[Anders Lindman]

It's amazing, if you help out your competetion, you get so much more in return.

Help the competition? It's better to sometimes choose to ignore the competition. :D And only to choose to compete when it's interesting. That's positive stress! Instead of being in a habitual and mechanical competition mode 100% of the time, to instead remain stress-free and only boost up the stress when needed. Phew! What a relief that is!

[sorath]

I agree Anders. I try not to get involved in competition the same way I don't get involved in arguements. Its just posturing when all is said and done and I have nothing to prove to anyone!

[Anders Lindman]

I agree Anders. I try not to get involved in competition the same way I don't get involved in arguements. Its just posturing when all is said and done and I have nothing to prove to anyone!

I will try that. It could be a good practice. To not always 'blindly' strive to 'win' every argument. It's a deeply ingrained habit to always strive and struggle though.

[gods sun]

many of the sheep are ill a good 1 is fat loss lol it makes me laugh someone at work only eats 1 off those sh.. protein drinks and the other a plain bowl of cereal and a yogurts, cereal with no milk of course as its too fattening lol the other just a plain dry cracker. as for me i like to sprinkle that fat loss sugar lol, love to replace it with talcum powder lol but i cant do that to over weight skinny women lol.

[size_of_light]

We compete with one another over viewpoints on this forum all the time too.

We should practice not doing that so much, and have more relaxed and open-ended dialogue instead.

[strt]

We compete with one another over viewpoints on this forum all the time too.

We should practice not doing that so much, and have more relaxed and open-ended dialogue instead.

We don't compete! Not all the time! :p

[size_of_light]

We don't compete! Not all the time! :p

I don't agree.

[Anders Lindman]

Ha! Could it be that our habitual and deeply ingrained almost mechanical constant struggle to compete is a large part in relationship problems? That we under the surface always compete with everybody, even with friends and so-called loved ones. And that our friendly behaviour is usually only a phony mask on top of our chronic competitive mindset.

[gilly]

There is a big shift going on, and has been for a while.

Schools introduced a policy a few years back, of giving everyone prizes on sports day etc. so that nobody would feel left out, rather than there being any emphasis on winning. It's not just in sports either. They want the kids to achieve good results in their robotic style exams, because they're evaluated themselves on this in the league tables, but they teach the kids it's wrong to be competetive.

[size_of_light]

Ha! Could it be that our habitual and deeply ingrained almost mechanical constant struggle to compete is a large part in relationship problems? That we under the surface always compete with everybody, even with friends and so-called loved ones. And that our friendly behaviour is usually only a phony mask on top of our chronic competitive mindset.

I think that behind the desire to compete lies an instinct to defend yourself, and that comes from a mistaken sense of needing to protect your own self-identity, which in itself is just a collection of junk you've built up around yourself like a kid's fort.

[Anders Lindman]

There is a big shift going on, and has been for a while.

Schools introduced a policy a few years back, of giving everyone prizes on sports day etc. so that nobody would feel left out, rather than there being any emphasis on winning. It's not just in sports either. They want the kids to achieve good results in their robotic style exams, because they're evaluated themselves on this in the league tables, but they teach the kids it's wrong to be competetive.

Giving everybody a prize sounds suspicious. It's better to gain the power of being able to choose when to compete and when not to compete. Kids today are probably still trained to always be competitive and that the non-competitive stunts are only diversions preventing the kids from becoming self-empowered.

[sorath]

There is a big shift going on, and has been for a while.

Schools introduced a policy a few years back, of giving everyone prizes on sports day etc. so that nobody would feel left out, rather than there being any emphasis on winning. It's not just in sports either. They want the kids to achieve good results in their robotic style exams, because they're evaluated themselves on this in the league tables, but they teach the kids it's wrong to be competetive.

i remember when I was younger and I said "It isn't the winning that counts, it is the taking part" to which my then friends dad replied "only a loser would say something like that."

hahahaha

[Anders Lindman]

I think that behind the desire to compete lies an instinct to defend yourself, and that comes from a mistaken sense of needing to protect your own self-identity, which in itself is just a collection of junk you've built up around yourself like a kid's fort.

Oh! Yes, that could be a part of it. That it's an underlying belief in always being threatened that fuels the chronic and mechanical competitive mindset. And over time layer upon layer of protection and phoniness builds up in people.

[size_of_light]

Oh! Yes, that could be a part of it. That it's an underlying belief in always being threatened that fuels the chronic and mechanical competitive mindset. And over time layer upon layer of protection and phoniness builds up in people.

