Austin Wride

July 24, 18

COMPETITION
Question 1:
Is competition over-emphasized in American Society? Why? What are the advantages of
such a competitive attitude? What are the disadvantages?

Answer 1: (Word count: 272)

Here in the American Society, there is an immense amount of competition present. At
each front, someone is trying to do something better than the next individual. Is this a bad thing?
The answer isn’t a clear yes or no, but has an element of both. I see healthy competition as moti-
vation to do your best and encourages us to stretch ourselves. However, competition can also be
damaging as it encourages us to continually compare ourselves to others and never be completely
satisfied with ourselves and our efforts. All in all, I believe competition is a good thing, if kept in
balance.
Having a competitive attitude can be a huge benefit to an individual. In the world that we
live in, a person is better suited to navigate the challenges of life if they are willing to work hard
to succeed and strive to be the best at what they do. However, I believe that the happiest people
are those that compare their efforts against their personal best and have little worry about how
they measure up to the efforts and success of other people. Without that, having a competitive
attitude can be a heavy weight to bear and usually leads to unhappiness.
In her textbook Invitation to the Life Span, Berger states, “Children depend on social
comparison, comparing themselves with other people, as they develop their self-concept.” She
also explains that self-criticism rises during middle childhood while self-esteem falls (Berger,
2014, p. 286). I feel that these facts lead to a population of children who are hyper-focused on
the opinions of other people and overall less happy.

UNIT 4 1
Question 2:
Identify situations that you have observed in which competition has actually interfered
with people achieving a goal. Is competition emphasized in children? What recommendations
would you make to parents regarding their child's participation in soccer, baseball, etc.?

Answer 2: (Word count: 275)

Like sports, academics can have its fair share of competition. As I have applied for vari-
ous educational programs, I have felt an incredible amount of stress comparing myself and my
academics against that of my peers. I made a significant effort to give myself the best advantage
possible to be offered a seat in the program. I believe that a school’s efforts to limit space to en-
courage better applicants via academic competition ends up hurting the community as a whole as
it leads to deficits in the work force. These deficits are direct indications of competition interfer-
ing with the ability of many people to achieve their goals.
As a young child, I experienced competition in multiple areas of my life. My parents en-
listed me in city league sports including soccer, baseball and basketball. I enjoyed each of them
and I believe it stemmed from a healthy dose of competition that encouraged us to work hard and
to feel accomplished when we succeeded. My father was typically my coach and he encouraged
us to have fun while we played and not get too focused on winning. He wanted each of us to do
our personal best and never made us feel like we weren’t matching up to the potential of other
players. I believe those are qualities of a great coach.
To those parents considering enrolling their children in athletic competition, I think it is a
great idea and would encourage them to support their child as they participate in whichever ath-
letics appeals to them. I would, however, caution them to approach it with the attitude that they
can succeed even when other people also succeed.

Reference List:

Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

UNIT 4 2