It’s the people around that make us feel left behind. In the old days, competition among people was for territory, power, food, shelter and survival. Things have changed course, though we still compete for all those things, but in a modernized way.

In our schools, children compete for good grades, positions, classes and perfection which I deemed decent. I’m all for any type of competition meant for academic purposes.

Recently, competition has taken a new twist. People compete for money, fame, wealth, recognition and clouts. Instead, of healthy competition, now people want to show how wealthy and influential they’re. This reminds me of an old Hindu quote that said,

The goal is not to be better than the other man, but to be better than your previous self.

Why competition is bad.

1. It breads imitation.

Every individual has his or her identity, capabilities and potential. God in his own wisdom and tranquillity knows why he created you that way. Changing that to just look different in the eyes of people not help your purpose on earth. Remaining yourself is the best way to ensure your actual God-given potential is maintained.

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2. Focus shift.

Your intentions determine your attention, therefore what you focus on determines your future actions. When you’ve got something done, it is impeccable to focus on that. When you want to focus extensively on people, trying to please them, you end up shifting your attention from your core mandates.

3. Losing sight of people you’re supposed to learn from.

Competition can make you lose the ability to learn from people. In a quest for superiority and affluent, you end up missing out on things you ought to have learned from people who are ahead of you in life. It can blind you to the extent that, you’ll go the extra mile to challenge people you should be learning from.

4. It wastes time and money.

When the intent is to win at all cost no matter what, one may end up ‘biting more than what he/she can chew’. The desire to beat someone to a position or status they’ve worked for over the years can make you waste precious time and money you do not have. Instead, be content with what you have and build upon it over time.

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5. Animosity.

The strong edge to beat a competitor can create serious ill-will between two people. Striving for the top has a huge price to pay. If care isn’t taken, violent actions which are extremely hostile might be adopted without realizing. Which has the tendency to destroy long-lasting bonds?

In a nutshell, I’m not against competition, but my difficulty is with the meaningless competitions. Obviously, I don’t determine what a healthy competition should be, but competition should make you better and not bitter. My point is if you’re competing with somebody just to corroborate your popularity, power or wealth then you’ve lost focus. Competition should inspire you to greatness and not to be envious of people you should be learning from. If rivalry enhances your imitation rather than your capacity, there’s a big problem.

nanaoseiike Osei-Nantwi Isaac popularly known as Nanaoseiike is a Ghanaian, a husband, a teacher by choice and a blogger by passion. Osei is a website developer whose hobbies are playing the guitar and listening to country music. Nanaoseiike is a tech enthusiast. See author's posts