There's nothing like a little healthy competition.
Or is there?
Competition can be good if used the right context - if you're racing or if you are part of a game - but can it be of any use to us in other aspects of life?
I can understand that it can sometimes give you a motivational boost. Perhaps you are trying to outdo your fellow salesmen so that you can bring home the number one salesman award.
When applied correctly, competition can work wonders and you can sometimes even draw extraordinary strength from it. However, there is a time to compete, and there is a time to put it away.
I see this all the time on the trading floor at where I work. There are a few fellow traders that like to compete with one another - always asking the other traders how much they've made on the day and comparing their numbers every hour or so.
What I found though, is that those involved with comparing their numbers with each other often times find themselves making mistakes which cost them money in the end. In their constant struggle to outdo each other, they sometimes take riskier trades or they force themselves to take action.
This sometimes has an accelerating effect in that these mistakes are often followed by more mistakes - they take on even more risks to undo their previous mistakes which ends up making things worse.
The same things happen in life.
If you are constantly in competition with others or you are constantly trying to prove to others that you are better than them, you may find that the actions you took to get there may end up costing you in the long run.
If the Jones get a new car, you go out and get a better one...if the Jones go out an get a big screen TV, you go and get an even more expensive one...the Jones go and build a swimming pool, you go and build a swimming pool + jacuzzi.
Congrats! You've outdone the Jones, but now you are in debt up to your eyeballs and if you don't manage it properly, you could easily lose everything that you wanted people to be envious of.
I've also seen people who spend a lot of money buying designer items, bragging and boasting to their friends how expensive it was and snickering at those who buy non-designer brands. But when it comes time for them to purchase something of real importance like a house, they complain that they don't have any money for a down payment.
So next time you feel yourself competing against your neighbor, your friends, or your family, ask yourself "Is it really worth it?" because sometimes you can cause more harm to yourself than good.
