Second place is first loser

If only we were really evaluated on what we did ALL the time, not just when someone was looking or when someone has a score sheet available. A place where doing the right thing even when no one is looking actually mattered and where not everything we do has to be quantified in some "bullet" or sound bite, so that we can get credit for it.
I am thrilled (and to be honest, just a little scared) to be working with a group that a simple run through a state park is judged, or how much effort you put into the smallest thing, makes a difference and is noticed (but not always rewarded)...

I am not a competitive guy in the sense that I have to win all the time, but I can appreciate the concept, that in every moment and every task, you are being graded, and if two people are doing something it is a competition (or a race) – and it pays to be a winner. I do not mean that we should all be falling over to beat the other guy, but I am saying - it is refreshing to be around people that believe "success is the ultimate measurement" and that sweating the small stuff is only a distraction from getting the job done. It is amazing to be around folks who are not about to cater to the lowest common denominator. There is no room for weakness (whether it be mental or physical) nor are there quotas or honorable mentions for those who tried but just were not good enough – because trying is expected and meeting the minimum is not going to get you anything but a rejection notice. Where the better person wins - My only question is "how did I get the nod of approval". And why for this but not the other thing I wanted more?
Real life is like that. You can do all the right things and put all the effort into something (or someone) and come out ahead or fall short. There is no second place. I guess I have been living in the soft world too long and was hoping for a consolation prize – thought I had done the right things so that is all that mattered. I have invested too much emotion, effort and time into dead end endeavors.

Finally I have someplace to focus all that previously wasted energy in an effort that will matter. Where the objective is clear and the reward is simply success where there are no games, confusing rules, and misunderstood signals. I just wish it wasn't for work and for once I could win in my social life. Maybe I did get a consolation prize after all.