Competition

“Winning is not a sometimes thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”

Vince Lombardi

It’s popular in some circles to bash competition. However, we all go through a normal growing- up stage where some competition is essential for development of healthy self-esteem. Competition, when done in a respectable manner, drives individuals to become better and to achieve more goals. It teaches us valuable life skills, such as good sportsmanship, drive, and the desire to win.

There are many different levels in which competition can be a useful tool. You can compete with others, you can compete with yourself, or your team may compete against other teams. In whichever manner you chose to compete, creating a habit, or a drive to win, will help you become a champion in life.

Everytime martial artists train, they should should strive to challenge themselves to get better, stronger, and smarter than they were the day before. School, work, and martial arts classes are great areas in which you should compete with yourself. Striving to be better than you were the day before will naturally push you to realize more goals and develop a winning attitude.

Write down daily challenges for yourself and see if you are improving.