Your biggest competition
November 14th 2008 08:05
Her name was Lois. When I met her, I thought "Weeee! I'll have a new best friend!" She was intelligent, pretty and very sincere. We hit it off right away. We giggled at the same jokes, rolled our eyes at the same things. It was best-friendship in the making.
And then we worked together. Oh boy. I could smell the oneupmanship right away. It didn't help we were both naturally competitive, she much fiercer than I ever could be. Gradually the friendship died as we aimed to get ahead of the other. Obviously, whoever finishes the race first mattered more than running as a team.
I enjoyed the competition at the beginning, but then I felt it becoming toxic. I stopped competing with her and focused on my own work. However, I still felt she couldn't stop putting her nose in my projects and trying to push herself further, better than where I was.
Whatever, I thought. And it turned out that perspective helped me do even better at my job. It was all about focus and not petty "I'm better than you" games.
She was my biggest competition. We no longer work together but I still feel her trying to one-up me when I hear stories. It was a toxic friendship-turned-rivalry that I don't want to go back to ever. I still feel iffy about that friendship though, and writing about it helps release the leftover "iffiness" that's still there.
Who do you consider your biggest competition?
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