Competition: What the National Championship Taught me about Competing

Competere vs. Competition:

The Oxford Dictionary defines competition as: the activity or condition of striving to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others.  The synonyms are: rivalry, competitiveness, vying, contesting, opposition, contention, conflict, feuding, battling, fighting, struggling, strife, war.

This is the common understanding of competition: me against you.  I win. You lose.  Now more than ever we are obsessed with “getting what we deserve.”  We are in competition with everyone and everything.  Who has the better job? Better car? Better family? Nicer home? Smarter kids?  The list goes on and on.

The word compete comes from the Latin word competere: to seek together, from Latin com- + petere  to come together, agree, to go to.  Brett Ledbetter, founder of What Drives Winning, challenges us to look at competition as “striving together to improve.”

A Lesson From Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa:

Jalen Hurts entered last week’s National Championship game with a 25-2 career record.  His backup, Tua Tagovailoa, was the #1 ranked quarterback in the 2017 class.  At halftime, Alabama was struggling.  They trailed Georgia 13-0.  The Crimson Tide Head Coach, Nick Saban, made the bold decision to replace Hurts with the true freshmen Tagovailoa.  Tagovailoa did not disappoint, he led the Tide to a 26-23 thrilling overtime victory.

What I appreciated most was the interactions between Hurts and Tagovailoa.  These are two ELITE level athletes.  Hurts is a physical specimen, and a proven winner.  Tagovailoa appears to have the talent and mindset of a NFL quarterback.   Powerful egos usually accompany such strong skill sets.  After halftime, you saw the two men embrace several times.  Hurts, the mentor, there to assist the talented true freshmen every step of the way.  After the game Tagovailoa stated that Hurts was the one who, “lead the team to a National Championship.”

This is what high-level internal competition looks like- two people who are personally driven to help the group reach their mission.  It’s not about any one individual; instead, it is the team.

A Thought For Parents:

Basketball season is in full swing and the beginning of baseball is on the horizon.  Now is a great opportunity to help your child distinguish between the different definitions of competition.  We can become consumed with internal competition and a negative environment gets created.  “Are you going to start?” “Why is John getting more shots than you?”  This hurts your child’s relationships and ultimately their experience.

What if you approached things differently?  Instead of asking questions that focus on their specific role ask questions about the team.  “How is the team looking?”  “Are you working hard to ensure the team reaches their goals?”  Or, “have you helped anyone get better?”

I know this is difficult and not common.  From experience, I can tell you that the athletes that focus on helping the group have a much better experience than the ones who are solely focused on “getting theirs.”

Final Thought:

We cannot be afraid of competition.  Higher level sports and business are about striving to win.  We can’t shy away from that.  What we can do is form a healthy way of looking at competition.  Instead of hoping and wishing ill of others realize that your competitor’s growth is actually helping you.  As they improve so do you, and vice versa.

Two elite level athletes, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa, gave us a great example of what internal competition is really all about.  As a result of the way they handled a tough situation both can be called National Champions.

Make it a great week,

Mike