I think many people struggle to answer this or at least I know that I do. Is it a good thing to be competitive? At first I always thought it wasn't good because you could be too focused on winning and in the process making others lose. You knew that you were either going to be the loser feeling bad or you were going to make someone else feel bad. But my perspective has changed on this as I have gotten older because I can tolerate losing now. I think most people have grown out, out of having to win.

With this realization I am more competitive, academically at least. Being academically competitive is very different from being athletically competitive. Academically you are "fighting" to win for yourself and when you succeed you are not bringing others down in the process. You win for yourself. Nobody is relying on you, except yourself of course. In sports usually someone is relying on you to win be it your teammates or your coach. I was only competitive half of the time in my sport of tennis though I realized, I don't know why I was that way or if that was even healthy or not, but I just wasn't very competitive. But academically for some reason I feel the need to do good and it's basically me competing with myself, my lazy self I try to push and I try to push for understanding.

Whenever I image being competitive athletically I imagine a dogpile, people all teaming up, to try to achieve the same goal, just to see who can achieve that goal the best. And some come out on top and others are literally on the bottom almost crushed. I feel bad for the guy or girl on the bottom. So athletically competition shows some obvious downsides but also some upsides of being motivated and academically competition is a good thing when it makes yourself push yourself.

So what do you think? Is competition good or bad? Does it lead to achievement and a motivational drive or an unhealthy mindset and selfishness to be the winner all in the name of fame. Maybe it does both. But maybe it is more good or more bad? Still undecided? Because I know I am.