Competition

   I bought C an anniversary present last week. I got him a Fitbit. I'd been wanting to get him one for a long time, but there are many different ones. I didn't know which one he would want.
  He chose one in the middle of the line. It tracks what he wants to track and lets him know if someone is calling him. (as long as his phone is close by.)
  I thought it would be an excellent tool to help him get into better shape. I have heard from reading that being able to track things can help.
  I didn't realize that it would also get him involved in competition with others. If I'd known that I might not have bought it.
  Competition is something that C and I disagree about. He thinks it's a good thing and spurs people on to do better. I disagree. I've seen more people behave badly in competitive situations and feel that it brings out the worst in people most of the time.
  Every time I hear things like, "Winning isn't everything,it's the only thing." ,"No time for losers" and other quotes that extoll the virtues of being first, I cringe. I really feel that this kind of mentality is dangerous. This "win at any cost" way of thinking is what causes people to do things they wouldn't normally do. It's led people to take dangerous drugs, to cheat and to lie so they can get ahead and be first.
  The Olympics is a good example of the dangers of competition. I can't watch them anymore. It used to be about watching amateur athletes  compete. Just being able to compete in the Olympics was considered an honor. Now it is all about the gold medals. It doesn't matter who won silver or bronze. The only ones who count are the gold medalists. It's become even worse. Now the focus is on who can win the most gold medals. I don't remember former gold medal winners coming back to win another.
  I don't like the fact that coming in first takes away appreciation of the effort. For example a teams beats another team by a small margin. Only the winning team is important. No one really cares that that team had to work to win. I feel for the team that didn't win. they get no respect what so ever because they lost. All their effort was for nothing.
  Competition leads to other bad behaviors. Trash talking is a good example. My team is better than yours. I don't root for losers like you do. I've been told that it is all done in fun and that I take it too seriously. I don't believe there is a need for trash talk. Let your actions speak.
  I'm more a fan of cooperation. When people get together they can do some really cool things. You can build stuff and get things done when you cooperate. Even better every one wins when people cooperate with each other.
  I once was part of a group that was trying to eat more nutriously for a month. That is the kind of challenge I could get into. Instead of focusing on who had the most serving of veggies that day we all encouraged each other. We kept each other honest. We shared hints. I was almost sad when it was over. It was fun.
  I'm hoping that this Fitbit challenge that C's involved in will be all right. One participant already told him that it's every man for himself. He seemed satisfied with his second place finish although he wondered how the first place finisher managed to got from fourth to first in an hour or so.
  We'll have to see.