The Cons of Unhealthy Competition

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We are all born with a competitive nature. Our competitive nature drives us to want to be fierce competitors. We compete for resources in the forms of food, jobs, shelter and finding a mate to have the dominant bloodline survive. Sometimes we compete without even knowing it. This is how we grew up, competing for food at the dinner table, siblings competing for parent’s love and attention. As kids we take this competitive nature to school and compete for the best grades, teacher’s attention or sometimes we act out or we become the class clown. As adults we compete to see whose going to have the biggest home, the best cars and who makes the most money. Parents want the best for their kids and their future and will push them as far they can without seeing the repercussions later. Pushing kids beyond their limits and not allowing kids to be kids first will harm them later on in life: stun growth potential, and create insecure children who constantly seek approval.

In Lisa Strick essay, “So What’s so bad about Being So-So? Lisa talks about our competitive nature and the need to be the best. Sometimes competition gets in the way of us being able to following through on a hobby, sport or activity without being given the side eye because we aren’t great that activity. Stick feels as though she let her son down because she didn’t start him in soccer at an early age like the other kids. She states, “ I’m sorry, son, I guess I blew it” (p. 204). She states this after the other kids made fun of her own son; “We don’t want that dodo on our soccer team… He doesn’t know a goal kick from a head shot” (p.204). Kids can be ruthless and not care what they say. Hearing someone say that we suck can make you not want to continue to try.

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... my responsibilities at home and school. After 8 years of playing, I not only was competing with others, but with myself as well. In the end I failed excel and now have my violin under the bed collecting dust.

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.

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