Competition

“Sport is where an entire life can be compressed into a few hours, where the emotions of a lifetime can be felt on an acre or two of ground, where a person can suffer and die and rise again on six miles of trails through a New York City park. Sport is a theater where sinner can turn saint and a common man become an uncommon hero, where the past and the future can fuse with the present. Sport is singularly able to give us peak experiences where we feel completely one with the world and transcend all conflicts as we finally become our own potential.” ~ Dr. George Sheehan

“If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.” ~ Timothy Ferriss

“The combination of creative energies and the need to perform at the highest level to keep up with peers leads to an otherwise unattainable commitment to excellence.” ~ Ken Robinson

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” ~ Pierre de Coubertin (founder of modern Olympic Games)

“Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.” ~ John F. Kennedy

“I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.” ~ Mikhail Baryshnikov

“Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course: the space between your ears.” ~ Bobby Jones

“When you know both yourself as well as your competition, you are never in danger. To know yourself and not others, gives you half a chance of winning.  Knowing neither yourself or your competition puts you in a position to lose.” ~ Sun-Tzu

“I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn’t know how to get along without it.” ~ Walt Disney

“It’s easy to cheat yourself and do just enough to get by, but that’s what everybody can do, just enough to get by.  But those who want to be successful and maintain that level of success have got to push a little bit harder and do a little bit more.” ~ Tony Gwynn

“You are really never playing an opponent.  You are playing yourself.” ~ Arthur Ashe

“In the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire, determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?” ~ Jesse Owens

“You don’t have to be a fantastic hero to do certain things – to compete. You can be just an ordinary chap, sufficiently motivated to reach challenging goals.” ~ Edmund Hillary

“The goal is not to be better than the other man, but to be better than your previous self.” ~ Hindu Proverb