Exactly right.

At least, I see what you're describing in myself.

[delamo1999]

I agree Anders. I try not to get involved in competition the same way I don't get involved in arguements. Its just posturing when all is said and done and I have nothing to prove to anyone!


Me Third. I view most competition as being barbaric and self serving only. I often wonder if it is possible to live in a world full of abundance why do we need competition. What makes me better than someone else if our common goal is to help another?

I believe that many of us (myself included) are moving into a reality that is not based on "survival is the fittest".

[Anders Lindman]

When you visualize yourself as powerful, do you then think of yourself as being competitive? If so, isn't that really a picture of you being a petty little loser? If you have to compete, you are coming from a position of inferiority. See? ;):D:)

[sorath]

I'd think if you are visualising yourself as powerful then the need to compete becomes obsolete. You are bang on. Those that strive to compete at everything are trying to hide something they hate about themselves and project an image they want people to believe instead.

This thread is brilliant!

[Anders Lindman]

An alternative to thinking in terms of competition is to think in terms of learning new skills or improving one's skills. To have to learn things is often needed. But those learning processes don't ALWAYS have to rely on competition. In fact, competition can actually often be less effective than other means. Competition is like the old-school reptile- or baboon- brain simplistic struggle approach. Not very smart.

[Anders Lindman]

those learning processes don't ALWAYS have to rely on competition.

One example of a smarter method than crude competition is to work TOGETHER with the world to achieve things instead of AGAINST the world. A little more intelligent approach than brute force struggle competition, don't you think? :cool:

[Anders Lindman]

The education system for example, uses, in addition to mindless competition, rewards and punishment. That works, but it's a hopelessly crude and outdated method. Like something used for training animals! Ha ha ha.

[Anders Lindman]

One example of a smarter method than crude competition is to work TOGETHER with the world to achieve things instead of AGAINST the world.

Ok, so how does that work in a world where everybody tries to rip off everybody else or to destroy each other or suck the living daylight out of each other? The trick is to resonate with the WHOLE world, not only with separate individuals. Then you will have the momentum of the whole world behind you, and all competition will be like mosquitoes in front of an express train running full speed ahead.

[Anders Lindman]

Another way to look at is that people want success. Aligning yourself with the force of creation will ensure personal success. Like strains of energy, the force of creation flows through our world, in huge and small waves. You want huge success? Then surf a big wave. Want a small success and more peace, surf a smaller wave. Competition is for cannonfodder.

[Anders Lindman]

When we have enough of correct knowledge, competition becomes redundant except for entertainment purposes. If you KNOW what to do in order to succeed, then competition is not an important issue.

To illustrate this point, consider the understanding of the exponential progress in technology. As Ray Kurzweil said, even many prominent scientists fail to understand exponential progress. Our minds are trained to think linearly. One example Kurzweil uses is that in our early history we made linear predictions about how wild animals would move in relation to us. For such predictions, linear estimations are valid. But for evolutionary progress, and especially technological progress, such predictions fairly quickly become grossly wrong. An example of this is that taking 30 steps linearly will result in a distance of 30. Taking 30 steps exponentially, each step doubling in size, the result in distance is one billion!

This directly relates to the increase of information and complexity and communication speed today. If your strategy is to compete with linear predictions based on past experience, then you would have to struggle immensely in order to succeed. If you instead use a more adaptable approach, your success could become a piece of cake.

[les_paul_robot]

i remember when I was younger and I said "It isn't the winning that counts, it is the taking part" to which my then friends dad replied "only a loser would say something like that."

hahahahaHehehe. Another one:
Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing!

It's not enough to win, the opposition must fail!

From a 90s BMW ad:
It's lonely at the top. Who cares?

I used to be like all that. Now I think fuck competition.
Relatives start to get all
"you should be looking to buy a house-----------by now"
"---------"-"------------settle with a nice lass-----"-"--"
"---------"-"------------think about a family-------"-"--"
"---------"-"---------be in middle management-----"-"--"

Who the fuck decided I should be? Anyone I know?
Well I don't have to so fuck em.

[Anders Lindman]

And when competition is a burden rather than something interesting, then I strongly suspect there is something wrong somewhere, too much conflict and friction.

What is needed is to find some way of success that feels good, with little or no struggle, that feels interesting. One mistake I am probably making myself is that I am still feeling like a miserable failure. What I should do is to align myself with success instead. Not struggle like a competitive madman.