THE COMPETITIVE EDGE

A REAL CASE OF MIDDLE CHILD SYNDROME 

​Middle Child Syndrome...ABSOLUTELY I had it. To make matters worse was that my older sibling was a girl and the baby was a boy. Like the typical Middle Child (MC) in any situation like this, you were faced with a choice; be swallowed in the shadows of those two or do your damnedest to stand out and get their attention. Maybe it was my destiny to be the Alpha female of the pack, but I did the 'do my damnedest to get their attention' route. Hence, the competitive nature I behold today.

​(Side Note: Of course I had to post the awkward childhood photo of us three. I love it!)

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Nothing in my eyes was never good enough. I would always be trying harder and different things to grab the eye of anyone in my family who would look. I hated the things my sister liked. I always wanted to do things with my cousins (boys) and brother, who in my eyes, were always doing things that were more fun that playing Barbies. 

It was thanks to my stepmom who had been into gymnastics and swimming, she got my dad to agree to let us do sports. For me, it was something that was a little higher intensity to match my jumping and tumbling around high energy...gymnastics. That was the start of it. This was the beginning of my training. 

This was my opportunity to break free and apart from the shadows of my book smart sister who hated being outside, and my mischievous brother.  I had to be physically good at something. The more I tried, the better I became.  I loved winning, I HATED loosing.  But one thing I learned very quickly was that I was only as good as what I practiced (You get out what you put in...one of my favourite lines to say). Team sports weren't like that; you could train and train, but to be a great team everyone had to be that way, and I already knew I wasn't a great team player. 

Being a middle child has definitely formed who I am. I am a perfectionist. I always feel I have to fight to stand out and be noticed (by my family.)...still to this day. I know how to fight and mediate. The best asset I have from being placed in the birth line is my competitiveness. I think it's a great trait to have, even today. 

When people ask if I have always been this competitive, my answer is YES. I have been fighting for my place in the pecking order since the day I was born. And that fight never stopped, because 8/9 years later our parents remarried and had their own kids with their step-parents.  I think that makes effort to be seen ten times greater.

​So when you look at your level of competitiveness, where does it stem? Has it formed who you are? What are you able to do with that to make it advantageous to your day to day life? Find a way to work it in a positive way...that's where it can really make changes in your life.