Is Competition Good Or Bad Essay

Competition is part of human nature, but the question has been asked; is competition a good or bad thing? There are instances of children turning competition into everyday life, their ego and confidence relies solely on winning or losing. For others, rivalry can bring out the best or worst part of their personalities. Advocates believe that competition is about challenging yourself and others to do the best job possible or to work together as a team; competing brings people together. Opponents believe that competition is destructive and creates unnecessary bitter enemies between people. Whether an audience believes that competition is good or bad, both sides agree that is has become unpleasant; the culture of today has turned competition into

cheating, bad sportsmanship, and large egos.
Those who agree that competition is healthy and fun believe that the real nature of it is working together and becoming a team, an incentive to do the best job possible, and challenging yourself. Advocates also believe that competition is about wanting to win, and that is not a bad thing. Wanting to win creates motivation to work together as a team and for teams to live up to their full potential. This is true for every type of competition, from a full contact sport to a mathletes club. Winning creates importance, and importance causes people to do their best and challenge themselves. By wanting to win, people work with their team to work to win and prepare to win (Coffin, 2011). Advocates believe that challenge and competition come hand in hand, they believe that people need to be competitive to challenge themselves to become better (Coffin, 2011). Supporters state that competition merely has a bad reputation; it is not as bad as people make it seem (Coffin, 2011). Karen Coffin, in Coaching Today, asks the question, “When did wanting to win become a bad thing? When did losing become unforgivable?” Coffin agrees that competition turns foul when a “win-at-all-costs” attitude is adopted, but without that attitude competition is about committing and improving (Coffin, 2011).
On the other hand, those who are opposed to competition agree that it only brings out the worst in people, that it creates false self-confidence, and “is the creation of bitter enemies” (Kovis, 2012). Although, those who dislike competition agree there may be good aspects of it, yet the negative outcomes outweigh the good ones. Opponents also agree that competition itself may not be bad, but the stigma that comes with “loser” and “winner” ruins it. Society has turned competition into a vicious game, like Donald Kovis says from Delta Winds: A Magazine of Student Essays, “creating a class of winners and a class of losers, forever separate from each other” (Kovis, 2012). As Kovis elaborates, he states that competition has become so brutal that it is not uncommon for teams to steal their opponent’s mascots, destroy their property, and physically harm them (Kovis, 2012). Alfie Kohn in Alfie Kohn, sites research taken from David Johnson and his social psychologist colleagues at the University of Minnesota, found that from 1924 to 1980, 60 percent of students worked better when they worked together rather than in a competition, while seven percent found the opposite, and 33 percent found no difference (Kohn, 1987). Kohn also states, “Competition often makes kids anxious and that interferes with concentration”; the need to be the best distracts people from learning, instead they focus on the reward (Kohn, 1987).
Advocates and opponents can both agree that the wrong form of competition is mentally harmful, especially to children.

Parents push their children too hard and too fast to be better than the others; when their mother’s voice is only proud when the child has won and not merely when they tried their hardest, competition becomes damaging. When competition turns into a game where one person can only succeed if the other fails, it becomes destructive. Coffin and Kovis both agree that competition becomes unpleasant when an “every man for himself” mindset is developed. Both parties agree that competition sets an unnecessary amount of pressure on anyone present; coaches, athletes, parents, children, and even referees or proctors. If society teaches people that winning is more than merely a score, maybe then competition will lose its negative aspects. By letting negative behavior walk free and unpunished, competition has become

brutal.
Consequently, competition has proved to be flawed and vicious. Not only is competition distracting, but it is also overwhelming. Working together should be should be prioritized over working against one another. In some instances, competition may be about coming together as a team and working to beat a common goal, but too many times does competition ruin friendships and hurt others. Like Donald Kovis says, “Negative aspects resulting from the bad behavior due to competitiveness probably outweigh any good that can be created from competition” (Kovis, 2012). The negative traits of competition overshadow the good traits; in other words, the good outweighs the bad. Competition is not required to have fun, but society has been subconsciously pushing competitiveness, not only on children, but on adults, too. When the outcome is considered, competition is not fun. Having a group of losers with their self-confidence destroyed and a group of winners with a false ego can become toxic.
Overall, advocates and opponents agree that competition can be destructive.

Advocates come to the understanding that competition can be disastrous, but they believe that it is more than merely wanting to win; they believe that it is about challenging yourself and coming together as a team. Opponents agree that competition has positive aspects, but the bad ones outweigh the good and it becomes calamitous. Moreover, when bad behavior is overlooked, competitiveness is catastrophic. By teaching society that competition is not needed to be entertained and winning is more than simply a score, it may be harmless once

more.