ESI and competing....

[Riven]

I'm playfully competitive. Being genuinely competitive goes against my values. I think that genuine competitiveness is just insecurity manifesting in a destructive way. I compete with my damn self, I don't need to compete with others.

Relatable. I rather "compete" with people around me in a "we're both improving together" kind of mentality. If I see a colleague getting a better grade than me, I get the desire to go better than them in the next test, but I'd never wish for them to do badly. If those around me are getting stronger, it means I can learn something from them to get stronger myself too.

[Fluffy Princess Unicorn]

Relatable. I rather "compete" with people around me in a "we're both improving together" kind of mentality. If I see a colleague getting a better grade than me, I get the desire to go better than them in the next test, but I'd never wish for them to do badly. If those around me are getting stronger, it means I can learn something from them to get stronger myself too.

I don't compete in this way - if they score better, good for them. I don't really care, as I don't have any sort of drive to be #1 in everything. Such stems from the ego and narcissism. I despise this sort of "me #1, me, me, me, me 1st" thinking. I believe when someone is skilled or talented, we ought to support them in their endeavors, while continuing to do our best ourselves.

That's not what I meant by playfully competitive. I meant that I engage in playful banter, joking and cutting up in ways where I am 1-upping back and forth with the other person. Play fighting, etc.

[Riven]

I don't compete in this way - if they score better, good for them. I don't really care, as I don't have any sort of drive to be #1 in everything. Such stems from the ego and narcissism. I despise this sort of "me #1, me, me, me, me 1st" thinking. I believe when someone is skilled or talented, we ought to support them in their endeavors, while continuing to do our best ourselves.

That's not what I meant by playfully competitive. I meant that I engage in playful banter, joking and cutting up in ways where I am 1-upping back and forth with the other person. Play fighting, etc.

Thank you for clarifying. I'll do this too but I see it as a performative activity, more like to keep things rolling in an interaction. I try to be friendly with most people but with openness I have a tendency to become snarky, so this helps flipping bad situations into good one (I'd hate to be the one talking to me and I regret the things I say right after, this kind of playful interaction is amusing on the other hand).

And I completely agree with "when someone is skilled or talented, we ought to support them in their endeavors, while continuing to do our best ourselves". I have to admit I can get competitive in an ugly sense, it's not something I'm proud of and I'm trying to change it.