After thinking back to my younger years, when I chose to look at rocks and the sky while on the soccer field instead of actually playing, I can’t help but wonder why we put ourselves in competitive scenarios.
To this day, I am a competitive athlete. I love the game of golf and I have been playing ever since I can remember. However, having a tournament this week made me think about something. Why do I compete? Why do I put myself in a situation where the end goal is doing better than another person? Well, I don’t think that is necessarily true.
In the end, competition is not about winning. Here are five reasons why competition is necessary.
1. Your successes do not determine your success.
This may come as a surprise, considering that the word "'success" is built into the word "successes." When I am out on the course and I have a long day mixed with struggling through swing changes, dealing with personal thoughts in my head, and thinking about all of the studying that I have to do, it is not easy to snap back and focus on the task at hand for five straight hours. However, those days when I learn from my mistakes and figure out what it takes are the days when I grow the most.
2. In order to be a competitor, no one said that you have to be mean.
Another common misconception about competition is that the best competitors are rude, narcissistic, and cocky. I beg to differ. Some of the best competitors who I know are the kindest and most down-to-earth people, both on and off the golf course. Sure, they take care of their business, but they do not step out there with an agenda to make their business my own. There is certainly a level of “staying in the zone” that one must maintain in order to compete effectively, but "competition" is not a synonym for "scary" or "mean."
3. Competing promotes self-confidence.
While practicing your skill, whether it is a sport, in the workforce, or in the classroom, you cannot duplicate a tournament, game, presentation, or exam setting until it happens. So, in order to get better at performing during these times, you must practice being in these situations as much as possible. Simply practicing the sport, presentation, or studying is not going to develop your skills nearly as well as the real deal.
4. Competition isn't to beat everyone else, you're playing against yourself.
This is very difficult to remember in the thick of competition. The other people around you, who you're playing against, are there to test you. The only legitimate competition is yourself. I am always my biggest roadblock when it comes to anything that I set out to do, so being able to beat yourself is the true competition.
5. Growing is winning.
Winning is like getting the nicest newest car when you turn 16. However, what is real satisfaction? Deep down, you feel hollow and guilty if you get something without working for it. When you have to earn something and appreciate the competition for the process, that is when you win. Competition is not the awards ceremony, it is the process. Embrace each step of this process and put your all into that present moment. Enjoy what you are working on. That is a win.
So, go out and win yourself over.
