“A little competition is healthy!” - A phrase you’ve probably heard a million times in your life. I guess it could be true… it could force you to work harder and also gives you some perspective of the real world…
But honestly, competition sucks. And I hate being competitive, or being around competitive people. It’s too stressful, and I avoid it at all costs. There are those people who really strive off of competition, it gives them the clear goal of winning. Don’t get me wrong, winning is great, and the feeling of winning something or coming out on top is one of the best feelings in the word. But the stress and anxiety that come with the competition is really not worth it for me.
Here are some instances when our non-competitive souls just wanted to back out:
1. High School P.E
Yeah, we try to forget those days. Nearly everyone does. But for us who can’t stand competitive people, it was literally the worst. I specifically remember those days we’d play volleyball, and for some reason so many kids took it so seriously.
“It’s just gym class…” I’d think as some beast spikes the ball over the net into some other kid’s face.
Some of those kids are actual athletes, and take this time to strengthen their skills and become better, yeah, yeah. But what about us, who hide in the corner as long as possible before someone notices and tells us to get our butt back out in the court? Participating is one thing. No, I didn’t like actually doing the physical work of P.E. It sucked and I was horrible at all sports. But what was worse was being chastised by my classmates when I’d miss a shot or couldn’t hit the volleyball, ruining it for my whole team. Of course I want us to win, but when I get chastised by my own peers about screwing up, their competitiveness and intensity made me retreat even more.
Moral of this story: Don’t be a jerk in gym class. Save it for after school.
2. Any Board Game Ever
“Hey guys, want to play Monopoly?” A seemingly normal sentence that strikes fear in a non-competitive heart.
Board games are supposed to be fun, but for us they are nightmares. And this can literally be any board game. It’s a well-known fact that games like Monopoly and Life are absolute life ruiners, and you can lose good friends by the end of those games (if they ever do end, that is). But it may not surprise you that I can’t even handle Candyland, like at all. Like I said, winning is great. If I won all the time, maybe I wouldn’t have so many issues with being competitive. But that’s not what real life is like. Sometimes in life, you’re strolling along a beautiful colorful path, trying to make it big in the world of King Kandy. And you’re going strong, hitting up folks like Princess Lolly, even Queen Frostine. Your dream is in sight, right around the corner, you can smell it’s delicious sweet smell… Then you pick up the Plumpy card, and you have to drag yourself back to nearly the beginning, watching your friend who was behind you the WHOLE time steal your dream from under you.
Board games are just too real. They’re not fair just like life isn’t fair. So how is this any fun at all??
So when someone asks me if I want to play any type of board game, I’m screaming internally, and I decline, making sure I don’t let on how repulsed I am by the proposal.
Moral of this story: Only play board games with enemies. No collateral damage.
3. Actual Competitions
Well, of course. You cannot truly understand your own hatred of competitions unless you’ve been a part of at least one.
For about four years I was apart of my school’s color guard team… It was a pretty stressful four years. Every practice we had to make sure our routine was spot on, we were all together, and we did it over and over and over again to make sure it was absolutely perfect. The point? Competition. We’d go to many competitions over the season, and it was kinda awful for me. Almost everyone else on the team was super competitive, and even more so for our coaches. The goal was no longer just to “go out there and have fun!!”, but to win. It was quite a lot of pressure.
A few times in fifth grade, our team didn’t even have an opposing team. Our coach told us we could lose anyway. Clearly, he was joking. But I took it seriously.
In our national champion chips in eighth grade, we got second place. Everyone on the team cried. I was upset, of course, but I was more upset about the reactions from the team. They were stressing me out even more than the competition results!
I quit the team after that year. I couldn’t handle all that competitive stress!!
Moral of this story: If you join a competition team, you’re gonna get hella stressed out.
After all this said, I think it’s OK not to be competitive. It makes for a more easy going person. It makes for a person who likes to collaborate with other people instead of being pitted against them. Find a career where you can be able to work with others! Because while it’s true many aspects of life can be very competitive, surrounding yourself with positive and more relaxed people to reach your goals might make it a little more enjoyable.
