Humans are naturally competitive, we compete for love, food, shelter… Whatever we need to do for survival. While “survival of the fittest” may not be a totally accurate phrase for our time, it is certainly used with frequentcy.

Many of us even measure our greatness by the challenges we have overcome. When an acquaintence mentions offers their battle tested story by reflex we often chime in to share highlights of our own battles. Often we are brought together by the common struggles we face.

We must however be careful not to attribute our greatness and success entirely to the battles we’ve won. Often overlooked are the battles we’ve avoided by making smart decisions, be prepared and seeking out wisdom from others so we don’t make their same mistakes.

In short, it is a far greater achievement to avoid a trap than to have clawed your way out of one.