I had watched seasons 1 & 2 of the Walking Dead a few months ago on Netflix and yesterday was my first chance to DVR season 3. I didn’t get completely caught up but finished 6 of the first 8 episodes of the first half of season 3. For anyone who hasn’t seen the show, you aren’t going to be out of the loop on this entry as it will pertain to something completely hypothetical. After the zombies had decimated the human population, there is a small “town” run by the governor with a population of what I thought they said was 73. In one scene with the governor, they showed him hitting golf balls off of a mat into nothing. This got me thinking, would I still want to compete in various sports if there was no one to compete against? Is the only reason I like doing activities for the thrill of competition? This in no way coincides with the governor hitting golf balls as I assume he was just relaxing rather than trying to lower his handicap.

The great thing about this world is that there is almost always someone better at something than you are. It sort of goes hand in hand with the idea that it’s difficult to come up with an original thought anymore. There’s no possible way I’d enjoy playing golf as much if there were only 73 people in the population. I’d still love the game but without the idea that there are people out there better than you, the drive for competing is minimal. Which is somewhat funny because I don’t consider myself a hyper competitive person. Don’t get me wrong, I like to win, but I also can accept losing. I’m not built like MJ who could never be satisfied with losing. The main idea behind this post is that people push other people to succeed. You see it all the time with teammates pushing other teammates to reach goals they never would have before. If you eliminate people, you eliminate competition, and thus reduce results.

Just to come full circle with the popularity of the Walking Dead, it aired to another Series-high rating. Sunday night’s midseason return of the AMC zombie drama delivered 12.3 million viewers and a 6.1 adults 18-49 rating — its biggest yet in both measurements. I was a late bloomer to the show but I’ve always found it easier to watch series in one continuous motion opposed to a week to week basis. Plus I get to read reviews on whether it is worth watching or a waste of time. The show isn’t great, but it’s different good.

isolation