"No, I don't want to run, because I'm too competitive, and in races I want to win," the teenager tells me. But he doesn't train, he doesn't run. His thing, well, isn't being competitive. This is about not wanting to lose when he deserves it. Which is very different. If he participated in a race, he would see that there are people who have trained more than him. That there are people, in fact, who live to train. It's normal for them to run more than him. Being competitive is working or enhancing your talents to win. What the teenager is telling me is that he doesn't like losing when he deserves it. And, therefore, he prefers not to compete.
The type of society young people grow up in has fostered non-competition. Competing is frowned upon. They spend their childhood without losers, because everyone wins. They are lied to when their effort is valued, because an effort focused on striking cold iron is worthless. Since they haven't competed, it scares them, but at the same time, it stimulates them too much. By repeating every day that we need to practice the culture of effort right now - we are perverters of words - effort It turns out it's everything. Getting up in the morning, setting the table, putting down your phone, checking the name of a street, saying "good morning," or taking care of your clothes.
If they had competed, they would have lost by now. Everyone loses; no one always wins. They would have downplayed losing and, therefore, winning. The "very competitive" teenager wouldn't have made it to the corner if he had run. He went running for three days, Mom applauded him, and bought him running shoes. He got a tattoo: "Born to run"The shoes will end up on Wallapop, but for now, the boy says he runs but doesn't do races because he's very competitive.
