The Negative Aspects of Competition Today
Competition should not be enforced because it makes people feel too much stress and like winning is all that matters, makes the event too intense and no fun, and It makes people feel less skilled and lowers self-esteem. Competition does nothing but bring down a person and cause way too many problems in life. Winning and berating someone else is not all that matters and having fun in the event is.
Competition should not be enforced because it makes people feel too stressed and feel like winning is all that matters. “Competition is not inevitable part of human nature, that it causes anxiety and shame, that it creates disabling stress that inhibits performance, and that it fosters aggression and hostility.” (Kohn 1) According to this information it shows just how this hurts people and stresses people way too much. Nobody wants anxiety and shame or stress from just a silly competition. Levine, a clinical psychologist says, “The pressure faced by many children in competitions are leading to an increase in mental health disorders, drug abuse, anxiety and sometimes suicide.”(1) This should open many eyes to see what competition is doing to people. Putting them under way too much that it leads to either physical or mental problems, which is not right. Competition should be taken out of human society obviously when it is coming from a clinical psychologist to do so. “We adults naturally want to insulate our kids from the insanity that awaits them. But are we doing them any favors? Yes, kids have to learn that life is about a lot more than winning and losing. Yet, if we work so hard to cushion them from experiencing loss, when the sting finally finds them, it’s bound to feel more significant...
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Competition is not ok in today’s society getting rid of it will help a person feel like winning is not all that matters and lift stress. It will help a person have fun in the event and not make it so intense. It will also help lift up a person’s self-esteem and their self-worth. Taking competition out of our society will make life for each person so much better.
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Diegmueller, Karen. “The Attack of the (killer?) bees.” Education week. Aug, 7 1996
Oglesby, Amanda. “Parenting in the Age of Competition.” Asbury Park Press. 05 Oct. 2013
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Burridge, Elaine, ICIS chemical business. “Striking a Balance” 9/30/2013
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Two best friends are torn apart. A man meticulously plots revenge on the person who got the job he was dying for. A nation is full of rage and fear because another country beat them in the race to walk on the moon. Sadly, all of these situations were caused by one thing, competition. In Alfie Kohn’s essay, “Competition Is Destructive”, he describes competition as having a “toxic effect on our relationships”(11). Although competition has many positive effects in this world, when talking specifically about relationships, whether it be between best friends, two strangers, or even entire nations, it fuels negative feelings and attitudes that transform people into monsters.
All things considered, competition can be either benevolent or unacceptable. Being competitive in most activities or events is not always appropriate, and in some cases, competition could bring up negative feelings if not everybody was treated the same or
There are people who are not as motivated, they are often referred to as the underachievers. However, once they have someone to compete with, they are more likely to become motivated to improve and excel. This is where competition serves as a healthy motivator. There is a friend who was exhausted of being constantly compared to his overachieving older brother. This caused him to start studying and working harder in order to become just as good as his brother. The situation showed how he did not need to bring down his older brother in order to be just as successful. Competition serves its purpose, when one finds themselves competing with themselves instead of their competitor. When one is competing with themselves, they are allowing themselves to grow and improve to become a better person. They do not have to compete with someone else, nor degrade others success in order to make their achievements seem exceptional.
Lastly, in youth competitive sports you can learn how to win and lose politely, which is important to the feelings of your competitors. Even though teens can learn these skills in school and in their household, competitive sports provide another way for children to interact and experience how to use life skills in the real world. Another example from the article, “ Pros and Cons of Sports Competition at the Highschool Level,” it
Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (1981). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Our society has shifted its beliefs in how we should treat competition in young people. The question is asked, should all kids get a participation trophy? As it may seem to be an unanswerable question, it honestly isn’t. Thought that the participation trophies may send the message that “coaches” value the kids’ efforts despite their abilities, trophies do not need to be given out. Your words mean just as much when you remind an athlete that you value them in more ways than one. Some may think trophies are a great idea because it shows that everyone’s a “winner.” However, I disagree with that idea. I believe that kids should know that they need to work their hardest in order to be rewarded and understand that not
This lack of competition snowballs into corrupting other parts of the game. There is a
Competing is assertive and uncooperative which is the “win-lose” approach. In competing, people pursues his or her own concerns at the other person’s expense, they act in a very assertive way to achieve the goals and without seeking to cooperate with the other party (Thomas and Kilmann 2001). In this power-oriented mode, people tend to monopolising, not listening, attacking, exaggerating, and pushing for what they want as well as using whatever power seems appropriate to win their position. People in competing also standing up for their rights, defending a position they believe is correct, and fighting their corner for their teams needs(Meier 2011). It may be seen as insensitive to others and selfish and their behaviour may seem to undermine trust and goodwill.
For instance, I am a competition dancer. Going to different competitions you can see the differences in the way the dancers, teachers, judges, and moms view outcomes. The teachers just want you to do your best because no matter the placement received you had fun. When you are on a team, you want your team as a whole group to compete with other teams not each other. You see this with other sports too, such as baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. where kids try to outperform their teammates. This poses risks such as “loss of self-esteem, injuries… increased stress.” (Berger, pg. 245, 2014) However Active play and competition do not only pose risks they contribute to the following as well “Better overall health, less obesity… respect for teammates and opponents.” (Berger, pg. 245, 2014)
There is a misconception that competition is bad, if a child can experience the thrill of winning and the disappointment of losing, they will be well equipped for the reality of life. Competition provides stimulation to achieve a goal; to have determination, to overcome challenges, to understand that hard work and commitment leads to a greater chance of success. Life is full of situations where there are winners and losers; getting a job; a sports game; not getting into a desired college. People need to learn how to cope with disappointment and then to look forward to the next opportunity to try again. Competition also teaches us to dig deep and find abilities we never knew we had. The pressure to win or succeed can often inspire more imaginative thinking and inspire us to develop additional
I found that much of my free time is spent socializing with friends and competing in numerous sports and hobbies. I found that much of my daily life revolves around competition, from playing collegian level soccer to video games with friends. Competition has always interested me from a very young age when I first begin playing soccer. However, I found there is a distinction between healthy competition and unhealthy competition within my own interests. Healthy competition was doing my best in order to advance and develop a skill or process. Conversely, Unhealthy competition was a sole focus on winning and a trap I have fallen into many times. In the work world today healthy competition can be a monumental tool used to engage and motivate employees. In class we have talked about a company called Nucor that has used competition within shifts to advance technology through innovation and increasing production. I believe my interest in competition and my competitive drive when instrumented in the right environment could be a huge motivator in the future
Healthy competition can drive people forward. Allowing a kid to doing what they want because they enjoy it can open them up socially by allowing them to reach out and teach others that don’t have that same niche. If we force a child to be overly competitive, this decreases the child’s ability to grow in other areas in life because they are too focused on being the best. If they don’t live up their standards of being the best, this will cause the child to be insecure about their abilities and they will constantly seek approval. Unhealthy competition can detrimental later on in life when trying to get into a great school, find a partner or in getting a job.
Rothwell, D. J. (1999). In The Company of Others: An Introduction to Communication. New York: McGraw Hill.
...t it is beneficial, healthy and provides a little competition. No one knows how much competition can drive a person, but a healthy competition between you and your peers can benefit you by creating innovative ideas and work ethic that are much required in this world.
Yes, it is to a certain extent. Competition is good for us as it challenges each individual. Without competition, there would be no standards and we would not know how to improve on areas we lack. In addition, we may not know where we stand, be it mentally, physically and academically. Different kinds of competition challenge us in different aspects and helps us to progress and move with times.