FACTS ABOUT COMPETITIVENESS

Competitiveness can be seen as possession of a strong desire to be more successful than others; “a lot of people get wrapped up in competitiveness and jealousy”, competiveness is the quality of being as good as or better than others of a comparable nature. Competitive contexts have some advantages (questionable) and disadvantages.

Many individuals see themselves in competitive situations, fighting others in order to achieve a goal, seeking a reward over others. It may be present in business, politics, education, workplace etc. It is much more pronounced in a workplace that is well diversified.

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Some advantages:

• It is a source of motivation
• It yields high achievement
• It helps participants to enjoy the events
• It helps in the selection of the capable individuals
• It builds character and self-confidence.

Disadvantages of Competitiveness

• It produces stress, which is good within but which may easily become excessive in competitive situations.
• It promotes jealousy, mistrust, and disdain towards the opponent
• It limits one’s capacity to love others.

More facts about Competitiveness

According to a study conducted on business people, it was discovered that people who made the money scored low based on a scale of competitiveness while those who scored high in mastery of their tasks and in dedication to their jobs earned the highest salaries. And this is because these set of individuals only spend most of their time and energy in striving to improve and also learn other than getting worried whether they are doing better or worse than their mates.

Competitiveness can cut you off from people, because one who is using competitiveness cannot share ideas, expertise or support and this will undermine everyone’s productivity.

Competition: A Relationship Killer

There are many behaviours that can slowly destroy a relationship, and “competition” is at the top of the list. Keeping a mental list of who does the most, one-upping, being oppositional regardless of the situation, excluding your partner in social settings, comparing assets (both personal and material), and the worst one . . . always turning conversations back to you when your partner needs you to listen.

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Partners who compete much of time build up great resentment toward each other. They also feel unloved, and ultimately don’t trust their partner to have their back. They feel misunderstood and criticized. There really is no place for competition in close personal relationships.

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Ways to Avoid Competition

• Acknowledge Things That Go Well: Focus on things that go well, and on experiences with each other that are positive and affirming.
• Listen and Empathize: Take time to listen to the other with an open mind, and with empathy. People want to be understood, no matter what their age is or who they are. Listening and understanding create real and lasting bonds.
• Make Sure You Are Pulling Your Weight: Make sure you are doing your part. If married or living with a partner, make sure that you are sharing responsibilities and pitching in to run the household. Take a real look at what your partner does and appreciate their contributions. If you feel things are really one-sided, then have a real conversation about that in a straight- forward manner. Don’t try and drive the point home with sarcasm or criticism.
• Be a Collaborator: Just remember, you are collaborators, not adversaries. If you can burn this idea into your memory and bring it up when you feel competitive with a partner, you will do a lot to deepen your bond and avoid unnecessary problems.

How to attain achievements in non-competitive contexts.

Ones has to consider the following strategies

1. Negotiate, support and cooperate: these behaviours enhance the probability of success and encourage growth of relationships.
2. Avoid obsession with the final results and try to do everything thoroughly.
3. Become accustomed to teamwork
4. Organize cooperative activities in order to distribute tasks according to the various capacities represented in the team.

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Personal relationships, whether marital, couple, parent-child, or friendship, are by nature collaborative. The whole idea of such relationships are to feel connected, provide support, act in ways that are complimentary to each other, foster trust, have each other’s best interests at heart, and love. Such relationships should better all parties involved. They should feel like safe places.

Though man looks on the outward appearance, God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Ultimately, it is our faithfulness that pleases God and puts Him on display. So we should wisely steward our God-given talents for His glory and the good of others. A competitive “marketplace,” under God’s sovereignty, drives us toward greater effectiveness in loving our neighbours by providing better goods and services with which to bless them.

And when we love our neighbours in the name of Christ, we love God (Mark 12:29-31). Winning and losing become occasions for sanctifying and strengthening us, making us both more conscious of our sinfulness (jealousy, pride) and more effective in the deployment of our talents in all of our vocational and avocational callings.

Remember;

‘Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)

‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves’ (Philippians 2:3):

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