I wonder why we all take competition so seriously in life. Everybody is busy competing with somebody, in a bid to prove their right to excel. "To be number one in your class." "To be more popular than your friends and classmates." "To get into better college than your friends." "To make a better earning job than your peers." The list never ends.
Ranks. Marks. Grades. Since the day we join school, we are made to work hard and compete to get good grades. My parents promised me that it would end after I complete my Class X. It did not, but this time it was my elder brother who promised me that the competition to excel would end after I finish my XII class in flying colours. I was mistaken again. And, it was my lecturer after my class 12th but with a different message. He said, "This is the beginning, all the while you were being prepared for what you would face from now on!". I was shocked to know that. All the years I so wanted to get done with school since I was under the impression that I can live without and hassles and tensions after school, and my lecturer tells me this is the beginning.
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Many people fear competition all their life, although they cannot escape facing it. Blame the pressure that was put on them as kids, or the competition and the results they have personally experienced. But it is all in the attitude with which we respond to it. Do we all not love a cricket match with your favourite team winning a close one? Have we all not enjoyed the tennis games between Federer and Nadal? It is the competitive spirit with which these players or teams play that makes the games interesting to watch. When we can enjoy competition between others, why can't we enjoy ourselves being in one? It is all in our attitude. The moment we realize competition encourages improvement in performance, and we can make kids understand this I guess they will enjoy competing with their peers.
“A competitive world offers two possibilities. You can lose. Or, if you want to win, you can change.” -Henry Ford
A near one month of staying away from blogging has done some damage to my blogging credentials. My Indirank has dropped by about 10 points to 63. And my Alexa rank has increased 5 fold, which does not mean good either. This reminded me of the competitive world around me, and my experiences related.
So what do you think of competition among school children and in general? What were your experiences?
Competition is good, as long as it is healthy. A child should not merely feel bad that they are being compared with others. We should rightly inculcate that sporting spirit in them.
ReplyDeleteI love competitions...in anything. I remember having a funny competition amongst my school friends as to who gets married first amongst us!
The very word competition brings that motive, fire and aspiration in us, isn't it??
The competition on who would get married first is indeed a funny one. :)
ReplyDeletestage fear, marks, friends, ego, race .. There are so many things haunting always. It's not just school. It will be there in college and in office. Money, Fame, Excelling. it is endless. In the end, it comes down to "just do it because you like it and do it perfectly well, not because you are in a race but because you like it." :(
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