The Seven Crucibles

The Competition Crucible

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.

Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

not looking to your own interests, but each of you

to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3–4

You're going to need to do some reflection before continuing with this crucible. If you don't want to be tested, if you don't want to truly commit with all the energy you have, if you aren't willing to have an altercation in your life … put down the book right now. This isn't for you.

You can't be the best version of yourself without an altercation. Not a confrontation, an altercation. What do I mean by that?

Competition is often seen as a battle, a fight. Iron sharpens iron right? One piece of iron doesn't get sharper by confronting another piece of iron. Nothing happens when the two pieces of iron are brought together. They must be hit together, creating friction and sparks. This takes effort, energy, and aggression, over and over again to turn a piece of iron into its sharpest form. Just as iron versus iron requires an altercation, you must also embrace altercations physically and emotionally to overcome competitive adversity in your life.

Even if you're not an athlete, you're constantly competing at something if you're in any type of game. Whether in business, school, with yourself, or others, you compete countless times a day.

The question you need to ask yourself isn't “Do I compete?” but “How do I compete?”

Competition is born out of adversity. ...