A Competitive Mindset

Speaking of competition, I realize that the very ill of ‘not good enough’ has its root in a world obsessed with competition.

Right from the time we are born, our competition begins. Our various growth milestones (which are so very individual) such as when we begin to teeth/ sit/ crawl/ stand/ walk/ speak etc become the topic of ‘one-up-wo-man-ship’ among relatives, colleagues and neighbors. Parents speak proudly about the early bloomers (taking full credit for the little blighter’s performance) while blame the genes (taken from a particular side of the family) as the culprit for late milestones. The poor kid, s/he is not even aware of the competitive spirit that gets aroused by such a simple thing whether s/he sleeps through the night or wakes up many times.

(No, wait a minute, that’s not true! We think that the infant is not aware of what is going on, but the energy of our competitive thoughts filters through our words and affects the baby- even in its sleep!)

From there on, the competition continues in many subtle and not-so-subtle ways. By the time a child joins the primary school, s/he is already stamped with ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’, because there has to be some area in which we find ourselves ‘not up to the mark’ vis-à-vis someone else. Even if we excel in a certain area, we can’t be the best in everything. And that brings us to our obsession with being an ‘ALL ROUNDER’. Every parent (whether they have achieved anything themselves or not) (especially if they haven’t achieved much and feel ‘not good enough' themselves) wants their child to be an all-rounder. And that’s an absolute impossibility, because NO ONE is designed to be an all-rounder. We can only be ‘Andhon mein Kana Raja’- ‘the one-eyed king among the blind’.

And we all want to be that- one-eyed king, even when we have the potential of seeing with not only our two physical eyes, but even a meta-physical third eye as well! What a waste of our potential!!

The genesis of this ubiquitous competition lies in our faulty thought that THERE ISN’T ENOUGH……there isn’t enough money, there isn’t enough time, there aren’t enough seats for study, there aren’t enough jobs, and there aren’t enough resources! Those who run faster than the rest, get there to lay their hands on as much as they can grab.

But wait a minute a minute! Where are we running off to? Who cares? All we know is that we need to run and grab (whatever it is that we want to grab) before someone else does, before it gets over/ finishes. And thus begins the rat race, which is another name for mindlessly going around in circles, not knowing where we are headed! And someone has very rightly said, even when we win the race, we remain a rat!!

What if we were to believe that we can all be/ do/ have what we desire from deep within? That there is no need to run, as nothing is running away from us. That we can simply enjoy our life journey from day one, being who we are, and not feeling guilty about it.

What if we grew up believing that we are lovable as we are, with our likes, dislikes, talents, desires, aptitudes, attitudes, vulnerabilities, imperfections? That we don’t need to prove anything to anyone anytime. That we can rejoice in our uniqueness.

What if we were sure that we don’t need to compete with anyone for anything? That our parents’ love was a given, that good education was a given, that earning a livelihood was a given, that a good, loving lovable home life was a given.

What if we completely believed that we don’t need to impress anyone with clever words, good looks, smart credentials, loads of money, fancy gadgets, big homes, yachts, private jets etc?

What if our loving essence shone through us at all times, dazzling us with our inherent goodness, kindness, compassion, care, and brotherhood?

What if we begin to let go of our competitiveness, small mindedness, selfishness, and grabbing- hogging - seeking attention mentality?

What if we begin to feel ‘ENOUGH’? I am enough. I have enough. There is enough to go around. There is enough where this comes from. The Source is infinite. Our potential is infinite. Resources are infinite; when one resource gets exhausted, we get creative and find new/ different resources. That is how new discoveries/ inventions are made, new jobs are created, new subjects are studied.

This is an ever-renewing, ever-evolving, ever-growing universe. We are ever-renewing, ever-evolving, ever-growing beings!
Where is the doubt that the universe has ENOUGH for all our needs? But there is certainly a doubt whether it has enough for even a few people’s greed!! And the greed originates in competition!!

It is time we did away with competition in any form; and the place to begin with, as always is, WITHIN US…:)