It Helps To Know Your Competition

I do not consider myself to be a competitive person.... Well, in most
cases I don't. If  buying, wearing, collecting shoes was an Olympic sport, I would most certainly be the Gold Medal winner! But in ordinary day to day stuff I generally don't feel the need to be ahead of the pack.   A lot of people consider being non-competitive  a bad thing, but who can really say. I have a friend who turns into a bloodhound when he gets behind the wheel of a car. If there is someone in front of him, it is his mission in life to pass them at any cost. A particularly high dose of medication is required if I am going to be in the car with him for a period of time. I will have to say that his driving does a lot for my prayer life, cause I  tend to wanna get in touch with God when I'm riding with him. I know women can be very competitive, but men seem to have a lot of ego tied to their ability to be out front. I was talking to a friend who is recovering from an extensive foot/leg surgery. After months of being unable to get around very well, he is finally getting back on his feet.... So to speak. Although he isn't back to running, he is able to swim laps. He said the other night he was swimming when another man swam up beside him.... Neck in neck. His competitive spirit kicked in and he began to push the envelope to get ahead. He said they swam for over a mile and when he got out of the pool he felt completely exhausted. He had given it his all and then some to keep up with this guy. When they got to the locker room, he learned that this guy was a 25 year old Navy rescue swimmer who was training for his re-certification!!! I'm sorry, but I just about rolled in the floor laughing when he told me this. Here he thought he was just doing some friendly competition, when in reality he was killing himself to keep up with someone who swims, not just for a living, but to rescue those whose lives depend on his ability to swim. That would be like me trying to compete against Jimmy Choo in shoes. One thing for sure, he definitely got a good work out that night. This would be one of those cases where it pays to know your competition. What can I say.... I guess we all need a good lap once in a while. (I don't care who you are, that was funny;-)