Vakkotaur

Turn it into a contest between people. That's it, at least for me. Even if "it's all in fun" or "it's only a game" it winds up being taken too seriously by some. It doesn't matter what it is. I've found that anything I do for fun or relaxation is suddenly no longer fun or relaxing if it becomes a competition with others. And that's true, even if I win the contest. I don't mean that there ought to be no competition at all. I'll admit it's an appealing idea, but I recognize it's an unworkable one. Even without anything formal, there will be the perception of competition by some.

The only competition I don't mind too much is with myself. How far can I go? How much can I do? What can I do? One example of this is from many years ago when the Apple //e was still new. Print Shop had just come out and I had seen the simple folding greeting cards it could generate. As I didn't have a copy of Print Shop and wanted to do the greeting card bit, I had some work to do.

( Storytime )

Later, in ham radio I found that I liked the idea of communications but too much was contesting. That's not communications except in the most technical sense. It could be done by machine. Big deal. I didn't care about getting some bit of paper or other, and never even bothered with the Rag Chewer certificate - which is at least not a contest in any sense, and haven't actively pursued Worked All States, let alone things like DXCC. WAS might be nice, but I actually wanted to talk with people and not just enter a short strip of bare information in a logbook. My first real DX (overseas) contact was a big disappointment as it was with contester rather than a communicator. I think I don't care much for Field Day for similar reasons: it's just another lousy contest. Big deal. Oh, the setup might be interesting, but that's about it.

I also discovered that I didn't really dislike physical activity. I don't mind a walk, or a hike, or cross-country skiing, or cycling, and probably a bunch of other things. But I found that I liked or tolerated them only as long as they weren't part of a contest. Team sports are right out. I find them interminably boring and silly in an unamusing, even stupid, way. I wouldn't mind company on my presently solo activities, but it would need to be just to do these things not alone rather than have them turned into contests. I neither want nor need to be in a race.