Rivalry

Rivalry provokes new heights of mastery-in sports, business, art, and life. Mature competitors, who understand that the call to excel is ultimately within the self, can benefit from the reflection, inspiration, and camaraderie the other provides. The promise of self-improvement gives way to fear of aggression when the world is perceived as an endless fight for limited resources. Everybody loses.

 

Rivalry often includes an element of “fear aggression.” If you’re worried that someone else’s power or prosperity will interfere with your own well-being, you’ll feel compelled to openly challenge or covertly undermine the perceived competitor in any number of ways.

 

If you find yourself drawn into some form of rivalry, check your own level of self-esteem. How does this person threaten you? If she initiated the conflict by acting aggressively toward you, what fear or insecurity might you trigger in her? Becoming curious about the dynamic, rather than figuring out ways to undermine the other, can lead to greater self-knowledge and empowerment.

 

If you face the rivalry impulse in yourself, without taking it out on the peer who triggered it, you’ll shine a light on those dark corners of your own soul that feel undeveloped, unappreciated, or lacking in some significant way.

 

And if your rival is open to honestly exploring the impulse, you may find mutual respect and the potential for a strong friendship underneath the initial pain and mistrust.

Way of the Horse Oracles