Visiting with friends we started playing “Beyond Balderdash”. The game always makes me laugh and it was new to our friends. One of the creative answers was so funny that it brought tears to the eyes of the reader. I lost the game pretty much after I lost interest in the score. The laughter and together time was the enjoyment for me. It made me think about how often we become attached to winning some unidentified competition. Who has the most internet friends, who gets the most birthday cards, who gets the best gas mileage, who had the biggest wedding reception, who have the longest fingernails………….and on……….… and on………………………….. Who really cares? What is the point of the score keeping, unless a promotion on a civil service test is at stake? Consider what activities or obligations cause you to stress about how many, how fast, how long, how much you are “producing”. Often, competition is fun and healthy. Keeping score in those circumstances is appropriate. Think about eliminating it when it is counterproductive.