We live in a highly competitive world. There is competition all round us be it in educational courses, high flying jobs, romantic partners, birthday parties and in many other areas. Therefore, many feel that to live in a competitive world is to live a life with the jungle rule —“survival of the fittest” — go above or do better than everyone else in the field of any course of action. But our existence on this good earth does not mean going over everyone in every field of interest.
Competition is very contagious it overflows all boundaries: With king-size egos competitors dream big, aim high to achieve great things; to perform great deeds and get great awards; — anywhere and everywhere to show their capacity, intelligence and smartness.
Competition is a good thing; it forces us to do our best. It opens the way for athletes to higher levels of motivation and performance. Secondly, if there was no competition there would be only monopoly in business life and the price of a commodity would be controlled by one single seller — the monopolist.
All competition should be undertaken with an eye on one’s capacity, money power, muscle power and other thing depending on the field on which we wish to tread because we all have limitations — individual differences. Some are able to perform feats in athletics, weightlifting or hard manual labor. Those who are physically weak turn out to be achievers intellectually and become scholars and researchers.
Competition also has its downside; (i) When competing with richest neighbour it makes the competitor jealous when he/she is not able to keep up with the Joneses. It causes mental strain and can even get one in debt if one does not know the limit of the purchasing power in one’s hand. (ii) When parents focus more on winning a game; more importance is laid in being the best; they put the pressure on their children to win instead of enjoying the game in which they compete. Competition does not end with the game. The rat race often makes them feel like they aren’t good enough. It makes them angry and thinks everyday why others won the race and they did not. (iii) Some parents force students to compete in the stream of their choice instead of that of the student’s. Such learners though successful in their exam to please the parents, suffer from educational indigestion; in other words, they succeed to reach the summit only to discover that climbing the rocky mountain was a wrong goal – not of their liking.
Healthy competition should always, be need-based with a thought on personal limitations. Competing with self is a healthy competition. A student scoring 20% more marks than his previous record is a successful competition — a healthy one.
We should know our limit. But sad to say that many do not know when to say, ‘enough is enough’ — the thin line that separates need from desire for attention or appreciation from others. We should balance our expectations and evaluate our limitations. “Competition is good as long as it is healthy. It makes one strive to be better” said Christine Lahti. When friendly rivalry crosses the limit of one’s capability, it turns disastrous.
