Competition and Other Topics

Sorry guys, it has been way to long since I've posted, for which I apologize - Because obviously many of you could not survive without your daily dose of Koda.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy with races, work and my side business, not to mention the last week of school for my oldest two kids.

I have a couple of topics I've been thinking about, so perhaps let me share those, and then I'll expand on one and leave the rest for another day. The topics are:

The Environment - I think Global Warming is a corporate/government conspiracy, but I still think we have a responsibility to take care of our surroundings. I'd just rather do it by choice, rather than out of fear for Global Warming.

Carbon Credits - Al Gore and Jack Johnson both purchase Carbon Credits, I'd like to explore what they are, and why Al Gore is a huge hypocrite, while I think Jack Johnson gets it. Unfortunately, right wing commentators often group both of them together which I think is a huge mistake.

Competition - One of the blogs I like to read posted a video from a softball match where a team exhibited great sportsmanship - Click here to read it

There were two comments made which got me thinking, both by readers of this blog as well. I'm going to summarize them, and hopefully I capture their intent. The first commented that competition is unhealthy for our society, which I tend to agree with. The second said that competition is what made the US the great country it is, and so it was a good thing. I tend to agree with that two. I think the problem is that there are two different kinds of competition.

The first kind is about beating your opponents by being better than he is.

The second kind is about beating your opponent by making him look worse than you are.

The end result is that if you are successful in either, you win, but I think the first takes more skill.

I compete in a lot of road races and triathlons. My goal is first and foremost to finish and second to try and beat my previous times. It's going to be a long time before I can even hope to win a race, and even then it may well take a small miracle.

If I can finish a race completely spent and in my best time ever I feel remarkably accomplished and motivated to try and beat it next time. I am inspired by those who beat me, and may even turn to them for advice on how to get myself to that level. I have found they are generally more than willing to share and help a relative newby like myself along. At the end of the day I think everyone who participates in competition like this wins.

My other option would be to turn a race into a circus. I could start at the front on the pack, try and get in peoples way, prevent them from passing me, and 'accidently' trip them if they do. I may well finish higher in the rankings, but only because I have employed dirty tactics to put my competition down. This seems to be how the game of politics is played these days. It's how a lot of things are done. I don't agree with it.

In the game of life, I plan on doing my best. I hope you will too. Either of could win on the day, and we will do so with honor and as better people, enriching the lives of those whom we associate with. This is the spirit that make America and many other nations great. The other kind is what is going to be our downfall.