MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2024 - COMPETITION

 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2024 - COMPETITION

Competition can be both good and bad. I have been a competitor for years - in some form.

I do German Language studies on Duolingo. I’m writing this on Sunday evening when the week's competition is just about over. This Sunday night, I’m in the Diamond League - the top level of competition. I will be in the top 25 and move on to the next level - and that is the semi-finals of the Diamond competition. And if I’m in the top ten of that group, I’ll move on to the finals. Yes - I like to win.

From Duolingo’s viewpoint, the more competition, the more people (like me) will want to study and do lessons in the language they are learning. (I moved from the free version - with many ads to the paid version - no ads about two months ago). And Duolingo can pay their staff to develop more and better lessons.

But, I’m not focused as much on the learning as I am on the competition. Can I complete this next week with enough lessons and points to go to the Diamond League Finals?

But - I’ve done the Diamond League Finals before and came in as one of the top finishers. I don’t need to do that. And (a subtle groan), I spend about an hour daily on German Duolingo lessons.

I get a 15-minute bonus time in the morning; if I do some things right, I’ll get an extra 15 minutes - so thirty minutes in the morning. That translates to another 15-minute bonus time in the evening - and I can (and generally do) “buy” another 15 minutes (“buy the extra time with all the points I’ve accumulated over almost ten years in the app.

I’ve played Words with Friends for about twelve years (ever since one of my students at Quinnipiac University suggested it). This is a Scrabble game with two people. The computer randomly gives each person seven tiles to make a word. BUT - I want to win, I want to come up with the highest point words (and words with X, Z, Q, and J get more raw points - and if you can put your words on a square that said “Triple Word” - I’ll get more points.

That game has hurt over time. I played my sister in five or six games. And I would beat her 90% of the time - and she stopped playing me. Why am I not satisfied with just playing the game with my sister? Why do I have to be competitive? Why did I hurt my sister?

*****

In the world, there is competition. I liked being the AITP-EDSIG “Information Systems Educator of the Year” (you can only win once). I liked being elected to office - even though it meant more time and more commitment.

I have always wanted to be “number one.” (I can hear the chant in my brain (“We’re Number One; We’re Number One”). We are going into a very competitive season in the United States - the political season. Each candidate wants to be number one - and get elected to a job. (My local congressman had been in the United States House of Representatives for 22 years and is up for reelection. He is 84 years old and will be 86 when the next term is over. Why does he want to be elected again? He must have a very competitive spirit.

We have two main political parties going at each other - there will be scandals, mudslinging, half-truths, outright lies, innuendos, and debates. It is very competitive - and will be very expensive. We will have television ads, online ads, mailings, and more by September and October. I may want to live in a mountain cave for several months. The zealots will be fiercely promoting their candidate as “the best.”

Sometimes competition leads to stealing ideas and even crime. Seemingly, President Nixon wanted to win the election so had a group steal idea from his opponent's office. Businesses do "industrial espionage" to gain a competitive advantage. In sports some teams cheat like stealing signs (baseball).

Likewise, there is competition between companies - sometimes good and sometimes not so good. Atre Hondas better cars than Chevrolets? Are Cheetos better than the HEB brand? (HEB being the main local grocery store). But Cheetos are over a dollar higher priced than HEB cheese snacks. Is Coke better than Pepsi, so is the generic HEB Cola at a dollar per two-liter bottle a better buy?

And - competition between nations. OH NO - China has bigger armed forces - we need to increase our military spending. Russia is in competition with Ukraine over land ownership. Do we need to stop spending money on Chinese technology products - they are undermining American products. Do we need to put government dollars into computer chip development?

*****

Last weekend, our community recreation center hosted a Granny Basketball event. Sure, each team wanted to win, but I find the comradery between players more important than winning. (I hope my coach isn’t reading this). Maxie is a great friend on the G-Force team; I like players from other teams.

The competition will not stop. But, may competition be with love in mind?

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Karen Anne White, ©, February 26, 2024