Competere

Compete. It’s a strong word. Some love it. Others are squeamish about it. When I’ve worked with high-level sports teams, they almost all have valued competitive spirit as foundational to their team’s success. Yet, I have found that competitiveness is often mis-understood.

The origins of the word come from the Latin word “competere”, which means “to strive with.” Think about that for a second. What would competition be without someone challenging us? How can we compete without others? What if we respected our rivals/opponents and appreciated them for bringing out the best in us? What opportunities might exist if we thought about competition that way?

Here's what’s more, when competition is a zero-sum game, it can become internally toxic and create external ethical dilemmas. But what if we thought about competition and collaboration co-existing and actually leveraged them to feed off each other? What if we thought about collaboratively competing? What might that look like? How could you value both on an equal playing field?

Remember, whenever you are competing, you are striving with something. Embrace it.