How Competitive Are You, Really?

“You are in this race, competing with others to come first. Do you even know WHY you are running?”

How much competition is too much? Competition is something that comes to us even before we learn to pronounce the word. As babies, we are by default thrown into this indirect league, where parents compare how much one cries at night or how much one has progressed in the subject of crawling. Research shows that Gen-Z (the latest generation) experiences a higher pressure to perform better and hence there is a rise in the degree of competition.

Understanding Competition:

Competition is not exactly always something that is a negative force. In fact, competition is a lot like friends. In some cases, our friends uplift us to do better and in some cases they don’t. The kind of competition that is healthy in its nature is what is actually needed in today’s world where everyone is so obsessed with racing and coming first. Right now, everyone wants to excel and do well in their respective fields. But the question is, should it be at the cost of others?

Everyone loves being realistic these days and talking about how we cannot strive without winning. What people fail to notice is that it is not about winning, it is about HOW you win. Unhealthy competition makes us do things which shouldn’t be done in the first place. It can include ways to put down your competitor on characteristics which are not related to your field of work. In many cases, it has been reported that bullying takes place due to the existence of this toxic level of competition. Bullying isn’t only at schools. It is at a person’s work place too. We are already familiar with the extents to which people can go to erase out their competitor or rival.

Things we should not forget:

There is a fine line between being determined and doing anything to win. The former involves positive competition whereas the latter can be related to negative or unhealthy competition. If we try putting others down instead of lifting ourselves to succeed, it is unhealthy. There is no point in winning such a race then. A healthy competition helps us sustain as a better person and opponent. It helps us by providing the motivation to do better without dragging someone else down. On sensing a toxic competitive environment, what we can do on our part is to withdraw as nothing but uncalled for stress and headspace turmoil will follow on entering this scenario.

Thus, I believe it is important to maintain a sense of empathy and kindness when we enter this competitive arena. Something worse than losing, is winning by creating an unhealthy competitive environment. It is not about the heights you reach, but about the levels you drop down to, to win. It is not about the laurels that you bag, but the damage you have left behind.