Competition of Life

Competition of Life: Seeing Others do Better than You.

‘Life is a race’ is something that we have all grown up listening to. From our formative years, from school to our home, we have all been subjected to competition. The competition and compulsion of being popular, being good at sports, extracurricular activities, studies all took place at school and college. But the constant comparison between siblings, cousins, neighbours, or anyone of the similar age for that matter, took place at home. Intentionally or unintentionally everyone has been subjected to some form of competition or comparison from a young age. When you undergo constant competition as a child, you take that forward even as you grow up.

Harmless competition in our childhood days has the potential of turning into unhealthy competition growing up. The same child that gets compared to all its peers will always be afraid of not measuring up as they get older. The mind of a person who is in their teen years is very volatile and can get affected by the littlest of things. Constant comparison at home or college can lead to deterioration of self-esteem and mental health. They can grow up to have doubts and insecurities in their self which will restrain them from giving their best anywhere in life. Parents have a tendency of constantly comparing their children, teachers in school can intentionally or unintentionally create competition between children, and amidst all this, children will never end up measuring up as whole individuals, just comparisons and competitions of others.

A large amount of doubt, insecurity, lack of self-confidence stems from comparison. When you are constantly withheld to standards of others, you don’t get the chance to grow up and be own self. A child that is subjected to comparison and competition in their formative years will grow up having the same mindset, and will not stop comparing themselves to others. When you are an adult, competition and comparison can lead to a lot of jealousy, never being happy in the success of others, and a whole lot of negativity. You will never live to see others succeed in their life, and will always want it for yourself without working on personal growth that can lead you to your own goals. Competition only increases as you grow up, be it in the job market, relationships, businesses, lifestyle, status, etc. But when you can’t see others do better than you, you will just turn into a sour individual that no one wants around them. Competition and comparison will turn into jealousy, which is an ugly emotion on its own. It is important to be able to clap for others, when they are winning, so they can do the same for you. Only when you can watch your friends and family climb up the ladder before you, and be wholeheartedly happy for them, you know you have reached a new height for self-contentment.

There will always be multiple instances where your friends will have better jobs than you, a better lifestyle, clothes or about anything materialistic. It’s important to understand that just by comparing or yearning to be like them, none of that will come your way. It’s important to work on yourself, your own goals at your time so you can also succeed. Not everyone is cut from the same cloth, hence nor is it fair to compare yourself to them. Every single person is supposed to fulfil different purposes in life, and you will only triumph where you are meant to. A lot of people will always show you the greener side of their grass, but no one broadcasts their failures, their behind the scenes, all the sweat and tears. It’s important to understand that nothing is always how it looks, and a lot of effort, time and energy has gone into reaching a certain stage. The major factor to success has to be to work at your own pace, in your own timeline, towards your own goals without glancing left or right.

As much as competition has the tendency to be negative and harmful, a little healthy competition never hurt anybody. If you can develop a perception where you look at competition as motivation to be a better version of yourself, you will reach big heights. Watching someone level up, can either make you highly insecure or motivate you to also work as hard to reach the same position as them. Learn to look at competition as a part of life where it does not consume you, but instead influences you to refine yourself.