Cooperation or Competition

Life is full of challenges.  Every day we make choices about how we go about accomplishing our goals.  Which method do you choose most often:  competition or cooperation?  It is my firm belief you will accomplish much more if you enlist others’ help in the  spirit of cooperation rather than seeing them as competitors.   Competition isolates you and your efforts, putting a full burden on your shoulders.  Competition also means you waste energy trying to set others back rather than using that energy to push your project forward.

Proceedings, the magazine of the U.S. Naval Institute printed this true story writtern by Frank Koch.  Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.  Koch was serving on the battleship and was standing watch on the brigde as night fell.

Visibility was extremely poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge, keeping an eye on our navagation activities.   Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow!”

The captain called out, “Is it steady or moving astern?”

The lookout replied, “Steady, Captain,” which meant that we were on a collision course with that source of light.

The captain then called to the signalman, “Signal that ship:  We are on a collision course……advise you change course twenty degrees.”

Back came the signal from the other ship, “Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees.”

The captain barked, “Send, I’m a captain….change course twenty degrees immediately!”

“I’m a seaman second class,” came the reply,  “You had better change course twenty degrees!”

By this time, the captain was furious.  He spat out, “Send, I’m a battleship.  Change course twenty degrees.”

Back came the signal from the flashing light, “I’m a lighthouse.”

The captain changed course.

The moral of the story is that it is futile to try to set others back when you could turn yourself twenty degrees and go forward!

For now, Earlynn’s Just Sayin’ cooperation is always a better route.

http://earlynnsjustsayin.org/daily-inspirational-thought-4/