Can You Think of Any Facet of Life that Doesn't Encompass Competition

Competition between peers makes people strive to try and be better than their opponents, and can be healthy or unhealthy depending on the competitors and their responses to the competition.

Competition is prevalent in various aspects of life, including sports, school, and jobs. Everyone at some point in their lifetime will have to compete against others in order to achieve a goal or earn a prize. It’s how the world has worked for a long time; it’s survival of the fittest and this minor competition between everyone is how we have continuously gotten smarter, faster, and stronger. Competition is necessary to a certain degree, but how much is too much? It’s definitely not a bad thing, and as long as there’s a healthy amount, it can be beneficial because it fosters self-improvement, and it will push people to go all out and try their absolute best.

Alfie Kohn states that “competition by its very nature is always unhealthy” and has written an essay opposing the concept. There are various examples of competition in the world today, from sports that the world watches on television, to spelling bees children in elementary and middle school participate in. Competition is a part of our daily lives whether we’re aware of it or not; however, it does have its disadvantages that leads me to support Kohn’s opinion.

It is within human nature to be competitive. While it is one of the most basic and primal instincts that has ensured our survival for centuries, today has become more for personal achievement. In movies, shows and on the internet we are constantly exposed to people competing for various reason. Athletes compete for the gold medal, game show contestants for money prizes and characters in movies for the object of their affections. When we best the challenges we decide to face, we often receive an overwhelming feeling of success along with the prize and, in turn, our confidence is boosted drastically. We are encourage to become the best versions of ourselves. However, when our attempts end in failure, we feel disappointed in ourselves and are discouraged from pushing ourselves again. In modern times, individuals often lack the motivation to challenge themselves because they fear their odds of failure. They would rather remain apathetic than even attempt to push themselves. It is essential that we have the dedication, fortitude and courage to regain the confidence to at least attempt a challenge or alter it to make it more beneficial to ourselves.

Many people feel that American society is too competitive. Does competition lead to better products and results, or does it lead to a focus on winning at all costs? Is fierce competition a good idea or bad idea? It’s a good idea to have the American society competitive. Being competitive brings out the best in people, doesn’t let people fill entitled, makes products higher quality goods and services.

We as a people are preoccupied with the notion of greatness. Our role models are athletes, actors and actresses, and other figures in the public eye. Many of us often desire to be better off than our current state; to look better, to be in better shape, etc… We compete with each other for jobs, for mates, for grades, for parking spots, and in sporting activities. This competitive nature is a way of life, especially in sporting activities, often learned as a child and built upon throughout adulthood. But where do you draw the line? At what point do the “costs” of winning or being “better” outweigh the benefits? Maybe it’s too much when you start putting your own health in serious jeopardy

After reading Children Need to Play, Not Compete by Jessica Statsky I thought she brought up some very valid points. I do think that this is a topic that should be scrutinized. I have a different view of the subject. I think that competition can be physically, and psychologically harmful if left unchecked by "abusive/uncaring" adults. I do think that with the right, caring and team work fostering environment competition can fostered without harmful effects, and can lead to learning lifelong skills that can bring emotional joy.

It is a well-known fact that competition drives most people to do better, to be better. Whether this is in sports, school, work or even a simple day to day task; the idea of possibly not being as good as the guy next to you drives the individual to push harder, to dig deep and be the best he or she can be. This is no different in A Separate Peace. In this essay we will look at the way competition affected Finny and Gene, the way Finny made new games to entertain his longing for competition, and Gene’s drive to be the best and smartest student at the school. Although they were focused on different aspects of life, competition was still very strong in their friendship; whether good or bad, it was there.

Competition In Chapter 5 , “ Bling, Bombs, and the Bible”, in the book called Game On: How Pressure to Win at All Costs Endangers Youth Sports, author Tom Farrey claims that children can benefit from participation in sports even though the sports are not highly competitive. To support his argument Farrey uses the examples of Jack Welch, former CEO of GE as well as a description of how the historical background of youth sports evolved in the United States. I believe Farrey’s claim is invalid because competition is a significant part of adult life and therefore, children must learn to cope with highly competitive situations from an early age. Additionally, Farrey seems to focus on non-competitive sports that were prevalent in the past, however,

“And while the law of 'competition' may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department” (Andrew Carnegie). Although competition is difficult it is

In Hannah Pandels’s article, Healthy Competition is Good for Children, she makes the statement that it, competition, is a necessary and essential part of our society today. This article was written partly in response to numerous other articles stating the opposite but one was singled out. The American author Alfie Kohn. Now this fits into the childhood development debate that has been ongoing lately regarding the theory that today’s kids are more entitled to things and have less problem solving skills then previous generations. With that back ground she begins to vocalize her thoughts regarding the issue. Her thesis is clear, it is in the title for goodness sakes, that competition is a normal part of growing up and it is essential to the proper development of children. She states “competition breeds excellence” (Pandel) this simple statement engulfs the

The book A Separate Peace by John Knowls, depicts Gene, a sixteen year old boy that likes to be competitive with his best friend Phineas. While reading the book I realized that Gene and I had something in common. We seemed to share a constant and never ending goal of being competitive with our friends. It is clear however, that Gene may take the attribute of competitivity a little too far.

With out competition, entrepreneurs wouldn’t have anything to risk by starting something new and other companies wouldn't have anyone to go against when it came to who could sell the most of the same product. Competition is also in sports, but not just for the game. For example, Sumo wrestlers compete for the rankings. When they win a competition, their ranking goes up. Their rankings are what makes their everyday decisions. “Each wrestler maintains a ranking that affects every slice of their life: how much money he makes, how large an entourage he carries, how much he gets to eat, sleep, and otherwise take advantage of his success” (37). If he were to lose his ranking all together, he would be, what american consider, unemployed. “Ranking is everything”

Competition is a condition of existence that every athlete has heard hundreds of times. As an active participator in many sporting events with numerous coaches and teammates, I have experienced competition first hand. I remember myself, along with coaches and teammates always being driven to win. Whether a sporting event or in academics, humans strive to be better than the person beside them. Although competition is such an innate trait that goes beyond humans and into animals as well, competition has been around since the beginning of time. While animals may be competitive as they fight for survival, humans have more of a satisfaction competitiveness. When people accomplish a task, myself included, they feel good about themselves while

Competition being one of the major issues that often must be addressed in the business world, it is important for a firm to learn on ways to reduce the impact of the competition. Competition is definitely an important factor in helping a business