Sports Competition is an Illusion
Today, I want to share with you some thoughts that came to my mind while talking to a dear friend of mine who is a professional triathlon athlete, and while watching some videos from the Pan Am Games. Although the title of this article may sound controversial, stay with me and at the end you will be able to ponder this yourself….
I have never shared that I used to be a competitive triathlon athlete years ago, and although I really loved it, after some serious injuries and lots of self-judgement and pressure, my body and my soul decided to give it a go. Today, I feel very grateful to have had such experiences, because they helped me open to a completely different perspective and awareness about sports, exercise and my body. Let me explain…
I seems that since we are born, we have been engrained with the false belief that we need to compete with each other in order to feel important, worthy and prove ourselves to the world. We feel the need to win and become the top one. We are so preoccupied with being the best in sports, school, work, etc. that we become trapped within this illusion and forget what is real and important.
Over time, we start engaging in the mirror of our environment, and measure ourselves against each other in other to have a point of reference of what is considered successful or not. The problem is that when we compare ourselves against each other, we completely forget that we are all One, and this means that what we perceive in another that we think we lack, is just what is yet unexpressed within.
I remember feeling so frustrated and angry with myself if I did not win or perform well in a triathlon race. My whole value system became subject to my performance, my results and comparing myself to others. I was so aware of other people´s expectations about me, and I became a slave to all these false standards of excellence.
But, what if these standards are false? What if we have been programmed to measure ourselves up against points or reference that are just an illusion? How can you compete with another person, if there is no separation between you and the person next to you?
As I told this dear friend of mine: ¨I love and care about you because of YOU, and this will never be subject to how well you perform or how many races you win¨. We are valuable because we are alive, because we are a unique expression of the One Life. We are valuable because of who we are, regardless of what we do.
We must realize that when we compete against another, we are competing against ourselves. What if instead of competing we could appreciate the talents and gifts of others in order to inspire ourselves into a fuller expression? What if we could use sports as a means of self-expression instead of self-reflection?
We were given the gift of movement in order to feel the pleasure of being alive. We were given a unique and marvelous body that is capable of encompassing the whole cosmos within itself. If you are passionate about a competitive sport, do it in order to feel more authentic and joyful. Do it as a means of reaching the never-ending heights of your own body evolution and self-awareness.
I do not expect everyone to agree with these words, as we each have our own timing of awakening, and many of us have to go through our own experiences in order to fully embrace a different paradigm, and this is perfect. I honor and respect your ideas, values and perspectives. And you are welcome to leave any comments below.
In the name of Love,
Monica
