Competition

Last week we watched a video of a basketball team/player making a scarifice...

"Watch this video to see an amazing example of self-sacrifice.  Would you have made the same call in that situation?"

After the video we had a great discussion in class about competition.  How would you feel as a member of a team who had worked hard all season to win games and play your best, only to find that your coach was willing to sacrifice the game for a single individual's moment in the spot light?

There was a pretty evenly split decision. 

Many students felt that the sacrifice, and the reward of giving another person that joyful experience would be more memorable and more important to them in the long run.  That trophies and ribbons should not be the emphasis of our lives.  Some people are willing and maybe even eager to let someone else win, to sacrifice your own pride for someone else's joy.

The other half of the class felt that it would be difficult and unfair to be expected to give up the win.  For many of us it would never occur to us to pass the ball to a member of the other team.  It goes against their nature.  They have a strong competitive nature and are very unwilling and maybe even unable to intentionally give up a competition.  There were many comments about the benefits of team competition.  We learn to cooperate, we learn to work hard and be diligent.  We learn to pick ourselves up and get back to work even after a loss.  These are all positive qualities that make us strong, independent people.  This competitive nature drives many people to do their best.


This balance is what makes our world interesting.  Most important is our willingness to discuss, respect and even embrace our differences.  Thanks for sharing...