The giraffes at Paris Zoological Park, Paris 12ᵉ, April 3, 2024. GUILLAUME BLOT FOR « LE MONDE » Each and every one of us has experienced days that make us realize that life is definitely a challenge at every turn. Whether it’s a cyclist who nearly crashes into you by running a light, a colleague who speeds up to get in the elevator before you, or a customer at the supermarket who takes advantage of a momentary distraction on your part to dash toward the self-checkout machine you were heading for. Competition is omnipresent in our daily lives: at school, at work, in sports. And, as if we didn’t have enough adversaries, personal development encourages us to fight against the lazy part of ourselves, through injunctions to “surpass ourselves,” “become the best version of ourselves,” or “work on ourselves.” The goal is to perform better in our relationships with others and to become better individuals. This dynamic is frequently justified by the analogy with nature, in which animals are engaged in a permanent struggle for survival. The …