There Is No Competition

Competition is the crucial ingredient that fuels the engine of innovation. It is what propels people to be better, to improve themselves. Without competition, we would not have advanced as quickly as a society in every area from healthcare to technology. However, there are many things that competition does not provide for us, and this post will outline them for you:

1) Competition does not make us happier – it’s true that winning can provide a temporary boost of happiness but in the end we are no happier than we were before winning. As we will see below, competition does not serve our best interests.

2) Competition does not make us more productive – it is true that winning can allow you to be more productive in the short term but having competition does not make you more productive in the long term. In fact, research from UCLA shows that when children playing a competitive game where one child gains and another looses are constantly reminded of their performance, they tend to perform worse both physically and mentally. This is because the competitive nature of the game makes them anxious about their performance and less confident about their abilities which inhibits his ability to develop strategies for success.

3) Competition does not make us more creative – if you have ever been around a person who is highly competitive, you will see that they have a tendency to ignore other people and think of themselves as the only one or at least only one of the few who can do something. This is not conducive to being a successful innovator and creator; innovation requires us to be open to new ideas, not just our own.

4) Competition does not make us more attractive – there are certain studies that suggest that getting what you want can make some people happier at first but even in these cases we do not generally stay happier after getting what we wanted; in fact, our happiness tends to level off after a short time period.

5) Competition does not make us better people – competition fosters selfish tendencies. It teaches us to put ourselves ahead of others whether or not it is in our best interests or that of the other person. For example, many people would rather be able to buy a larger house than live in an apartment with a friend because getting what they want is more important than being able to live in an apartment with a friend. This mentality is rooted in the way we are brought up: we are told that we must win, that there can be only one winner and that we should put ourselves and our needs above everything else.

6) Competition makes us more stressed – competition puts a great deal of stress on people. This is because competition sets up an inherent conflict between the competitor and everyone else. This conflict causes stress (which is an evolutionary tactic to keep us alive) which in turn creates negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, anger and frustration. These emotions are highly detrimental to our psychological well being and our physical health. This is why we often associate competition with a negative environment.

7) Competition does not make us happier – this is the point that people may have the most trouble accepting. There are two reasons for this: first, we tend to be social creatures and competition can make us feel alone because we are not able to be ourselves around others. Second, though it may seem counterintuitive, there is some research that suggests that being competitive can actually be a more productive and enjoyable way to live your life than being socially involved and engaged.

By now you are probably wondering why we have so much trouble accepting competition as a force for good. I believe the answer lies in that old adage: "it's my way or the highway." This is exactly what competition reveals: that our tendency to act in self-preservation leads us to disregard the potential of other people and thus think of them as inferior, disposable and expendable. This is not only a shortsighted view, it is also an inaccurate view of reality. We will always be dependent on other people for our well-being and to advance in life.

This is why I have come to the conclusion that competition is the greatest disservice we can do to our society. In order for us to truly thrive, we must open ourselves up to cooperation and collaboration rather than looking at everyone else as competitors – because in the end, there is no competition. We are not able to exist on our own; we are all interdependent on each other and must work together or we will create a competitive environment which will do more harm than good. You cannot win alone.

So what are we to do about competition? What should we do about the great competition that is our society? Here is my solution to this problem:

The Competition Solution:

1) We stop treating each other as competitors; as people who can be put in a box and categorized by the team they play for rather than the individual they are. This will not only make us well-rounded individuals, it will also make us better communicators, better listeners, better collaborators and better human beings. When we believe in ourselves as individuals and when we believe that everyone else is the same (which is an erroneous assumption), we can work together to produce a more productive society.

Conclusion:

As it turns out, competition does not improve our society; it limits our potential. To make a better world for everyone, we must work together as a society and not as a collection of individuals in competition with each other.

Quick Summary:

Competition does not help us become more productive, more creative or happier people – in fact, it actually can have the opposite effect on us. The only reason we feel these things are true is because when we win, we think that we have done something to deserve the victory but in reality the victory was an artificial construct of success (the rules).