October 20, 2025- One choice at a time

The fact that compulsive drives for success will arise only in a competitive culture does not make them any less neurotic.

~Karen Horney

The structure of our world will only change significantly from a global existential crisis. If and when that occurs, we will experience a whole different set of stressors than we do today. Until then, we can expect our circumstances to continue, much as they are. We will encounter change, major life-events, and societal shifts, but most of our circumstances will be decided by the world around us, much more than by our choices.

The competitive world we live in is not going to go away anytime soon. This is the kind of thing over which we have no control. What we do control, however, is how we choose to react to that world and to all the circumstances we encounter.

Do we need to make ourselves crazy with comparisons? Do we need to be a part of the competition? Do we need to enter into races with our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues? Do we need to compete with ourselves?

Our observations are not accurate. When we enter into these competitions, we end up competing with constructs built by those observations, so the competition is neither fair nor useful.

We have dreams for ourselves, and we are free to chase them, one choice at a time. Life need not be a competition.