Growth From Competition

Sports are popular in every culture because competition is a part of human nature. No matter where you are in the world, you will see that people are competing with one another through sports. In the US, we grow up on ball fields playing baseball with our friends and we spend countless hours in gymnasiums, playing basketball or gymnastics. Yes, there is a part of us that naturally wants to become better. We want to be recognized as the best.

As much as we would like to win at everything that we do, it wouldn’t be very helpful if we did. Consistent victory can breed laziness and contentment because satisfied people are less likely to improve. This is why our habits of giving trophies to anyone who participates is a dangerous thing. We are teaching a generation that it’s okay to be satisfied with just showing up. No effort needed. Just show up… stand there… and you, too can have a shiny trophy to put on your shelf!

We have lost sight of the fact that life is competition. It’s one thing to teach our kids that they are valued and their efforts matter, but it’s another to teach them that minimal effort is worth celebration. John Maxwell rightly said, “Nothing good has ever come from a satisfied person.” We’re teaching future generations to be satisfied at the expense of progress and positive competition.

Competition is a good thing when done properly. It teaches us about life and how to handle victory as well as defeat with the right attitude.

Learn From Your Losses

Unfortunately, we all lose at one point or another. I’ll admit that I was probably the worst kind of loser as a kid. I threw my baseball bat many times after I struck out. One thing is for sure… I hate losing. But what I have learned over the years is to look back on the times that I have lost and find what I can improve on. Are there areas of my game that I need to practice more? Did I make wrong decisions at critical points of the game? If so, why?

Losses should be learning experiences. All too often, we allow the pain of a loss to get in our way of peeling back the layers and finding out what was behind it all. We are destined to repeat the failure unless we take another look at why.

Learn From Your Wins

Winning is fun, isn’t it? It’s a great feeling to have actually earned that trophy that we put on our shelf. Reflection is important in victory in the same way that it is in our losses. We need to analyze what we did right that led us to victory. What good decisions were made that led to the victory? Where are some of the areas of improvement for the next time around? Successful people are able to do this honestly with themselves. Don’t cheat yourself out of a learning experience by lying to yourself about how things went.

Effort Versus Result

This is the question that I now judge myself by on a daily basis. I couldn’t stand losing, no matter the circumstance, when I was a kid. I have learned to judge myself based on my effort instead of the result… Did I give it my all? If you lose in a competition but gave it every ounce of energy and effort that you have, then you should be able to live with that kind of defeat. I have learned that I need to improve my skills for the next time and then I get back to work. On the other hand, there is no excuse for losing after I didn’t give my full effort. A loss is entirely my fault if I left something on the table and I’m walking away.

Do you find yourself losing competitions often? Do you wish that you could get on a winning streak? You first have to ask yourself why you are losing. Is it a lack of effort or a lack of skill? Be honest with yourself in your answers. Find the areas that you need to improve and work on them. You’ll find that as you learn from the competition, you’ll begin to succeed.