Competing Is In Our DNA
By vishwa on Health, Inspiration, Training
June 29, 2016
I came across an interesting viewpoint in the book titled Beyond Training by Ben Greenfield. The question–why we tend to compete in games and sports such as powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, skiing, marathon, etc? I second the views of the author, Ben Greenfield. Ben in his book titled Beyond Training makes a compelling observation on why we participate in competitions. Yes, if we introspect at what Ben says we cannot disagree with his justification. Nonetheless, I want you to examine with what he says.
Excerpt
“The reality is that most folks do not scale mountains, skydive, do triathlons, or race motorcycles and cars at high speeds around a track for the health of it. They do it for the exhilaration, for the thrill of competition, to “escape” from the everyday routine, for a sense of accomplishment, or for the adrenaline rush.
From an ancestral view point, our hunger for extreme exercise may also simply be a hardwired propensity to want to hunt, fight, or conquer. It may also be a natural, self-perpetuating mechanism to want to emulate heroes, leaders, or champions—so our brains convince us that running a marathon or competing in the Cross Fit Games may be a way to become more of a leader or an important member of our ‘tribe.”
I whole-heartedly agree with Ben that human beings like being recognized. Moreover, I endorse the authors view when he says that we compete to escape form the everyday routine. You all know that I quit practicing law and choose to be in the fitness field, for this is where I belong. However, I have to say that I love being outdoors when it comes to training. On a similar note, training my clients in the gym doesn’t interest me much; whereas, training them outdoor is exhilarating. I use the word “exhilarating” as, for example, in the sprint and tug of war we compete with each other. I observe that our mind craves for competition. Moreover, I reiterate, and as Ben says, “to ‘escape” from the everyday routine” is also my agenda. Ha! However, don’t disregard his opinion when he says that it’s in our DNA to hunt, fight, conquer, and last but not the least compete.
PS: If you think that competing isn’t in our DNA it genuinely shows that our minds are falsely conditioned.