4 Competir e Cooperar ao mesmo tempo

To compete or to cooperate? There shouldn’t be a doubt about it. The crisis is teaching us. We should compete and cooperate simultaneously. Competing and Cooperating Simultaneously DO NOT WASTE THE CRISIS Competing sometimes, while cooperating at other times. We know how to do that. This gap was definitely what made our society weaker to face systemic problems like this virus. Knowing how to compete is important for us to assert ourselves as individuals, with our identity. Knowing how to cooperate is important for us to be part of the world, Thinking about our colleagues and the group. Simultaneously competing and cooperating means thinking about you, your colleagues and the group simultaneously. It is natural to find it difficult to understand the concept of "simultaneously", because this is exactly the homework this virus is assigning to us. Let me explain: Saying “simultaneously” creates tension in your mind. We are used to thinking about “either this or that”, not about “this AND that”. "Either this OR that" means you have two opposite poles and by eliminating one, the tension is over. "This AND that" means you are not eliminating anything. Tension arises. This is a natural, good tension if you you are competent in managing the “AND”. Managing the “AND” involves the tension of negotiation, inclusion, creation, While managing the OR involves the tension of exclusion, reduction, impoverishment. The AND tension creates life. Nature teaches us so. There is no sex without tension. A child is not born without the tension of her mother’s belly and its stretched walls. A blood pressure of 120/80 is good tension it is your blood expanding while the walls of your veins want to contain the blood’s expansion.   The tension between two opposing forces creates a third alternative that did not exist. This is evolution, this is moving forward. Simultaneously competing and cooperating is a sign of maturity, it creates peace, generates a positive tension of negotiation. Competing without cooperating is immature. It creates war and the negative tension of destruction. Carl Jung studied this topic as "tertium non datur". In Latin, it means "third party not considered” He says that maturity is only possible when a person admits a third option is possible, which drives the positive tension of negotiation. He says that a positive tension builds character and promotes evolution. In conclusion: Without tension, there is no evolution. When raising a youth, tell them to compete and cooperate simultaneously. Tell them: Think about yourself, your colleagues and the group simultaneously. This is a creative challenge. Something new will come out of it, something that did not exist. Then comes the future. We need to learn not to run away from tension and learn how to manage it. To negotiate. It is not easy, but that is the better future we want to have. Let’s do it! May the positive tension of evolution come! Let’s do it together. See you next time!