Competition

I was talking to a friend recently and we got onto the subject of competition. She seemed to have a lot of negative thoughts attached to the idea of competition. That had likely originated from the fact that she was a twin, and competition was the name of the game, from conception forward! (and I'm sure not always in a good way.)

Later, after that conversation, I began to realize that feelings about competition develop very differently along gender lines, or I should say, they used to long ago. Boys competed in sports [and everything else] and girls were supposed to learn to cooperate. Both my friend and I recalled how sports were not part of our lives as children, or even as teens. The idea of being a female competitive athlete came "after our time." Now I realize how much I missed by not playing on a competitive team sport as a youngster.

As a family, when we played various games, [card games, or board games, or word games] I remember how shocked I was when my family members started to 'accuse' me of being highly competitive. That was an unexpected description which didn't seem to fit my view of myself.

Now that I have become a serious tennis player, I recognize that I love to compete. And the competing has less to do with who wins, and more to do with testing your skill. I used to watch a lot of ice skating, especially during the Michelle Kwan era. I remember how often she would talk about her passion for skating, and how she loved to compete. I didn't understand that for a long time, but now I do. If one works hard for years, puts tremendous time and effort into mastering a talent, skill, ability (particularly of the sports category), the only way to really test your mettle is to compete with others.

I only wish I'd had more opportunities to compete when I was younger and my body was stronger. Now there are considerable limits to what I can do. But I still like to push them!