Friendly Competitions

I attended games’ night the other day and I was hell’a competitive! Some of my friends were a bit taken aback because I’m usually so chilled (unless someone is trying to pull a fast one on me at work and I’m not having that). In my group of friends, I’m the designated “hypeman”. I’m always telling everyone how bomb they’re looking, so it came as a surprise to some that I was sabotaging a competitor on games’ night. Lol. I mean, I would like to think I’m the “Taboo Queen”.

I personally think there is a time and place for competition and even at that, it should be healthy. In hindsight, purposefully sabotaging someone’s game on games’ night isn’t fun but this is SPARTA!-_- Anyways, it got me thinking of unhealthy competitions and my experience with them. I remember driving home one day when I got a really long message from an acquaintance stating that – long story short –I feel like I’m better than I and I may even be diabolical towards her; hence the reason for her (mis)fortune. To say I was shocked would be an understatement, as this wasn’t someone I thought about often. The whole incident made me take a trip down memory lane to my relationship with this person over the years and I started to spot traces of unhealthy competition within our “friendship”. I only imagine that must have heightened over the years to the point of entertaining the thought that I was being diabolical at all…let alone towards her. I’ve since learnt that there is a time and place for competition and that is NEVER within a friendship or in families because that is just toxic.

If you go back to the first ounce of competition in the Bible as evidenced in Cain and Abel’s relationship, you would see just how toxic competition is. When Cain saw that God was more pleased with Abel’s offering because Abel gave God the absolute best he had while Cain gave just anything, Cain could have seen this as a learning experience and resolve to do better the next time there was an offering to be given. Instead, the unhealthy competition led to jealousy which in turn led to rage and rage finally led to murder.

What do you think about competitions in friendships? Are you for or against them?

Lots of love,

“Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off” - Franklin D. Roosevelt