Perhaps it’s time we learned how to play our own game

Life may be a game, but that doesn’t make it a competition.

Any pressure that we feel to strive and compete for the things we want, we put that on ourselves. The choice of whether we’re playing to win, playing not to lose, or playing to keep going, is ours to make, moment by moment.

It’s all a matter of mindset. If we ground ourselves with feelings of enoughness, compassion and abundance, then the game is wonderful. Factors like what the score is, who’s on the opposing team, how much time is left, whether or not the crowd goes wild, or the number of games out of first place we are, that all becomes irrelevant.

Here are a collection of grounding mantras, meditations and incantations that have helped me put significantly less pressure on myself, ultimately leading to more fulfillment while playing life’s many games. Perhaps they will do the same for you.

If I make mistakes, lose and fail, other people will still value me as a person. I won’t be viewed as inferior and get left behind.

I don’t have to match or even consider about what anyone else is achieving. That’s irrelevant. Competition need not ever enter the picture.

There’s no such thing as winning or being the best. Those are arbitrary metrics. The days of striving to prove myself worthy of anything are long gone. Because my place in this world is secure.

I am a welcome presences who belongs to himself, and therefore, belongs everywhere. Opportunities are abundant and available to me in every direction.

I’m loved because of who I am, and not because of what I achieve. Firstly by myself, and then by others. I work to achieve things because the process brings me meaning, not because people will look down on me if I fall short.

If people do reject me, I’ll bounce back. If others push me away, I’ll redirect my energies somewhere more nourishing. If someone is critical of my talents and tries to shame my desires, I’ll use my own internal success metrics to evaluate my work and ignore the rest.

And if people go out of their way to actively exclude me, then I’ll view that as a loss for them and move on with my life.

Now, you may not believe some or any of these things to be true for your particular game of life, and that’s okay. But when it comes to putting less pressure on ourselves, we have to start somewhere. Freeing ourselves internally, and having faith that it’s only a matter of time until the externally world responds in kind.

Contrary to popular conditioning, life is not competition to see who is more oppressed and who faces more adversity. Even in our victim centric world that has an obsession with making everything a trauma contest, perhaps it’s time we learned how to play our own game.

One where it’s not about winning or losing, but keeping the ball in play. Remember, pressure is a choice.

Just because life is a game doesn’t make it a competition.

What if your focus on competing was merely a stalling maneuver?