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Does anyone else agree that the only sort of competition that is healthy for society is when one competes with oneself ? I.e to improve your own mental ,physical and lifestyle in relation to your previous standards rather than competing with the person in the next track lane or the person who lives next door.

Mcflewster 8 June 5
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I would like to point out that I have neither objected to the concept of competition or said that sport and exercise are bad things . I simply wanted to point out that there is a bad side to competition [which a few people picked up on].

Competition involves a lot of comparison between individual abilities and teams etc. However it rarely bothers to find out if one is comparing like with like so that wrong judgments can lead to disappointments. If you do not have the genes, strength, intelligence, persistence and connections of Usain Bolt you will never beat him unless you improve all your own attributes and more. Of course you can quickly find out where you are in these respects by run a quick dash with him, but I think it would be better to concentrate on your own attributes using science of course.

Team competition involves you surrendering some of your own abilities to let stronger people come forward in a spirit of co-operation and is far more complicated.

“ in good fun rather than serious competition. There isn't any money involved either ” is a good phrase to avoid all the disappointments of competition and bad judgments.

@Mcflewster

Why did you single out members, including me?

The only person I compete with is myself. I try to increase:

  1. Strength through weightlifting;
  2. Running speed;
  3. Hiking distance and elevation gain; and
  4. Flexibility.

These are personal goals. I don't compare myself to my hiking partners or elite athletes.

@Mcflewster since you took the time to include that many (the effort must count, no doubt), I'll say ok... I'll keep competing against myself to the best of my habilities. Cheers !!!

No, you said and I quote "Does anyone else agree that the only sort of competition that is healthy for society is when one competes with oneself?" That is absolutely saying that competition is a bad thing because that is 99% of competition in our society.

And your point being?

Like I mentioned earlier there are good and bad competition. I have no clue why you placed this comment and tagged me other than hoping I (and the others) see it and change my/their mind. I understood your point from the beginning. Now I'm reiterating mine.

@kiramea I was just clarifying my own position for the benefit of everyone who was kind enough to comment.

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Everything that humans have created that is amazing has been the result of teamwork.

School sports are the most evil. They promote and reinforce tribalism. All of what is described as the benefits of these activities are better taught with other tools.

Example: MSU and Larry Nassar.. I firmly believe that if the girls had not been surrounded by adults with competition sickness, the girls would not have accepted and endured Larry Nassar abusing them. And the adults would have behaved more like parents, protecting their young.

"Competition" among employees in organizations results in reduced productivity and the clear application of the Peter Principle. Those best at politics are promoted.

These imbeciles think their job is to "compete" with other companies that provide similar products with the result of steeling customers. This does NOT result in better products. As we all have experienced. Even the adage, "Ya get what you pay for," no longer applies. It is nearly impossible to buy a product that does not have at least a 10% failure rate. (Yeah, I know there are exceptions.)

The purpose of an organization is NOT to drive another organization out of existence.

"The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer." Peter Drucker

And: Witness the insanity of university researchers needing to publish before anyone else in their field. Bad research, dependence upon the funding contests, bad results, bad teaching.

The best organizations pay their employees salaries, never commission. This includes car repair facilities. Employees in competition do not share information to the detriment of the organization.

Example: The US uses 120 volt, 60 cycle, alternating current, for distribution of electricity.
This standard is the most dangerous to humans. It was standardized through competitive politics. It was not arrived at by reason.

And: ONLY humans can compete. ONLY humans. Idiot phrases such as, "Competitive Pricing," reflect a total misunderstanding of what competition is.

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I like being competitive like in high school and nursing school. I don't like to compete as far as who has more money or the bigger house or more perfect kids. That maked me crazy.

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I hate competition, but I won't stop other people doing it.

Why, yes, it pretty much is because I lose 99 percent of the time and am sick of it. Instead of being sore, I'll let other people have the space I would have used.

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Just by the fact you're asking everybody else, then you are not measuring against yourself.

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I want to say yes, but that's only because I don't like losing! Lol.

Competition with others brings out the best in us I think. Competition against yourself I don't believe does it to the same degree.

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I don't agree. I think all sorts of competition can be healthy for the growth of a society or a person. Can competition be applied incorrectly, and cause more harm than good? Absolutely! But that could happen with a person that is using themselves as their own competition. Just because they are using themselves, doesn't mean they are using standards that are seen as beneficial by the society as a whole. A political leader could be using themselves as their own measuring stick, but their standards, and what is driving them, are things that could be viewed as immoral or unethical. So they would be more detrimental to the society, and wouldn't make it better.

Don't get me wrong, I think if you are making a decision, you should make the decision for yourself, and for no one else. I also think the best person growth comes when you are pushing yourself. As I have heard some say, you have to find the balance between being your own biggest critic, and your own biggest cheerleader. But once again, just because you use yourself as the competition, it doesn't mean you will improve the health of the society.

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I'm a no.

I want to improve at a greater rate and learn from those better than I through teaching and competing both. People who are prideful in their win or who can't handle loss cloud the competitive spirit from both ends.

Children often don't know how to lose and have no stake in the games they play as their parents sign them up. The parents can't stand losing so they instill it into their children and the cycle continues through their life and into their children.

Compete, win and teach others, lose and get better.

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Friendly competition is healthy. It motivates us to improve.

1

Any competition that leads to: better behaviour(subjective I know); more sustainable living; better nutrition that's not harmful to the environment and preferably creatures; better understanding and synergy between people; or protecting the environment in general gets my vote.

3

I enjoyed all my competitive hobbies and I feel competition motivated me to do my best/be my best. Let's take sports as an example, if it weren't for the scoreboard and the timer and the trophies, we wouldn't have athletes performing at their peak to win ... which meant time spent practicing and honing their skills. Competition isn't necessarily a dirty word, it can be fun and constructive.

1

No, competing with others and being jealous or ashamed for not measuring up to others can be unhealthy but can also be motivating. I think it can be a good thing if you don't let it bring you down to much or use it to deminish others. I have a hard time exercising for a full workout at home. It hurts and I stop. If I am in a group workout situation or working out at a gym where there are witnesses I do it.

MsAl Level 8 June 5, 2018
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I think that the problem is not in competing with others but in our perspective of both the competition and the results. Competing with each other has helped us develop in several ways including knowledge for our species (wrt professional competition), not just in sports. On the global stage, it brings together nations even when talks between countries fail. It allows us to push ourselves more, knowing what has been achieved and what could be achieved. In terms of competitive funding, it helps us focus and prioritise more. But, our perspective and, in some cases, the way we run competitions can be flawed.

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I agree. Competition is toxic when it creates winners and loosers. This is capitalism in a nutshell.

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No, sport and competition are very healthy activities. They teach teamwork and cooperation.

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The healthiest form of competition is competition with one's own prior performance. But, friendly competition does energize a person. And, competition with destructive thoughts and actions is always warranted.

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I don't agree. Like everything else, there is good competition and bad competition.

Without competition, our species will never evolve and learn.

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As far as lifestyle and personal habits go yes. If you expand the theory to capitalism I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect any business to be trusted to compete with itself. Actual competition from variety is very necessary to keep business from becoming an oligopoly or monopoly. That’s why our fiber infrastructure in the states is bullshit and practically everyone else in the world has faster internet.

1

Absolutely not.
We need to test ourselves against our peers.
This is how teams are built and respect is earned.
To deny this basic need is to deny our humanity.

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