Competitor's Anonymous

"Hello, my name is Sheldon and I am a competitor."

"Hi Sheldon," the crowd replies with strained enthusiasm like they'd said it a thousand times to a thousand other people.

"I've been a competitor for as long as I can remember," I continue. " If there was ever a chance that someone could actually finish first in something, I was up for a little competition and was ready to claim that spot. It didn't matter what it was...getting the highest mark in school, winning a board game, or winning at any type of sporting event. I was always up for a competition."

"I remember back in my first year at Bethany College and I was playing basketball for the Bethany team and we ended up losing our first game. I went down to the lounge after to chat about the game and mentioned to someone that I couldn't believe we lost and how we needed to work harder to win next time. The person turned to me and said 'You play for Bethany...get used to it.' I got up and walked away because I couldn't believe there were people in the world that thought that way and were willing to go into a game expecting to lose. I always entered every single game with the thought that we could win if we played our best and I always emphasized that when I coached as well."

"When I play sports right now it is very hard for me to 'turn off' my competitive nature. When I'm playing men's soccer it is not a problem as everyone is out there to win and I blend right in for the most part, although sometimes I have done things I'm not proud of. The problem comes when I play slowpitch in the church league or play co-ed soccer. I try to focus on just having fun and playing carefree, but it is extremely hard for me and quite often I get caught up in the game and can get quite intense. I don't mean to, it's just that I have such a strong competitive nature that it's hard for me to sit back and just let things be."

"I feel it is important to be a competitor and I don't see anything wrong with that. The problem comes when my competitiveness ruins my witness for Jesus. As cliche as it sounds, I need to ask myself 'What would Jesus do?' when I'm in the midst of the competition. He wouldn't be yelling at the ref after a bad call, or getting mad at the other team when they injure me or another teammate. I want to be a competitor, but at the same time know how to be a good competitor, and also know when it is time to turn it off."

"So I'm continuing to work on this thing people call "recreation" where you just do things for fun and don't worry about strategy or doing certain things so that you will win. But instead, going out there and just playing with the gifts God has given me, not getting upset at referees or umpires, and just having a fun time playing with friends for enjoyment."

"Thanks for this group's support as I work on this aspect of my life."