August 31, 2026- What the competition is doing

I think men compete mainly against other men. That has been the basic fact and driving force in the historical progress of human culture.

~Roy Baumeister

People are so often motivated by outside forces. We are ruled by comparisons. Because of that, the values of others become the driving force behind our actions.

You’re in a 100-meter race. Everyone else trips and falls down. Do you keep running hard to the finish line? You’re in the top 10 of your class. Everyone else starts going to parties every night and their grades all start to tank. Do you keep studying? You take pride in your well-maintained property. Everyone else in your neighborhood allows their homes to fall into disrepair. Do you keep doing the work? You go to the gym with two training partners several times a week. Life gets in their way and they stop going. Do you maintain your routine?

Reliance on motivation is tricky because it often comes from external forces. Suddenly, the very behaviors we claim to value can stop, based almost entirely on factors outside our control.

Let’s take control of our lives – not just of the actions and the reactions, but of the thoughts driving us to do them. Let’s be driven by our own vision, our own values, our own standards, whether competition exists or it doesn’t. Let’s be the person we want to be, regardless what the competition is doing.