4 Keys to Success You Can Learn From Competition

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In a world that is increasingly focused on making sure that everyone feels good about themselves, competition has begun to get something of a bad reputation. People equate competition with comparison and assume that the former is as damaging as the latter. The reality, however, is that the two are very different. Comparison is when a person bases their sense of self-worth on how they measure up to someone else. If they are not as strong, beautiful, successful or intelligent as another person, then they are worth less as a human being. This is a terrible way of thinking and leads to all sorts of self-destructive and dangerous behaviors as a person goes to increasing extremes in an effort to measure up to the other person.

Competition, on the other hand, is a healthy feeling that drives people to do their best. It is certainly possible for someone to be too competitive, but a little competition is a good thing. It pushes people to do better and teaches lessons that are essential for anyone who hopes to be successful in their life. Here are four keys to success people learn from competition.

Goal Setting

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Competitions of every kind are breeding grounds for goals. People who play sports want to win a particular number of games out of their season or make it to a certain level of competition. They want to make it to regionals, states or nationals. They want to participate in the playoffs or finally break the one minute barrier in the 100 yard freestyle race. People may also measure themselves against a particular opponent. A team may be determined to finally best their rival team, or a person may want to take someone else’s place on the relay team. All of those desires are goals. Many people who engage in structured competitions lay out their goals at the beginning of the year or season. This is exactly what successful people do in all walks of life as well. They decide what they want to achieve and set challenging, but realistic goals. Competition teaches people how to determine what they can really do and so how to set good goals.

Discipline

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No competition was ever won without hard work. Anyone who ever competed either learned how to dig deep and really work for what they wanted, or they accepted that they would never reach their goal. There is not at third option when it comes to dealing with competition. A person either works for what they want, or they give up.

Just as no team ever won a championship without working their tails off all season, no successful person ever reached their desired level by slacking off. Competition very quickly teaches the lesson that no one gets anything they did not earn. How does one earn what they want? They work for it. They are disciplined. They get up early to attend practice. They turn down the invitation to go to a movie opening because they have practice that evening. They make the sacrifices now in order to achieve their goals later.

Learning From Mistakes

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Everyone always likes to talk about when they won. They like to think about and tell the stories of great victories and triumphs. If asked when they learned the most, however, they would name their greatest failures. They would list humiliating defeats. They would talk about how they fell and got back up in order to try again.

Success is useful. Success is enjoyable. Success is the goal. Success is only a mediocre teacher. When it comes to truly learning, failure is the greatest teacher a person will ever encounter. Competing in any way means that a person will inevitably fail at some point. When that happens, they have to pick themselves up and learn from their mistakes. Anyone who hopes to be successful has to be capable of doing the same thing. They need to be able to move past the disappointment that comes with a defeat and instead focus on the lessons that can be learned from their failure. Then, they try again.

Constant Improvement

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When a person is competing, they are always looking for ways to improve themselves. They want to get stronger, faster and better. When they reach one goal, they immediately set a new one. If they break one record, they set their eyes on the next.

In competitions, a person’s main opponent is ultimately themselves. It is their own limits they are pushing. It is their own goals they are chasing. It is their old records and abilities they are hoping to defeat. They may not win the national championship, but if they improved, they were still victorious in their own way.

The mindset of constant improvement is essential to someone who wants to be successful. There will not always be an easily defined goal or an external opponent for a person to compete against. They will have to decide for themselves what their goal is and see themselves as their own opponent. Only then can they push themselves toward further success.

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Competition is too often given a bad reputation today. It is seen as hurting people’s feelings and is often caught up in the false belief that the disappointment that comes with failing does permanent damage to a person. In reality, mistakes and failures are the greatest teachers a person will ever have in life. They enable people to improve, and a little friendly competition gives people a goal or a mark to measure themselves against. Competition pushes people to be the best they can be, and it gives people the fierce sense of triumph that comes from working hard and pushing through obstacles to achieve a goal. That triumph is what builds true self-confidence, work ethic and the mentality needed to truly take on the world.