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A mate of mine was teaching his son to play Monopoly this past weekend. His son is seven, and so the rest of us, his “uncles”, in our WhatsApp group, were sending all-caps instructions to be relayed by his dad. You know. “BUY ALL THE DARK BLUE ONES” and “FORGET THE STATIONS…THEY’RE A TRAP.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As you do. Because seven is easily old enough for him to be\u00a0<\/span>slaughtering<\/em>\u00a0people at Monopoly, we agreed.<\/span><\/p>\n Here’s the thing. Sometimes, I can be a bit over-competitive in a way that isn’t terribly good for me. It’s taken me 41 years to write that sentence with a degree of self-awareness. In understatement terms it’s like how Genghis Khan was a bit greedy. Or how Achilles suffered with occasional ankle problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When I’m playing squash, for example, I’ll still catch myself thinking nasty things about my opponent. I’m not saying I wish them dead. I mean, that would be PSYCHOTIC. Right? I just…I feel very very very nasty about them. Indeed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are evolutionary reasons for competition. I get that. But in 2021, being over-competitive is so bad for everyone concerned. Never mind crying over games of Monopoly.\u00a0Of course, that’s never actually happened. Certainly not to me, after too much alcohol in my early twenties. I mean. You’d never live it down. Would you?<\/span><\/p>\n BUT IF\u00a0<\/span>YOU<\/strong><\/u><\/em>\u00a0HAVE EVER CRIED OVER A GAME OF MONOPOLY, MAYBE THERE IS MORE TO IT.\u00a0Ever think about that? I mean, did\u00a0<\/span>you?<\/strong><\/u><\/em>\u00a0Eh?<\/span><\/p>\n Take my free,\u00a0<\/span>six-minute meditation on over-competitiveness here<\/a>. And for God’s sake, mate. Chill out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n