What is competition? Competition is when two or more people or opposing sides try to become better at something than the other side. This could be a variety of things like power, wealth, social status, etc. It's clear that living in this world we are constantly competing against each other. Whether it's for survival or our ego, we aim to constantly improve and adapt to prevent being excluded out of the competition. We always feel the urgency and pressure to self improve and be better than others, but is this kind of pressure really good for us?
The pro side of competition argues that competition allows growth. It encourages people to push themselves forward and better themselves. This is what drives the advancement of society for thousands of years of mankind. We aim to always stay on top of others to protect ourselves and flex our abilities aka nationalism. When someone falls behind the competition, they get "kicked" out of the competition or get "bullied" by the other competitors until he/she is kicked out or improve themselves to be above the competitors.
However, the drawbacks of being competitive are the intensive pressure it brings. You're always worried that someone will surpass you and take your place. You will have to constantly work hard and improve to stay on top of others. Many people aren't willing to be competitive but are forced to be part of the competition because others around them are competitive and because of the limit space society has for everyone. Happiness becomes a luxury as you constantly fight with others for a limited space. You also demonstrate less self-worth and neglect your abilities and skills because you're so focused on the future. Achievements of the pass become less important while past failures constantly haunt you as you fear you will make the same mistakes in the future. We live in constant fear that one day we will be kicked out of the competition and pressure ourselves to move forward.
From what I see competition is good to a certain extent. We should be striving to improve ourselves but not to the point of crippling ourselves and impair our judgement of success. Many people neglect their skills and abilities when they look too far into future trying to improve themselves when they should be valuing them instead. Competition should be seen as a tool for self improvement and satisfaction, not as a weapon for cutting down self-esteem. Look behind yourself and smile that you came this far and that you could go further.
