That is an interesting way to point it out. I had not thought of something like this. That does make sense about some cultures being much more about cooperation than competition, and more about being in groups than being single individuals.

Two heads are better than one, but most companies would rather deal with single individuals than the intelligence of cooperative individuals, so I think that will continue to be a learned behavior due to heavy influence.

Cool addition there.

http://bit.ly/7b51Ch

I hear you there. Working with others toward a common goal is something that I think some of us would rather do, and others are less interested in doing. It relates well to sports, because much of the interest in sports is having “your” team beat down the team they are playing. That is competition right down to its core. The other team loses and then is out of the playoffs, for example.

It can be fun to work with others on something of great worth, but requires much diligence to keep everyone in line and from taking it easy as a group.

Thanks for your thoughts.

That’s a valid point about it being a separative behavior. There becomes the person who was once competing and who is now looking to surpass the person they were competing with.

There is some ego in competition, as there would be nothing to battle for were there not some self-fulfillment through the process and results.

I hear what you are saying about the disappointment someone feels. I think the person who feels the most is the person who didn’t take part in the competition at all.

I like your thought about unifying, and a coming together of ideas is something I am a supporter of. That makes sense about that being a necessity for real advancement, because the “two heads are better that one” concept requires the two heads to be working in unison and not against eachother.

Good to hear from you.

It is certainly great that you’ve gather eight different unique individuals’ views on competition. It really help confirm and broaden some of the opinions people have held about the concept of competition.

For me, whether competition is good or bad depends on the circumstance. Competition is good as it puts pressure on a person for improvement, and it is a great drive to push them towards their best efforts.

But all in all, I feel that competition is rather a separative behavior when it comes down to a larger scale. Sure technological advances and revolutions have come about simply because of competitions, but really I feel that the advancements would progress in a much faster rate if everyone had simply unified and worked towards the same goal.

However, competition is inevitable, just as how people will always have the need to be “better” than others in order to preserve and to promote their identity. Competition nurtures the ego’s need to judge and to compare.

I’m not all with competition as you can see, I do enjoy a little competition for the fun and spark of it, but real competition causes inevitable disappointments and negativity in SOMEONE.

That’s just about it for my opinion, you might disagree, but I wish the world would unify, because that is the day when REAL advancements are established.

Thanks for that about connecting all on the topic. It was in my vision for a while.

I agree with what you are saying about competition being much about those who are able to adapt most quickly. Speed of implementation is a running theme of winning competitors, because when you implement and change quickly, you can hours or days of extra time over your competition, and then they don’t have a chance to catch up. It does improve society and single people as you say.

Thanks, and glad for your input.

Gail: I certainly was happy to include you, and the responses are ones I will probably re-read multiple times.

Tim: Sure thing there, and I would agree with you about not getting a definitive answer. At the same time, each answer does provide some definitive information about how each of us views challenges.

John: Thanks for that. You sure can be right about competition not being directly connected with winning. I hear what you are saying there about how competing in the wrong category for who you are may lead to a “win”, but it isn’t really relevant when your “win” is meant for another path. It is true that we see folks cover up lacking a “win” in their chosen field of interest with a “win” somewhere else. Although I am not against them getting a secondary “win”, it’s not exactly genuine to make it like that was the original goal. Pretending to be something you are not certainly is not sustainable for a long period. Any of us who try to give up pretending at some point. Thanks for your thoughts.

Eduardo: Cool connection there with that quote. The map sure isn’t the territory, just like we each see only that which we are focused on. A librarian may focus on the books a person has in their house, while a window designer might only focus on windows and doors, and so on. Good point.

Celes: Thanks about that. The odd thing is that I was thinking about putting in my own material but didn’t think to just answer the same questions. I will put my answers in at the end of this comment set.

Jon: That’s not a bad way to look at it, and thanks for taking part. Looking at it as fun might just be the way to go, because there isn’t any point to having a view of something as destructive. Thanks for your addition.

Karlil: Good point about it being a way to build up enough stress. That is something we need when we are in a passive state, to build up some momentum.

Steven: Sure thing about the post. Thanks for taking part, and I would agree about it being related to growth. Competing with growing is not something we think can occur.

Eliz: Thanks for that. That’s true about the motivational folks on the PB.com forums; I think they are up and running but that is a good reminder. Thanks for stopping by.

Hunter: That is alright about the posting, and you were able to input here as well. That example about NaNoWriMo sure is apt, as it is a competition of sorts, but is meant to boost any of those taking part. It is a great example of upward-pointing competition, as I describe it, and it isn’t like people regret taking part because they didn’t meet the goal. That’s true on that section about blogging, as someone can only read one article at a time, and you are right about how the proper response focus to have involves working cooperatively, because having a negatively-directed thought process actually weakens your efforts. Being angry is good in the very short-term, and then the energy drops off, and then there is a period of stagnation. Thanks for your thoughts as well.

Here is my response to my own question prompt:

What does the concept of competition mean to you? Do you see others as your main source of competition, or do you see yourself as your main source of competition? Also, when you hear the word “competition”, do you think of it positively, negatively, or neutrally? Feel free to bring up any points that come to mind.

Competition means quite a bit to me. I am always analyzing how others compete with each other, and what sorts of methods they use to do so. This ranges from large investors or owners of companies, to people playing chess. I like picking out what it is that set one person or company ahead of another. Often there is a reason that is obvious to most, but that doesn’t tend to be the real winning reason. It usually requires more depth to see what separated one individual from another.

I know speed of implementation is a huge part of competition. Yesterday, Steve Pavlina saw a couple of well-made personal development videos by KB at http://ktotheb.com/, and has today posted 4 of his own videos on abundance on YouTube. This might look like a fun little follow-up gesture, but what we don’t see is the videos created by the vast majority of others, who may then not even make a video for some 6 months before realizing it was the thing to do.

Also, real-life competition has far fewer rules than most of the competition we see in sports or other public matches. If you get away with something now, and get a lead from it early on, once you have left your competition in the dust, it doesn’t really matter if your tactics are then found out. I am not saying this is bad or good, but I like pointing out things like this, which is why I like talking about competition.

My main source of competition is the side of me that hesitates in taking risks. I view competition in general as a positive, both in the short and long term. In the short-term, it is great for making a simple task fun to make it as a competition. In the long-term, I see anyone who takes part in a competition as one who will gain from it, and those who don’t take part as the ones who lost out. That relates to how “showing up” is 80% of the process of success.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone, and thanks again to those who took part, and no worries to those who I got to too late, or were not able or interested in taking part. Also, feel free to add any more thoughts in further comments.