Possible damage from competition
Most of us have learned in our lives that competition is a healthy thing. We learn at school to compete on sports teams and when we transition into the business world, we are told that competition is great for consumers. However, when we realize that competition is little more than a contest between two people with the same ideas or the same product, competition doesn’t seem like as much fun as it did in school.
Competition starts at a young age
Remember when you were a child. If you were an only child, chances are that no one else was vying for the attention of your parents or grandchildren. However, those who came from bigger families were almost always competing with siblings for attention. This type of competitive spirit results in being an angry child, or acting out in a manner that drew more attention. The theory was better negative attention than no attention.
Schools pit students against each other on the sports field, in class and in other areas – whoever does the best “wins” and the others lose. Remember that competition often breeds jealousy; jealous behavior often results in people becoming distrustful and suspicious. Typically, these are not necessarily qualities we see as acceptable in most people, and even less acceptable when we see ourselves having these traits.
What we use to compete
Unfortunately, competition isn’t always who does the best job on a task or who offers the best product in business. Sometimes, seeking the competitive advantage means that we have to offer something additional in the form of a lower price, a “bonus” or some other token that shows we want someone’s business (or attention) more than our competitor. The good news is that we each have our own set of talents and if we learn to use them, chances are that we’re more likely to do well.
The key to making competition work
We have no problem cheering on our favorite sports team, celebrating complete strangers winning an Olympic metal or feeling good when our neighbors are doing well with their jobs or their children are thriving. Just think about how we can turn this into a competitive advantage in business! There are opportunities to learn from the success of others. We can turn a competitive spirit into a learning and growing experience and be happy for those who are successful.
Competition doesn’t mean that you have to win every time! Turn your competitive nature into a positive learning experience by accepting others success and being happy for them. Surround yourself with successful people and be happy for them. The more you do this, the more likely you are to find that you feel happier and more successful. Turn your work environment into one where everyone is striving for a single goal – rather than competing against each other. Chances are that if everyone works together towards a common goal, the group overall will be more successful. Do your best every day to celebrate the success of others and your success won’t be too far away.
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