Can you gain more success through competition or competence? What is the difference? Competition is defined as “Having or displaying a strong desire to be more successful than others” (Oxford Dictionary of English) and in another place “A contest for some prize, honor, or advantage” (Dictionary.com). Competence, on the other hand, is defined as “Having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully: efficient and capable” (ODE) In other words, competition is when you use a challenge to better yourself and your skills in order to succeed where as competence is where you already have the skills and knowledge needed to be successful. I believe that competition is better than competence because if you are competent and have the necessary expertise, oftentimes there isn't a point in continuing to push and stretch yourself and your boundaries. People become successful by being competitive and bettering their skills through challenging their competition, peers, and ultimately themselves.
The most recognized form of competition is that between…well, competitors. Rival teams, companies, workers, etc that compete to see who is the best in their field. A popular example of this is the playoffs in football. Two teams that have worked hard to achieve their position face off to see who the best team is ultimately. Another example is in the work force. People fight to achieve a higher ranking in their field by striving to be better than their peers (aka co-workers). This higher status can mean a pay-raise, better time schedule, and/or projects that better suits the individual-all of which are great goals to strive to achieve.
Friendly competition among peers can also be used to gain skills and mastery. An example of thi...
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...t only create a stressful environment, but in physical activities, you could actually hurt someone. Not only that, but if you don’t have the skills that you need, what good is it for anybody if you continue to pursue that area? To answer to the latter part of this argument, I believe that if you are truly passionate about something and are absolutely sure you want to pursue it, then you should actively continue to gain the knowledge and skills you need to be successful (as long as it won’t be putting someone else in harm’s way). As far as distracting yourself and others, I completely agree that this can and will happen and my reply is this: Competition should be used as a tool to gain the competence needed in order to succeed. Competition and competence need to go hand-in-hand in order to be successful.
Works Cited
dictionary.com
Oxford dictionary of English
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.
Kohn mentioned in the article, Against competitiveness, “A more reasonable and humane perspective is always hard to come by when we’re told that we’re in a race” (2014). Altogether, competing can sidetrack people from what is essential to completing the business’s mission statement. People that were dedicated to working on a project may take time-consuming precautions while others are around. Kohn mentions in the article, No Contest, “Although our society often confuses them, victory and excellence are actually two very different ideas.” Victory, a defeat of an enemy or opponent. Excellence, the quality of being outstanding or extremely exceptional. The definition of the two words should not go hand in hand. We can be excellent without competition and without a victory. "When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you" - Lao
Kohn’s claim about the nature of competition is true to the extent that being better than someone will never be enough and it is destructive to base one’s success on another person’s failure. However, competition could potentially serve as a drive to push someone to their fullest potential,
With competition, people have incentive to improve. Last fall, my father had the idea for the two of us to have a competition and see who could do more sit-ups by the end of the year. This would be part of my offseason baseball training and his normal exercise. We were both doing hundreds of sit-ups a day, and I eventually won. In the end, we were both the winners because this was very good exercise for our body, which probably would not have been done without the competition. At the end of each of my basketball lessons, my coach and I would play a short game of one versus one. At first, he would always win. I grew tired of always losing to
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.
The drive and need for competition can come in a variety of ways, whether it be someone doubting you or something you want really bad and you will do what you have to in order to obtain that thing. The biggest competition anyone can ever have is the competition against themselves. You are your strongest, most challenging competitor and when you outdo yourself, that is when you really start accomplishing things and becoming great. The only way to do something right is if you do it yourself. Pushing yourself to the limit and achieving your goals and going beyond what you thought you could do is one of the b...
Competition is in nearly every aspect of American life. Some may even say that American culture thrives on competition. Throngs of spectators herd into public arenas to watch favorite sports teams compete. Parties are hosted to watch televised competitive sporting events. Businesses coerce consumers to enter shopping facilities through the means of competitive sales ploys. It is only natural that the competitive spirit extends into the education arena.
Competition between peers makes people strive to try and be better than their opponents, and can be healthy or unhealthy depending on the competitors and their responses to the competition. Sometimes people see competition and face it head on like Gene when he is trying to become the “head of the class” (Knowles 24). It gets people to strive to be the best that they can be and whether they are successful or not they are better off than before. Even though Phineas was maimed it looked like he was going to end up getting a better educat...
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
...n Student Attitudes about Cooperation and Competition and Attitudes toward Schooling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 68(1), 92-102.
Athletic competition does not appear to promote character development; instead, there are some studies that suggest that individuals with athletic experience have poorer attitudes toward fair play. Socially desirable behaviours such as friendliness, generosity and cooperation are inconsistent with physical activities that emphasize winning. However, physical activity may have the potential for personal growth in qualities including persistence, deeper self-reliance, commitment and motivation, and may increase resourcefulness. This is probably truer for noncompetitive physical activities than team competition.
Competition produces anxiety, which can interfere with learning and disassociates with one’s own body. It is not instinctual because it is taught and it damages people and creates stress in their life. Competition teaches people to give their worst while they only focus on what their fellow mate is doing. I agree with Rubin that “competition limits people’s ability to lead happy and satisfying lives”, for I am assured that competition is destructive to children’s self-esteem, it interferes with learning, sabotages relationships, and isn’t necessary to have a good time.... ...
“Survival of the fittest” is a notion that I firmly advocate. Competition brings out the best in people, and I am a very competitive person. Competitiveness whether with one's self, or with others arouses the desire to succeed. My mother has taught me that competing with yourself is even better than competing with others because you struggle to become the best person you can be, without settling for exceeding the limitations of others.
McCaslin M. (2017). Peer Relations and Learning - Peer Relationships, Learning Motivation and Relationships, Classroom Dynamics. Retrieved from