Many people consider competition to be vital to success and to life, to the point where we will turn many activities into competitions in order increase participation or enjoyment. For example, spelling bees in grade schools encourage interest in learning to spell. While this can certainly make things more interesting, is it always good?
On the one hand, competition is motivation. A child who wants to win the spelling bee is going to practice their spelling until they’ve got it memorized. Businesses who want to gain customers are going to try to have the best product. Employees who want a promotion will work harder to advance their employer’s goals. Innovation is fueled by competition.
Yet it can also become unhealthy. That same child might spend all their time practicing and lose out on making friends or creating new experiences. Businesses can get so caught up in making a profit or “being better” that they lose sight of what their customers need. Employees might fudge the records to make themselves look better or they might start nasty rumors about a coworker who might get the promotion instead of them. If competition goes too far it ends up limiting the competitors instead of helping.
Another aspect of the emphasis on competition is that of failure. If the child loses the spelling bee, they might lose interest in spelling altogether, thinking that they’ve got no chance to be good at it. Failure when competing with others can also lower self-esteem. This often leads to an attitude of playing it safe—not always a bad thing.
A third aspect of the emphasis on competition is how it affects teamwork and communication. Sometimes competition can bring a team together, but it can also drive them apart. It’s easy to blame teammates for failure instead of looking at what you can change about yourself. Also, communication becomes limited when people are at odds, even if it is in the context of “healthy” competition. For example, if a competitor warns you about something you’re attempting because they encountered huge negative consequences from an attempt just like it, how likely is it that you would listen? Many people would probably assume that they’ve made it up in order to scare you away from success, or they would think themselves better and continue anyway.
But what if one tried motivating themselves to reach goals through a more intrinsic approach, one where the winner will always be them? Instead of competing against others, one could compete against themselves, constantly trying to beat their own “high score,” as it were. The child could try harder to make it farther next time, maybe teaming up with another competitor to train together. Businesses could look at how they can improve on their own products and services without trying to beat the competition—the customer’s satisfaction and the quality should be what matters. Employees could look at their own successes and see which ones they can improve on. Failure becomes more of a lesson and less of the black mark since the person is both winner and loser. Also, by trying to beat your own previous successes, it becomes easier to work with, communicate with and inspire others. They are no longer rivals, but fellow journeyers.
