Thursday, July 26, 2012

On Competitiveness


I've recently started reading 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running' by Haruki Murakami. I've been a Murakami fan for some time but his style and openess in this book are rather astounding. There was one passage which has really stood out to me,


"Don't misunderstand me - I'm not totally uncompetitive. It's just that for some reason I never cared all that much whether I beat others of lost to them. This sentiment remained unchanged after I grew up. It doesn't matter what field you're talking about - beating somebody else just doesn't do it for me. I'm much more interested in whether I reach the goals I set for myself, so in this sense long-distance running is the perfect fit for a mindset like mine."

- Haruki Murakami

I think this sums up my attitude to sport entirely. When I was in High School the competitive aspect was pushed on us to such an extent that it depleted my enjoyment of many organised sports. This is why I'm enjoying running so much at the moment. It's a period in the day where I can be outside and free of thoughts and constraints and there is no pressure. I wonder why we can't encourage more people to participate in sport either for themselves or for others (supporting causes which are important to them) rather than constantly pushing them to beat other people? 


This morning, I bettered my ability to run and it's made me feel really positive about things - I walked home feeling positively light. 


Safe travels wherever you are,


Lovelovelove,


Gemma      


http://www.justgiving.com/Gemma-L-M-Morrison

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