is competing worth it?

[Vision]

I been waking up recently and questioning myself and this whole prep.
Is it worth competing if I’m going no where with bodybuilding even if I won ?
how about if it’s affecting my work, family and social life?
I have a career; why am I even focusing on something else that I’m going to gain nothing from ?
is the sacrifice worth it when I can put my energy in something else?
am I just a narcissist who loves looking at his shredded muscle in the mirror and show off his gains?
wtf am I doing? I already done 6 shows, what am I trying to prove?

it’s been one of these days man...

Competing is just a small aspect of the lifestyle. It's not for everyone and that's ok!
Aside from body building, I've been around some absolute monsters of people on the mats my entire life. Many and I mean many of these guys don't compete and if they did it's extremely likely that they would clean out divisions with ease. They enjoy rolling and just living an everyday life that so happens to be filled with a passion and desire for the process and growth of their craft.
Be about the way of life that you choose with your burning desire and passion on your own terms, love the process, not the competition. Any human that shows the f*uck up daily physically and mentally whether its god dang horse racing, ice skating, baseball, boxing, weight training, whatever, you're more of a champion than you already know. Because life gets in the way, yet people show up with life crumbs on the corners of their mouths after eating a "shitty situation sandwich" still ready to improve themselves..

 

[upeccmi]

I competed for 9 years, did quite well (always 1st or 2nd). I am always glad I did it, but always used it as motivation to finish tougher tasks (finishing college, good job, money). As a business standpoint, the NPC (which changed dramatically since I competed) is run by smart business people. Coming out with dozens of classes making it easier for less muscular people to compete and giving out 2000 pro cards per year to almost anyone who looks good, makes the lower competition much easier now. The NPC rakes in the bucks with entry fees, pro card fees, cross over fees and entrance fees. The sport was dying 2 decades ago is now thriving. The only smucks are the competitors who get nothing but a cheap trophy and some recognition. Look at any lower pro show, a few guy look good, the rest couldn't win a local district show. Yet these guys spend a small fortune to put the word "pro" next to their personal training business card, yet they would not win even a good state show 20 years ago.