The Link Between Competition & Creativity by Juan Dimagiba

The Following Is an excerpt from The All Around Basketball Book By Juan Dimagiba

Be very competitive, be very relentless, not with others but with yourself. I’m going to be brutally honest right now. If you and your mind are not on the same page, then your mind will be your biggest opponent. Your mind is very complex. It will play tricks on you, it will make you believe in the power of doubt and rid it of every ounce of confidence.

If you wake up with doubt, feelings of laziness and constant chatter, that’s your mind and body having internal conflict. Your mind has its own agenda. Comparing yourself with others is unrealistic. You’ll lose a sense of self. How will you know if you’re improving if you’re using others as progress? Use others to push yourself (if that make sense).

Be better than you were yesterday, each rising day, push that envelope higher and higher. Get the most out of yourself as you can. If you get better each day the opponent will be tougher to beat.

This will cause you to work harder and be more creative. Look at the upside to this. Imagine how much better you’ll be over time if you constantly try to outdo yesterday’s version of yourself. You’ll reach limits you never thought you can reach. You’ll reach a level of creativeness you’ve never crossed or even thought you had. With each day you have to be strategic. The challenge of the day is, how do I get better today? You might have to do something new each day, just so that you don’t get stuck in the same place.

Then if you have a group of friends that like to motivate and push each other, they’ll see your progress and try to push themselves.

Be prepared for the hurdles to come. There will be some days where you have nothing, which can lead to anger and frustration. Take all that emotion that you feel and channel it into something positive.

Competition gives us excitement. We have to try and accomplish something today. It gives us a pep in our step, wake up and live with more purpose, more confidence. If you want some entertainment in your life, compete. Draw inspiration from people, use them as motivation instead of comparing yourself to them.