Your Only Real Competitor is Yourself

Posted on August 9, 2021 by mitchteemley

Thought for the Week

And the country with the most Olympic medals per capita this year–and in fact ever — is…drumroll, please…

San Marino!

That’s right, with a population of just over 33,000 and three Olympic winners last week, one in every 11,000 people in San Marino has now won an Olympic medal! In fact, if you live in San Marino, you’ve probably met them and may even be homies with them.

Compare that to the U.S., in which only a measly 1 in every 854,000 people won an Olympic medal this year. Or China, where only 1 in every 38 million people won an Olympic medal this year. In other words, if you live in San Marino, your chance of winning an Olympic medal is 3 ½ million times greater than if you live in China!

What’s in the water in San Marino?

Determination. After 61 years and 25 Olympics, one of the world’s tiniest countries did the impossible, or rather, three of her citizens did. How?

By competing against themselves. By remembering that personal best is the only “best” that really matters.

Allesandra Perilli, San Marino’s first-ever Olympic medalist–who didn’t even qualify for the finals in 2016–says she regularly reminds herself, “Always look to the future, only taking the good of the past with you, because after every downhill, there is an uphill.”

And that hill is you. But don’t forget, depending on where you live, there are 11,000 people, give or take,…

Cheering you on!

φ

About mitchteemley

Writer, Filmmaker, Humorist, Thinker-about-stuffer
This entry was posted in Humor, Quips and Quotes and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

17 Responses to Your Only Real Competitor is Yourself

  1. Liz Gauffreau says:
    August 9, 2021 at 12:10 pm

    I have a cheering squad of one (my husband)–and that’s good enough for me!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  2. delphini510 says:
    August 9, 2021 at 1:05 pm

    Thank you, Mitch, for the news you so enthusiastically gave. I really was smiling. Cheers to SAN Marino.
    I have travelled through and as you say, it is a small country up the mountains. Beautiful nature.

    Miriam

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. francisashis says:
    August 9, 2021 at 1:09 pm

    Thanks a lot for sharing it ,it’s really very inspiring.It may not be for the Olympics for me but for my dreams and aspirations it’s worth reading .Take care🌹😊🙏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. mic says:
    August 9, 2021 at 1:35 pm

    Wow👌👌👌📷✒️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. seekingdivineperspective says:
    August 9, 2021 at 3:56 pm

    Wow, this is relevant to two of my recent conversations. Last night at a big family gathering, we were sharing trivia about states and where they rank with things like boats per capita, etc.
    Earlier that day our pastor was preaching on I Corinthians 12 – the Body of Christ and how we are unique and need one another, and presumably shouldn’t compete with anyone but ourselves. “If you want to be miserable, spend your life comparing yourself to others. I guarantee that will give you a life of misery.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Vignesh M says:
    August 10, 2021 at 2:51 pm

    Trying to be the best self of yourself is the secret of success for many other endeavors. Great share. Loved it. Thanks

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Pingback: Your Only Real Competitor is Yourself — Mitch Teemley | Ups Downs Family History

  8. masercot says:
    August 11, 2021 at 9:00 am

    My boys play scrabble with me. Early on, they get very discouraged. I told them they aren’t competing with me… they are competing with themselves. They are skeptical at first, but eventually, they fall into the mode of just trying to do the best with the letters they have and ignoring the score.

    And, that is when they start beating me…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Suzette Benjamin says:
    August 12, 2021 at 4:20 am

    An inspiring post. Thank you for the excellent reminder. A lovely share.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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