Competition can crush or inspire
Here’s an interesting column about the pros and cons of competition on human nature. What caught my eye was the writer’s reference to both Lennon/McCartney and Jobs/Gates. Lennon and McCartney’s competitive streak was used for creativity and inspiration while the Steve Jobs and Bill Gates business rivalry was used to push a new industry to be innovative. In both scenarios, competition was good.
The gist of the article is how competition affects kids and how it can cause problems. These days, competition is looked at as evil - schools and sports organizations want to make sure every kid feels good. My kids have shelves and boxes full of sports trophies and plaques. When I was a kid, you only got a trophy or award when you or your team won something… now trophies are given for simply participating. This in turn diminishes the value of the championship trophy.
The downside to all of this “feel good” spirit is that the real world does not work this way. People win and lose in the real world and now kids have a hard time understanding that. The practice of protecting kids from competition ends up hurting them in the long run.
