Competition

We have heard it so many times….”Competition is Healthy”.  

Where would Coke be without Pepsi? McDonalds without Wendy’s? Stop and please think about it….and then applaud competition with me!

Our competition can make us who we are today. Competition gives us something to ‘model’ after and purpose to strive to do better. You may be reading this and rattling your head over some stiff competition in your life… but STOP…..just BE for a minute and THINK… where would YOU be today without THEM!?  

Okay…so maybe you slip into a fantasy world of   “Where would I be? Is she nuts!?   La, la, la, la, la….EVERYTHING going my way and attention (or sales) coming to ME ONLY!”

But, THAT my friend, IS A FANTASY! …..Why? Well hello… because the world does not revolve around ME, or YOU and ONLY ME/YOU! …sad as it may seem, but the sooner we make peace with this, the sooner we’ll find peace within!

Okay, I am human too, and it is not an easy pill to swallow at times. You may be thinking the same, but really, the more I applaud and appreciate the competition, the better for me, the better for them, and the better for everyone. We are all on the same treadmill walking forward.

I receive a newsletter via email from a prominent motivational speaker named James Ray, and this is what he has to say about Competition. What he also speaks of is teaming up energies for mutual benefit. Many of the leaders in business today network with other successful people, and that is how they stay at the top. No man is an island… although sometimes we think we can Just-do-it-on –our-own!

_____________________________________________________

James Ray

CREATION OR COMPETITION?  

“Why don't more people build powerful partnerships today?

Doesn't it make sense that you leverage your power when you build partnerships with supportive, powerful people?   And that you increase your success, while minimizing the effort it takes to achieve what you want?   I believe that part of the answer is that we are conditioned to compete with one another.  

One of the most striking facts that my research revealed is that truly successful people never compete.   The reason successful people avoid competition is that when you compete; you limit yourself and restrict your ability to create.   

Consider the kinds of thoughts that must be created for competition.  

When competing you must:  

1.Compare yourself to your "adversary," and think that someone will win and the other must lose  

2.Believe that there is a limited supply of goodness and success.   

Both of these thoughts are in error. Your success, or lack of it, comes directly from your own thoughts.   Other people have no power to keep you from your good. So the only real competition you will ever have in life, is the competition between the positive and negative thoughts of your mind.   You are only in competition with yourself. If you must have an adversary, let that adversary be lack of understanding.   That is the only thing that will slow your success.   

About the author: Robbin Whachell has been a resident of Grand Bahama Island since 1998. She moved to Freeport from Vancouver, Canada. She is the mother of four children and is an involved volunteer in the community, in particular with the YMCA and the island's soccer programmes. She is a founding member of the Grand Bahama Writer's Circle, and The Bahamas representative for the International Women's Writer's Guild. Her passion for life on Grand Bahama comes across in her innovative and intuitive sharing and networking of information within the community she lives. She is appreciative of her opportunity to live in The Bahamas and looks forward to the continuance of being a team player within the larger community of The Bahamas. Robbin is the Editor of TheBahamasWeekly.com and can be reached at robbin@thebahamasweekly.com      

*This article was originally written in 2007