Competition: Challenging Ourselves to be Greater - Essay Sample

Introduction

People have to compete in society, at work, and in their families almost every day. It could be the losing or winning of a race or the signing of a contract, but it causes people to experience varying emotions. Competition is competing for something or someone. A challenge is when you compete for a prize. Competition is about discovering how you can do something under pressure, and therefore, there are those who believe it a good thing. It is about one challenging themselves to be greater, better, and improve themselves. Whereas competition presents the opportunity to find new friends and feel joy, it may lead to obsession with a competitor and even stress.

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In competition, it usually means that an individual has to factor in an effort for them to achieve the desired result, for example, in a race or to win a tender. It does entail not only the spending of emotional, but also physical energy, and a person becomes psychologically stronger by overcoming personal limitations, and that can lead to positive contributions to future achievements. Through competition and accomplishment of personal objectives, an individual gets an opportunity of developing qualities such as creativity, stress resistance, and a sense of purpose (Hanton et al., 37). Besides, if the competition is related to physical activity, then it is possible for the individuals involved to develop other skills such as agility and speed. Achieving the desired results may also bring positive emotions, making the competition a good thing.

Besides the joy that one feels for winning a competition, there is also experience of pleasant emotions that are felt in the process of achieving such goals. Look at this example; counsellors organize competitions among many children groups in a summer camp. Despite the fact that everyone wants to win, the process itself is an interesting one and brings the emotion of happiness among the children. Besides, if the competition is in an activity that interesting for one, for example, competition in football, then the people will participate in it with a lot of satisfaction, which adds to the skills and knowledge gained. It is, therefore, important not to take part in a competition that only involves one winning position, and that seems to be initially stressful, difficult, and impossible. Competition should not be only about winning, but the engaged individuals should gain experience in communication and also make new friends in the contest course.

Besides, in competition, people interact with others regardless of whether they are your opponents or members of one team. In the event that they are a group of people who have been united under one course to achieve a common goal, then that presents a great way of them to learn how to take the opinions of others into account and communicate with others. Also, an individual gets a better opportunity of becoming a group leader by making efforts and taking initiatives (Bloomgarden). Coming to competitors, individuals have to come to terms with the fact that their rivals also are participants in the contests, and that everyone should have a psychological preparation for the negative factors of competition.

In competitions that are healthy, winning is not as important as one performing their potential. Instead, the people engaged in any form of competition, especially sports, should be encouraged to put more focus on the performance process and doing their best. Trainers who put a lot of emphasis on the outcome and the importance of winning, are in most cases setting their players to fail. Any coach who sincerely wants their team to emerge the winner in any competition should consider winning as the last thing to talk about with their team. It is known as the paradox of winning a competition. The more one talks about beating an opponent or winning a competition, the fewer chances they have for winning, and the less one focusses on winning, then the more likely they are to become the winner.

Before getting into a competition, the first thing that one ought to understand clearly is that there are chances of experiencing stress during such practices, which could lead to the subsequent negative impact on their productivity and well-being. Again, people may start experiencing anxiety even prior to getting into a competition, a problem that is normally faced by athletes who have to have to worry about the possible results (Bloomgarden). Another issue of competition is that while an individual is striving to reach their goals, they may focus more on being better than their competitors rather than improving their personal skills and knowledge. Therefore, such individuals tend to spend more time focusing on their opponents, and not on themselves, which is not good for one's psychological well-being. One thing that people should know before they engage in any form of competition is that while trying to achieve your goals, they should consider the advantages and disadvantages of competitive processes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to note that there is no easy process in a human's life. Although negative emotions may be experienced during a competition, there are also chances of a person getting new knowledge and learning how to commune with strangers. Besides, competitions present individuals with a better opportunity to become emotionally stable.

Works Cited

Bloomgarden, Kathy. "Being Competitive: Why It Will Get You Ahead." Fortune, 12 Apr. 2015, Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2015/04/12/kathy-bloomgarden-staying-motivated/. [Accessed 30 April 2020]

Hanton, Sheldon et al. "Management of Competitive Stress in Elite Sport." Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science, Sport Psychology, 2012, pp. 30-42., doi: 10.1002/9781444303650.ch4. [Accessed 30 April 2020]