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by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.
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Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Competition, Self-Management, and the Dodo Bird -- A Lesson for Wellness Seekers

Tuesday April 24, 2001

How do you feel about competition? Do you have enough of it in your life, or way too much? Do you welcome or avoid it? Do you think competition is overemphasized in our schools and work settings? What about our national focus on spectator sports -- do you sometimes think these competitions are taken rather too seriously?

The proper place of competition in a healthy life is a much-debated topic in health promotion circles; as far as I can tell, there is little consensus. As a lifelong athlete, I enjoy competition but I recognize there's a price to pay, that competition has a dark side.

I pondered some of these questions while reading an essay by Stephen Jay Gould in Natural History (see "This View of Life" in the November, 1996 edition, pp. 22-33). The article, entitled The Dodo and the Caucus Race, includes an excerpt from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. In the third chapter of Alice, all the characters, after getting thoroughly soaked, have a discussion about the best way to dry off. The dodo says, The best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus race. He then lays out a circular track and lines everyone up at random starting places.

There was no, "One, two, three, and away!" but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half and hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out, "The race is over!"

The participants were puzzled and asked, "But who has won?" This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought, and it stood for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead (the position in which Shakespeare's image is often displayed), while the rest waited in silence. At last the Dodo said, "Everybody has won, and all must have prizes."

Perhaps we need more opportunities for Caucus races in schools, workplaces, and throughout society. There can always be optional chances for those of us who enjoy harmless competitions to play our games and, of occasions, to feel swift and strong, and sometimes brave and smart, at least for the moment, though we really know better.

As Gould remarked, there is much to be said for the approach demonstrated by Lewis Carroll's wise dodo: No judgments of superiority or inferiority among participants, no winners or losers, and cooperation with ends attained and prizes for all.

Gould notes that some achievements (examples might include playing the piano, competing in triathlons, and hitting home runs) are done better by some than others and deserve acknowledgment and reward. However, on matters pertaining to the intrinsic and ultimate worth of a human life, or the ability to live in accord with known precepts for wellness, the judge of the caucus race appears to be the wisest of men.

Stay well and look on the bright side.

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