Are the odds in your favor?

Competitiveness - we all have this trait ranging from lowest to highest extent. Although a healthy competition may help to strive for further, too much of that could bring about a lot of hardships not just for oneself but for others; creates chaos that’s tough to manage. It seems to also magnify ego and low self-esteem.

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Humans are slight opportunistic in nature, rely on our instincts, eagerness to prove to everybody around; doesn’t really act out for the best. There are pros and cons to competitiveness. Your hustle will keep you on your toes and you’ll put your effort into achieving your goals. Overambitiousness can implant restlessness and greed, and if the efforts don’t pay off then this “go-getter” attitude causes depression on a large scale.

In my school years, everyone was quite competitive, from students to parents to teachers. Students, as you can imagine, were hustling with each other, invest their full potential to get the finest results. Guardians were comparing their kids to other kids and doing everything they could so that their children ace their class. This was nothing but a common scenario here. I remember a classmate of mine who had a breakdown at the end of 9th grade, one of the brightest that I knew, cracked under pressure to keep up with the rest of us.

People thrive for promotion and honorarium at the office. They start elbowing each other to get ahead, going after the carrot that is a little out of reach as always. The boss happens to come up with a challenge and a reward, the employees will be clicking their heels to reach the target quickly. It’s like a Formula One Championship to who arrives there first and the winner gets a shiny big trophy. But at what cost? Health? Sanity? Dignity? Friendship? There’s invariably a hidden cost we pay that we just simply ignore.

Be ambitious, be driven; unchecked hyper-competitiveness might cause destruction. Even though a balance is advisable but self-improvement is a far better option.