Quote Originally Posted by R_of_G View Post
Compete with yourself to accomplish individual musical goals. Competing with others is pointless, unless you're literally competing with someone for a gig.
Competition does not have to be a bad thing. You can compete without having to be an a-hole. Iron sharpens iron, after all. Often seeing a very talented guitarist or bassist play spurs me on to want to be better myself. The goal is not so that one day I can say, "[Fill in the guitarist's name here] sucks! Look how much better I am!" Rather it is that other person driving/encouraging/motivating me to greater heights.

I think of a football team. The rookies' youthful enthusiasm can rub off on the grizzled veterans and remind them of why they got into this in the first place. The veterans' leadership and experience can help focus the rookies' energy. To use a personal example, hearing a well-written and well-delivered sermon inspires me to give my best when I'm writing one. If one of my brother pastors is becoming lazy or giving less than his all, I can give him a gentle (or not-so-gentle) nudge to get back to work.

The problem is with the "second place is the first loser" mentality in our society. We wear shirts with slogans like that and then have the gall to wonder why no one seems to be able to act like a civilized human being.