Win

by josh on April 18, 2010

Cooperate whenever possible.

Compete if you must.

If you choose to compete, you must win.

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

Not competing will not be an option very, very soon.

There is no going back.

Josh

{ 26 comments }

Chris Smith April 18, 2010 at 11:51 pm

Kinda cryptic. I like it.

Kira April 19, 2010 at 12:14 am

Double negatives confuse me, dude.

Don’t really understand what you’re talking about …

But I’m one of those ‘be happy if you’ve done your best’ kinda dudes :)

For me, losing a competition is just another learning experience and stepping stone for future improvement.

:)

josh April 19, 2010 at 9:10 am

It will make more sense soon. As for confusing double negatives, beware 2AM bleary-eyed composition after too much cake. I had descended into early morning grammar madness. My next pr will be the quadruple negative!

Christian April 19, 2010 at 6:23 am

Just at quick glance i think hes talking about competing with yourself, when you get better (pr) you win. Maybe because your thinking about competition with other people you are confused about the direction of the poem?

josh April 19, 2010 at 9:13 am

For the record, the only poetry i like is dr. Seuss. It does look like a poem, though. The above is something Frankie has said to me a lot lately about different things. It may have many applications someone, or it may be confusing and have none for others. It has a lot of meaning for me.

frank berean April 19, 2010 at 6:49 am

I got you josh.

Harlan Jacobs April 19, 2010 at 7:21 am

Life is a competition, in my eyes. Second is nothing more than the first looser.

Amy Jurrens April 19, 2010 at 9:07 am

I’m picking up what you’re laying down, Josh.

Never lose your sizzle!

josh April 19, 2010 at 9:16 am

See what I mean, Amy? That way lies madness. Step back from the brink before it’s too late.

Amy Jurrens April 19, 2010 at 9:25 am

When I didn’t know better, I did the best I could. Now that I know better, I will do better and win! My results will be my victory.

Jesse April 19, 2010 at 10:17 am

If winning doesn’t matter, then why do they keep score? – Lombardi

Harlan Jacobs April 19, 2010 at 11:08 am

Nobody remembers second.

Boris Bachmann April 19, 2010 at 12:20 pm

The second place guy (or girl) does.

josh April 19, 2010 at 9:42 pm

Boris, I’m going to send you a picture of my second place spelling bee trophy from Fourth grade. Closest I ever came to “winning” a competition. I still can’t hear the word “develop” without cringing:) I even spelled it right, I just didn’t repeat it after I spelled it!

Boris Bachmann April 20, 2010 at 10:32 am

I’d love to see that Josh.

Mike T Nelson April 19, 2010 at 12:40 pm

Wise words indeed.

Amy, don’t bring up the sizzle around Josh.

Rock on
Mike T Nelson PhD(c)
http://ExtremeHumanPerformance.com

josh April 19, 2010 at 8:42 pm

Mike, check out the sizzle. You must check it:)

Brad Johnson April 19, 2010 at 1:40 pm

Josh, I may have read a bit more into this than you intended, but I see it this way: winning and losing only have importance if we ascribe importance to them – get this – SUBJECTIVELY.

To tell another person that “you must win ” and, by extension, that winning “is the most important thing” misses the point entirely.

Please don’t think of this as an attack, Josh, but there ain’t a damn thing that I “must” do, and certainly not anything that somebody else could tell me to do (even you).

Whatever the competition, however “important,” it remains just that: a competition, a game played by a bunch of primates on an insignificant planet in the middle of galactic Nowhere.

When you win, enjoy it, but please don’t take yourself so seriously.

josh April 19, 2010 at 8:41 pm

Brad, I take myself less seriously than anyone I know. You have read enough of my writing to know that other than the occasional grave moment, I treat life like a game and that is why it is fun.

This has nothing to do with me (or you) and is just me thinking out loud based on some recent events and a quote Frankie loves. Go tell him that he takes it too seriously and see the response you get.

I haven’t won anything recently that I’m talking about, other than just making progress, but we’re all doing that. I’m also not involved in any competitions. But there are events in The Movement beginning to occur that will soon make things a lot more clear. Competition is coming and it has nothing to do with “a competition.” It has to do with extremely high stakes. there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes that are only going to dribble out in pieces.

You should never do anything I or anyone else tells you to. That’s why I don’t tell people what they must do. I start conversations. Just thinking out loud. Make whatever you like of it.

Brad Johnson April 20, 2010 at 1:57 pm

I know that, Josh, we’ve just experienced me knee-jerk Libertarianism in action.

A quote, by way of explanation:

“The ultimate weapon has always existed. Every man, every woman, and every child owns it. It’s the ability to say No and take the consequences.” – Hagbard Celine

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

josh April 20, 2010 at 2:30 pm

Ah, good old hagbard.

Rachael April 19, 2010 at 2:06 pm

“Do or do not, there is no try”

There other thing to think about boys and girls, is who is defining the win????

I have always been an odd duck. But I take my victories where I find them. Some are easy for others to understand; my stacked 24kg press and the 28kg press less then 4 weeks later. (It has not gotten old yet, I pressed the 28kg! happy dance) Some are so important that no one really understands them: last Friday I call some friends because it was a really nice day and I was happy. (I have chronic depression and I can not explain how rare that was.)

For some of us, showing up to compete is a win!

josh April 19, 2010 at 8:45 pm

I agree, Rachel. If you are not getting better, you are getting worse. That is one of the things we compete against: the illusion that we can stay the same and continue to break even. There is no staying the same. Once you know that you can always be improving, you are either getting better or getting worse, all the time.

I know which direction you’re headed in.

Congrats on the happy dance:)

Harlan Jacobs April 19, 2010 at 4:26 pm

I guess I need to say that I have been in many competitions in my life. I guess that is why I feel the way I do about this. Competing against myself is not good enough …….. for me. I love training and then comparing my abilities against other like mined people. And yes, I expect to win.

mike sheehan April 20, 2010 at 2:33 pm

i like it josh i am trying to be better everyday good post thanks

josh April 20, 2010 at 3:28 pm

Mike, you’re not trying to get better every day, you’re DOING it. Thanks.

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