Would you consider yourself a competitive person? Or maybe I should ask, in what area are you most competitive? Maybe you’re competitive in getting the best grades in your class or the best parking spot at work. Maybe you compete to make the best pancakes in your family or tell the funniest knock-knock joke or to get up the earliest on Christmas morning. Humans are naturally competitive. We like to have an edge over those around us. 

Rabbi Harold Kushner tells the story of a driven young man in the pre-med program at a competitive college. The summer before his junior year, the young man took a break from his studies to travel to the Far East. He met a guru who questioned his pursuit of success. The guru claimed that the young man’s constant desire to compete against others was poisoning …