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It’s that magical time of the year. Pitchers and catchers have reported and spring training has officially begun. March Madness is almost upon us; faces will be painted and brackets will be broken faster than an over-caffeinated cheetah.
I am a competitive person. But more times than I’d care to admit, too much of my self-worth gets wrapped up in what my team does on game day. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve thrown things across the room and have had whole days ruined by a tough loss. I’ve shown more emotion in celebrating a big win than I did for any of the births of my three kids. (On the plus side, I didn’t spike any of them in the end zone, which I hear is frowned upon.)
For the record, that doesn’t mean I value a win from my team higher than the birth of my children (although the Cubs winning the World Series is up there pretty high). But it is peculiar how much emotion is wrapped up in an outcome I have zero control over for a game played by millionaires I don’t personally know and that has precisely no impact on my daily life.
Dumb. Kind of like thinking the jersey I wear is affording my team any extra measure of luck, or that changing my sitting location has the power to start a rally.
Dumber yet is thinking we are better or lesser than someone else because of the performance of the teams we root for. When I was young, my uncle (a St. Louis Cardinals fan) and a friend’s dad (a Chicago White Sox fan) often derided me for being a Cubs fan. They made me feel like a lowly peasant, foolish and powerless. When the Cubs lost, it stung a little more. And when they won, I somehow felt vindicated.
I see how silly it all is now and have the perspective to see that both of those men used bravado to hide their severe insecurities. I also see how common it is for us humans to base our self-worth on comparing ourselves to others.
Talk about dumb!
We live in a universe of abundance. Your success isn’t preventing me from being successful. Me being happy isn’t taking away from your happiness.
I’m all for the fun of cheering on your team. And competitiveness is a good thing. But it needs to be channeled wisely.
Consider this wisdom from Hemingway: “There is nothing noble to being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
Now that’s a competition I get behind.
Want to really feel like a winner? Beat the person you were yesterday.
No face paint required.