Competition is good, right? That’s the general way of thinking. A little bit of competition is a great motivating factor to spur your on to do your best. However, what if that’s not exactly the truth. You see, competition makes us believe that there will be winners and losers. No one wants to be a loser in any circumstance because that will mean being less than someone else.
However, what competition actually teaches people is that they need to be the best and that usually means forgetting about everyone else. Competition does not teach you about being a part of a team. An obsession with winning can never help us. We need to start thinking about what’s more important.
In this book summary readers will discover:
- Life is not a competition
- Why competition in school is a problem
- Competition has no place in relationships
- There’s no sharing, collaboration or support if competition is involved
- What competition in business does
- Overcoming competition
Key lesson one: Life is not a competition
Athletes know all about competition. It drives them to perform. In fact, an athlete will perform better when competing than in a normal practice session on their own. However, life, no matter how difficult it can get, is not a sport. If you had to think of it as a competition where some win and others lose, the majority of people would end up disappointed. Only a few come out on top most of the time. It doesn’t matter if it’s financial investments, job interviews or relationships, defining it as competition will make you feel miserable.
In addition, if you always feel the need to be the best at whatever you do, it can affect your health negatively. Just think of the stress that it puts people through if they want to constantly come up on top. They can’t ask anyone for help because they are the competition and thus have to do everything themselves. Competition can make you feel like everyone is against you and this is not healthy. This stress and large workloads can ultimately lead to burnout.
Lastly, a competitive outlook on life can lead you to take unnecessary risks and make you avoid things. If you feel like you are not good at something, you will feel like there is no chance of winning and therefore no need for you to participate. This will lead to you missing out on opportunities and experiences.
Key lesson two: Why competition in school is a problem
Competition in school has become somewhat of the norm. Kids compete to be the best in the class, the one with the best attendance, the smartest, most popular – the list is endless. As much as schools believe that ranking students based on performance will encourage them to work harder, it is actually problematic for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it means that students constantly compare themselves to each other. No individual is the same and comparisons in this manner put a lot of pressure on students. Furthermore, if competition is emphasized in schools, students begin to see it as their only source of motivation. This leads to them losing their motivation for internal rewards otherwise known as intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes into play when a student studies or works hard at a subject because they enjoy it or are genuinely interested in it. This type of motivation is what keeps students going when there is no more competition. It also happens to be an important factor in creativity and curiosity to try new things.
Secondly, if a student is not doing well at school, competition will not always change their need to study. In fact, some may resort to cheating as they know they will never achieve better grades. Others might not even see the point in improving their rank by a few places because they would still never be close to the top. Therefore it is better if they are intrinsically motivated to do better for other reasons.
Key lesson three: Competition has no place in relationships
Competition in your relationships is not healthy either. If you have grown up with siblings you already know this. It’s natural for siblings to want to compete but it can get out of hand, especially if parents pit them against each other. Parents, much like teachers, believe that kids would achieve more or behave better if compared to each other. However, with siblings, it could lead them to believe that the competition is for their parent’s affection and approval. This leads them to have feelings of mistrust towards one another and affects their relationship.
In personal relationships, such as dating, competition can hinder the entire experience. If you choose your potential partner just because they are better than somebody else’s, you will not truly appreciate your partner. They would be a trophy to you as opposed to a real partner. Time spent with them would not feel genuine as all you would be trying to do is keep them by your side without really enjoying your time together. Even long-term relationships and marriages bear the brunt of competition. Marriage therapists have found that an infidelity is often an act of revenge in response to some sort of power struggle within a marriage.
So, relationships never fare well if competition is prominent. You should always aim to remember this and evaluate if competition is driving your actions.
Key lesson four: There’s no sharing, collaboration or support if competition is involved
If you are always in a competitive mode, you will most likely see everyone that surrounds you as the competition. In order to be the best, you must be seen as the winner and the rest beneath you. The biggest problem with this type of thinking is that it stops you from both receiving and providing help. You will also be less likely to share your ideas with others and this causes a roadblock to collaboration, cooperation and mutual support.
This type of behaviour is often seen in research scientists. They often have to compete for research grants, jobs and even publications of their findings. You will find that they are also secretive, not wanting to share their findings with others because they are scared that someone will try to steal their ideas. However, this prevents them from putting their minds together and collaborating. Progress in science is actually heavily reliant on discussion and the sharing of information. Thus, being competitive will most likely hinder you more than help.
Collaboration and cooperation are much more effective techniques and definitely more beneficial. Even companies know that working with a competitor increases both your audiences and paves the way for collaborative work.
Key lesson five: What competition in business does
In the business world, competition is quite possibly the reason for most business decisions. After all, businesses compete for the same customers and how else would they attract them besides being the biggest and best company around? This is what actually drives companies to try and acquire or merge with small companies. It makes them look bigger and successful whilst eliminating the competition. However, this type of behaviour can cause some serious issues. Companies can go into debt with these acquisitions and that can have some major consequences. Like BP, for example. They went into debt after purchasing other companies in an attempt to save money, started cutting back on maintenance. This resulted in a deadly explosion that killed 15 staff members.
Some may argue that competition between companies leads to lower prices that customers benefit from. However, price cuts come at a cost. Companies may pay their workers less or skimp on maintenance costs or even lessen the quality of a product to offset the money they lose from the low prices of products. Thus, competition in business can cause more harm than good.
Key lesson six: Overcoming competition
Even though competition dominates schools, workplaces and businesses, it can cause problems if it remains unchecked. A small amount of competition can be a motivating factor but letting it take over can be disastrous. There are ways that we can ensure that the latter does not happen.
Horizontal hierarchies and employee ownership can foster a collaborative environment. With everyone invested in the same goals, there is a greater chance of more cooperative work between them. An example of this comes from W.L. Gore & Associates, the company that manufactures Gore-Tex material. They have a horizontal hierarchy and work is not controlled by managers or supervisors. If people want to work with a specific staff member, they just have to ask. They are not obligated to work on a specific team.
And in schools, Finland has taken an approach that the rest of the world can learn from. They don’t utilise grades or standardised tests. Students are assessed on their individual performances and are not compared to other kids in their class. This results in less competition and the students remain motivated regardless.
These approaches show that life with lesser competition is not only possible but can lead to great results for everyone involved.
The key takeaway from A Bigger Prize is:
Competition can be good in small doses as it acts as a motivating factor. However, when it becomes your only motivating factor, you are in trouble. Not only does it keep you away from collaborative opportunities but it also holds you back from truly experiencing everything that you do. To have truly meaningful and rewarding experiences, we should aim to keep competition to a minimum and instead focus on collaboration.
How can I implement the lessons learned in A Bigger Prize:
With your new insight on how competition influences you, pay attention to your actions. Are they driven by competition? Are you swamped with work because you refuse help from others? Are you only dating your partner because they are better than your best friend’s partner? You will find that the more you ask yourself these questions, the more you will be able to identify if competition is your driving factor. If it is, it’s time to reevaluate and make some changes so that you can have a happier and more fulfilling life.
