Competition

We live in a competitive society. We are taught from the time we understand anything at all that there are finite resources and we must strategize on maximizing our access to the resources we desire. In other words, we must figure out how to get what we need while others are doing the same. This leads inevitably to competition.

But...what if you didn't know your needs from your wants? What if nobody taught you any strategies? What if you lived by the philosophy of doing no harm to others? What if you just didn't want to compete?

Is there an easy way through this dog-eat-dog world? Sure there is. Just ask a cat.

Competition is only a problem of perspective. We feel we must compete because that is what we see immediately around us. But we're not looking at the bigger picture. The fact that there are plenty of resources in our immediate environment seems to slip by most Americans. In your neighborhood, right this moment, is a grocery store that holds enough food to feed you and your neighbors. In your state, right now, there is enough food to feed every person in the state (unless, of course, you're growing oranges in Florida in the middle of a freeze.)

Finite resources is manufactured scarcity. People starve in America not because there is not enough food in America, but because there is too much competition, which results in hoarding (aka price gouging) which results in a certain unfortunate sector of the population not being able to afford to purchase the food from those with the resources. But this is a society of plenty. And competition disappears in an atmosphere of plenty.

So...competition is manufactured by society, but we don't have to buy that paradigm. However, we all still have to live in society. How do we eat but not compete?

First off, remember that you are where you are for a reason. Nobody knows that reason except maybe deep down inside of you, but there's a reason for your existance. If you are where you're supposed to be, you will find all the resources you need to be where you are. When those resources are not there, you will move on. If you are not in the place you're supposed to be, you may need to move on to find resources.

Second, if you are not competing, you actually have more attention to give to opportunities. You have a chance to see them coming and prepare to make the most of them. You have time to create them.

Third, take yourself out of the game. If there's a ballgame in a stadium, there are winners and losers. There are winning fans and losing fans. Each person in the stadium is on one side of the line or the other, and the two sides are competing. The hot-dog vendor is competing with the beer guy for your cash. People are getting antsy about their teams...stressing out even! But everyone is involved in the game somehow.

Who is not involved in the game?
The person walking down the street, who doesn't know the game is happening, and doesn't care. This person is not competing. This person is not watching or judging the competition. This person can have hot dogs and beer all day long, no competition.

Step out of the game. Get away from the stadium. Stop playing, stop watching, stop being the referee. Stop parking cars for the patrons. Get your needs met under your own power, feed yourself as you wish, eat, sleep, work, play as you wish. It's your life and you only get it this one time.

Be the cat in a dog-eat-dog world.