Who Are WE? We're PR3!

Who said being first was everything? Definitely, being the best brings fame and praise, but I’m not interested in those trivial things. I do not need the recognition of other people to boost my self-esteem; all I need is to show myself that I did a good job. I do not worry myself with trying to be number one because most of the time, I know my abilities are limited and just second or third place is good enough for me.
Now, I know some people are thinking, “But ambition is everything, ambition is necessary to succeed.” I’m not saying I’m not ambitious, I’m simply saying I’m not overambitious, because some people take competition to whole new level. Unless you’re Michael Phelps or Kobe Bryant, or have an overwhelming talent that distinguishes you from everybody else, absolutely go and strive to be the best; but I know my limitations and my talents surely stops short of gold medal. As an average person, yes I have abilities that are seen as “better” than others, but to try and perfect them would be an unrealistic goal, for I would not have the resources that others might have.
Some good examples are areas where there is always competition: sports and school. When I play a sport, I aim to become better, but generally I play to have fun. I don’t care if I win or lose or get a lower score, all that matters is that I did my best. If I play terribly, I would get mad at myself. If I played well, even if I lost the game, I would feel good because I was able to show myself that I can do it. In school I definitely try to get the best grade possible, but I’m not the type of person to go and ask others what grade they got on their homework to compare who did better. Academically, I know where I stand; I know I’m not the most brilliant but I also know I’m not a complete idiot.
Many people want the satisfaction of being “better” than somebody else, and sometimes I give people that satisfaction purposely because that’s not important to me; I don’t have to be better than anyone, I just want to satisfy my own expectations of myself. Many people follow the standard to be the best, the valedictorian of the student body or the alpha wolf in a pack. What they don’t realize is that the salutatorian has achieved just as much, and has just as much talent as the other person, but they don’t get enough credit merely because they are number two.
I set my own standard: to follow goals that I feel is achievable for myself. My theory is that I would feel much better and more accomplished achieving a goal that is “lesser” than to fail at a goal that was set too high to begin with and end up with disappointment. So to speak, I’m not that competitive. But, if anything at all, arrogance and exaggerated egos will always force out my competitive side; nothing annoys me more than boasting and narcissism. Only then, will I feel the need to be better than another person because I feel that the person has personally challenged me, whether it be a sport or school or anything else.