Thursday, May 3, 2007

Why We Compete

"Curiosity, to me, is about pushing the envelope. How much can we do? What limits can we break? You ever hear about that guy Jim Dreyer? Well, he had a lifelong fear of the water from a near drowning when he was a kid. So he finally grows up and decides: 'You know what? I'm signing up for beginner swimming lessons. I'm getting over this.' Well, now Dreyer has swam across Lake Michigan.
He holds all kinds of crazy swimming records. Why do people do these nutty things? I think we see boundaries, limitations, and we naturally want to see how hard we can challenge them. That's just part of everybody's makeup. Most people act on it in minor ways. Ultra-athletes just take it to extremes. Sports psychologist Alan Goldberg Amherst, Mass.

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