Let’s face it. Competition is a significant part of our lives. It’s normal to feel competitive and want to be the best at what you do, no matter the setting. Some might say competition is toxic or problematic. It has gotten a bad rep lately. While we totally agree with the sentiment that collaboration is always better than competition, competition isn’t your enemy. In reality, a competitive spirit motivates us to work harder! In fact, research suggests that healthy competition has a direct effect on performance thanks to its degree of social motivation. So as long as you’re able to keep your head on straight about it, having competitors might actually increase your chances of long-term brand success.
Even more, competition exists in every aspect of our lives. No matter which area we’re talking about, surely you’ve felt the need to compete at least once. That’s a sign of motivation to achieve success! As long as you’re able to keep things in perspective, remain a good sport, not be too hard on yourself, and remember that at the end of the day your fiercest competitor should ALWAYS be yourself.
So in the spirit of striving to be our best, today we’re breaking down the topic of competition and how it relates to success. We’re breaking it all down. Below you’ll learn the truth regarding whether or not competition is necessary for success. Keep reading to learn the benefits of healthy competition and how to handle it!
Is Competition Necessary For Success?
Competition is essential for motivation.
Let’s get real. If life didn’t have any competitors, not even one, you would probably just call it a day once you’ve achieved a certain level of comfort. Some people find internal motivation or everything you do. However society and history show us that collectively, competition is good for the human spirit to innovate and seek to achieve new heights. Sometimes we need a little push to expand our strategies. And that is a good thing! It’s healthy even. So in your workouts, life, career if you have a healthy relationship with competitiveness and a healthy competitor, you’ll always be looking for ways to grow. Conformism isn’t allowed if you want to achieve success when you have an ideal competitive spirit and willing competitors!
Healthy competition can teach you how to deal with failure.
Sure, failing isn’t fun. It’s frustrating, demotivating, and sometimes infuriating. Still, it’s necessary for learning from your mistakes and avoiding going down the same path in the future. And that’s when competition comes into play! Healthy competition teaches preparation. It helps you be ready for any other issues or unexpected situations that may arise in the future. If your competitors are ahead of you in one aspect of your business, you’re learning how to cope with not always being the best. Which is inevitable in life. If you lose a job opportunity to another candidate, then dealing with that failure in a productive, growth mindset way, prepares you even further and can encourage you to keep moving forward. Growth requires your ability and willingness to process your emotions and learn from your mistakes. You can only go up from there!
Having competitors makes you let go of what you can’t control.
In life, there is no way to control every outcome, every twist and turn, and every variable that can come your way. So learn to roll with the punches. Having competitors is the perfect situation for learning to let go of things you can’t control. They have their own skills, gifts, support systems, work ethics, backgrounds, and traumas. And that presents you with a perfect learning opportunity! It’s normal to obsess about the things you can’t control, but it still has a negative impact on your mental health and your business. So having healthy competition helps you let go of those things! It’s a learning process, sure. But you’ll be able to shift your mindset and stay focused once you realize focusing on your own growth and improvements is the only way to achieve success moving forward.
How To Handle Competition Like A Boss:
Don’t take things so seriously.
NOTHING in life is truly make or break. Everything is just one step in your journey to wherever you’re going. So win or lose, success or failure, don’t take things SO seriously that it breaks you or builds you up too much. Instead, be proud of your successes from a standpoint of humility. And be practical when things don’t go your way. It’s not the end of the world. Learn to forgive yourself for any mistakes or shortcomings you have. Also practice having self compassion when things don’t work out the way you want rather than attaching it to your self esteem. Always remember, nothing is the end of the world and in life you’ll have many opportunities to be at bat!
Get back on the horse.
Consistency is key when it comes to accomplishing your goals. So no matter how many times you fail or lose to a competitor, ALWAYS be ready to get back out there and try again. If you don’t get the job you apply for, keep applying for other positions. If you don’t come in first at your spin class, keep taking classes to improve your position. Maybe your podcast doesn’t get as many downloads as you had hoped, keep recording and posting! And finally, if fear is getting in the way of you getting back out there, listen to this podcast on how to rid yourself of fear.
Learn from your failures.
When you have healthy individuals or entities to compete with, you’ll constantly get feedback on how you could have done better. For example, maybe you lost a promotion to a coworker that arrives 15 minutes early and leaves 15 minutes late each day. Or maybe you’re always late? So you learn that your company values extra time put in and you need to work on your time management a bit. Or maybe you don’t get a job offer. Instead they give it to someone that submits a video bio and you simply submit a cover letter. There are always opportunities to find the lessons in failures when you have a competitor that was able to succeed in that situation. Again, always remember to keep it light and positive. It’s a journey not a destination!
Learn from your competitors’ mistakes.
When you come out on top, don’t just chock it up to how incredible you are. Have humility and continue to look at all of your experiences, positive or negative, as a learning experience. Why were you victorious? Were there obvious mistakes made? Did you have very specific successes that pulled you over the top? Could your competition have done anything differently and easily beat you? Do you have a competitive edge for that promotion because you have a great relationship with a difficult boss? All of these lessons are valuable for your growth!
Be a good sport.
Competition gets a negative rep sometimes, but it really can be fun and valuable for everyone involved if you’re a good sport. So be supportive of everyone, and cheer others on. Offer condolences when you win, and say congrats when you lose. It’s all about seeing everyone succeed in the end. Wishing others would lose only brings on bad vibes and bad karma. So keep it positive and be someone that is fun to compete with!
How do you deal with your competition to achieve success?
Now you know why competition is essential for success and how to handle it like a boss! Sure you could look at competition as a negative, but where’s the fun in that? Life would be boring without a little push to be better, am I right? Just remember that it’s actually motivating you to work harder and making things more fun and interesting along the way! Remember to not let failure or heavy competition affect you. Just focus on your goals and how you can achieve success faster. For more career and life tips, definitely keep checking our blog! Let us know in the comments!