Most people have participated in some form of competition during their lives. Whether that took the form of competing on a sports team, competing on a team in the Science Olympiad or trying out for a lead role in a musical, competition can be fairly prevalent. But has society gotten it all wrong?

Competition can have detrimental effects on the body. Striving to be the best, or perform the best in a specific area or assignment, has caused students to put their own mental and physical health on the backburner. Achieving perfection easily gets in the way of exercising, eating well, or getting enough sleep. It can cause tension in social life by deteriorating your relationships with friends and family.

Even further, the pressure can cause people to resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as turning to addictive substances or behaviors for comfort. One danger in competition that can be particularly harmful is comparing oneself to others. Place yourself in a situation where you observe someone you know succeed in a particular event you are also part of. How do you feel? Are you grateful and happy for the person’s success, or does a part of you wish you could do just as well? You may quickly get discouraged if you do not measure up to that same achievement. However, we do not actually know what that person is going through in their own mind or life. It is possible that they are having an easier time right now in their life, but it is also possible that they have been going through many hardships and are currently struggling.

We must keep in mind that the success of a person does not have to be the reference point for what we feel success is to us.  Comparing ourselves to others can often times result in negative thoughts, because we are focusing our attention into an area that has already happened, rather than thinking of what is possible in the present and future.

Additionally, we can sometimes find ourselves striving to excel in an activity that we do not need to be a part of, or are not personally passionate about. Rather than dwell on our own shortcomings, we can focus on our strong suits, on what we are passionate about, and on what we can contribute in. Even in college, most students must select one or two majors to study. It would be impossible and illogical to master each degree. It would even be irrational to spend one whole lifetime mastering the intricacies of every subject that a university may provide at an advanced level. We must choose what we focus on, and how we will impact the world in the future.

Throughout life, we often receive the message that only one person can win. For example, in a race of many marathon runners, there is one “winner.” However, life is not like one giant marathon race. Each individual is born into a unique race; we each have our own race ahead of us. This means that all of us can be winners. We can each win our own race, and we just have to put in an effort trying to fulfill our unique purpose. Taking into account our individuality, it is important not to forget the fact that we need each other to complete our race. Practically speaking, we see how important it is to have grocery clerks, farmers, clothes designers, architects, and doctors, for example. A sense of belonging and being part of the community is highly important to our health and to our quality of life. In contrast, isolation from others is harmful, as it can limit our sense of belonging, and even rob us of the chance to receive or give support to others.

Although some people argue that competition can enable them to push themselves harder, it is important to note that doing better or worse than someone does not directly correlate to worth. We have just as much worth as a human, whether we win or lose. Each human is part of the same species, each person has feelings, and feelings do not last forever, no matter how difficult they may feel at the moment. So, what happens when we face obstacles and failures in our unique race of life? We must remember that we are still equal to each other in the game of life, that our worth does not change based on gains and losses, and that all of us can be winners.