Are You too Competitive
I was having a conversation recently with a friend who asked me about being too competitive. I thought to myself “Is it possible to be too competitive?” For many people they are raised with the idea that they need to be the best at whatever they endeavour to do. Still others are taught to be good or to give their best at something without the need to compete.
Elite athletes, people who you would imagine are the most competititve types in the world tend to say that the only person they are competing against is themselves.
This led me to question whether or not we use the term competitive correctly or if what many people consider to be competitive is a drive for self improvement and betterment.
I know in my youth I was infinitely more competitive in the traditional sense than I am now. What I strive for in my professional and personal goals is the notion of being better at something for the sake of improvement rather than to be “better than” anyone else.
Pundits often criticise educationalists who say that competition is unhealthy and that the real world is a competitive place. This is perhaps not as simple as people would have you believe, rather the world is a place where if you are inclined you have to potential to be the best you you can be and that the only person to compete against is your own self.
