How Do I Know What I Think Until I See What I Say?

Recently, on Unclutterer,* Erin had a post on being the best. In it, she talks about how, after years and years of studying ballet, she quit because she realized she was never going to be the best, and how much she regrets that decision now, along with the other decisions she's made not to do things because she's not going to be the best. I think all people, especially creative people, have made decisions based on that criteria. (Or have considered making them on that criteria, at least.) Our culture, after all, is a culture of winning, where people say things like "second place is first loser" and "if you can't be the best, why bother?" That kind of attitude, in my opinion, is bulls##t. Sure, winning matters. If you play a sport, for example, it's important to know who won at the end of the game. Any kind of competition, really, should have a winner, I think. I'm not one of those touchy feely people who thinks that everyone getting a &qu