Tao Te Ching 68

The best athlete wants his opponent at this best. The best general enters the mind of his enemy. The best businessman serves the communal good. The best leader follows the will of the people.

All of them embody the virtue of non-competition. Not that they don’t love to compete, but they do it in the spirit of play. In this they are like children.
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Each recitation of the “best” reflects attention being actively given to someone else – an opponent; an enemy; the community; the people. The “best” among us know that they have something to learn or to receive from others in order for them to achieve what they seek. In this realization, there is no competition. In this realization there is respect and humility. In this realization, there is awareness that nothing is accomplished without the presence of others, be it an opponent or an enemy being fought, or a community or a body politic being served.

Children who know how to play well with others are much happier than those who see others as someone to defeat. Our schoolyard recess made that clear.