How to deal with competition?
It is funny how our entire life is one colossal competition. Why are we doing what we are doing? What is the purpose of every minuscule action we take? And the biggest question of all: Would we continue doing what we are doing if it weren't for this inherent competition in our lives?
Sorry if I just made you question your entire life's purpose and re-evaluate your goals (intentional accident :) );however, you do not have to worry. Even if it is the competition that compelled you to make your decisions, buy competition an exceptional meal and a cute gift to thank it for driving you to do your work. If you think about it, your relationship with competition is a lot like an old married couple's — gets tougher with time, harder to put up with, requires immense effort, but in the end, no matter how much you want to get rid of it, one of you always clings onto the other and with time you realize you cannot live without each other.
I do not want to abide by the marriage analogy though — too complicated, and like almost every relationship, has its distinct issues. I have come up (at least I hope I did) with a concept that I would like to call The Staircase Analogy. After a lot of reflection and thorough analysis, I feel like this deeply resonates with what competition looks like inside my head, so I hope it helps you out too. I will also delve into a handful of solutions that helped me deal with competition as I discuss The Staircase Analogy. I have divided the analogy into three parts: Part I, Part II and Part III, and a separate section on solutions/takeaways—let us get right into it.
The Staircase Analogy I
illustrated by: Asmaa Mohammed
Now, I want you to picture yourself at the bottom of a staircase that leads you to your dream destination. I want this article to hit 300 views by the end of this week, so I am going to deem it as the destination in this scenario, go crazy with your imagination and place any destination in your head. At first, the way is clear, and I am going at a steady pace; however, with time I notice someone charges past me, leaving me alarmed. I don't want anyone to snatch my 300 views from me, so without thinking, I buckle up and try matching the other's pace. After countless attempts and immense effort, I am on par with the person.
Reflection:
What you should realize here is that there is always going to be someone ahead of you. The term 'rat race' was coined for a reason; even if you are in the lead, you are thrown into another arena to take out even more backbreaking and difficult tasks. This shouldn't faze you; it should only encourage you and help you understand only you are your biggest competition. If you look back at the scenario, you will notice how I did not beat the person ahead of me; I beat the old me, who was at the bottom of the stairs. Why did I not think about what was lacking in me before this other person got into the picture? You should only use your fellow competitors to help realize that you can always be better than what you currently are; however, never make the mistake to set them as examples.
You should never get into the habit of comparing yourself to others. If there is anyone worth comparing yourself to, it is you. Look at you a month ago and see how far you have come. Now, picture yourself a month from now and see how you can get there. I applied this mindset later in my school years and it truly aided me in planning for enormous challenges and tasks.
The Staircase Analogy II
illustrated by: Asmaa Mohammed
I am almost neck-to-neck with the other person, and I have successfully covered a decent distance up the stairs. I notice that the person next to me has a distinct style of climbing the stairs. Instead of taking one step at a time, they are taking two. My first thought is to do the same, so I try engaging more with the person and take their help to take two steps at a time. I gradually notice my pace is as good as theirs and we are both effectively helping each other out in reaching 300 hits.
Reflection
Part I helped you come to terms with the fact that you cannot escape competition, so it is best to learn to tweak your way around it. The next best thing you can do is to take full advantage of the competition— and how may you do that? Communicate with the surrounding people. Instead of trying to pull others' back and getting to the top by hook or by crook, analyze the situation and try communicating with the person(s) ahead of you. Understand their pathways and contrast and compare both of your ideas. If you deem something in their style better than yours, try incorporating it in yours and see if it makes things any better. As mentioned, my first thought was to move two steps at once; however, I notice I am not flexible enough to take those two steps. Do not worry and try to change your strategy. Take one step at a time but increase your pace; this will help you cover more steps at the same time the other person takes to cover two steps. Just because your approach is different does not insinuate that you are doing something wrong. Do not try imitating them, extract the most appropriate and best strategies and try changing to make it the best possible version for yourself. Embrace the competition and upgrade yourself accordingly.
The Staircase Analogy III
illustrated by: Asmaa Mohammed
After a good run with my fellow competitor, I feel their grip loosen as they look elsewhere. As I follow their gaze, I notice another person quite higher up the stairs. From my vantage point, they are not that visible; however, as I move further up, their figure becomes more discernible. While I was perpetually looking at the person in the middle, they were looking at the person at the top. I suddenly see similar silhouettes and realized my closest competition has their competition, their own distinct goals.
Reflection:
If I go back to Part 1, I set my goal to 300 hits as that seemed the best for me at the time. As I get on the staircase and encounter more people, I automatically assume everyone has the same goal as mine, so I consider them my competition. After I notice my closest competitor looking up to someone else, I initially feel anger and resentment towards them as I almost feel looked down upon. What I failed to grasp was that one distinct thing about the human rat race is that everyone has different goals: therefore, different finishing points. Just because our paths diverge shouldn't be a reason for us to reassess our goals and test ourselves to someone we aren't ready for just yet. With that being said, once you have reached your initial goal, make it a habit to put yourself in another competition since the staircase doesn't end at any point. After eventually crossing 300, I look at my competitors rushing to 500, 1000 and maybe more. My previous race helped me pinpoint the mistakes I made, so I should use them as strategies to set a better goal for myself and strive hard towards it.
Takeaways and Solutions
So, that was my take on the competition, and here are 5 major takeaways from the analogy:
You are your biggest competition.
The only person worthy of comparing yourself to is you.
Get into the habit of analyzing the situation and learning from your competitors.
Novel approach is not equivalent to the wrong approach.
Everyone has different goals resulting in different finishing points — know your competition.
After embedding the above concepts in your head, it will be easier for you to implement some solutions I am going to mention. These have helped me tackle countless strenuous situations, especially during exam time where I felt like I competed with one of my closest friends. We need to learn to deal with such situations as we do not want such trivial matters to end up being a reason for conflict.
The three biggest practices that help me cope with the competition are:
Set a daily/weekly/monthly goal for yourself: Identifying your goal(s) is extremely important to create and implement effective strategies. During my time in grades 10 and 11, I was big on impromptu studying; however, after applying a daily to-do list in my final year of high school, I could tell the difference in my results and just myself as a person. I had a clearer headspace, and I was also completing more tasks in less amount of time. Identifying your destination + organization = effective route.
Make a list of your accomplishments: This is an excellent self-confidence booster that tracks and illustrates your trajectory towards your destination. Many of my classmates and people around me are in a habit of asking others what they did and familiarize themselves with their routines — this should not be your concern. The only person you should compare your routines and tasks with is you from yesterday; try beating yourself and set new challengers as per your strengths/weaknesses. This list reminds you of your capabilities and shows that there is forever room for improvement.
Ask yourself questions: Ever since online school, most of us have had the privilege of being able to access classes online, so naturally, we find more time in the day. I remember after my first biology test in Grade 12, I received a fairly good grade, but I was not entirely satisfied since I got the same grade as I did in physical school. My friends found it absurd that I was disappointed; however, only one question kept ringing in my head: Why am I scoring the same if I have more time on hand? Plateauing is not necessarily bad- especially if it yields excellent results- but in this scenario, I had a steep increase in one of the key resources of a student's life: time. Asking myself this very question completely changed my approach to online school and I noticed my results become better. So, always be in a habit of asking yourself how you can make a situation better, and you will automatically draw up solutions.
So, friends, by now you probably caught on to the fact that there is no escape to competition — the staircase is never-ending. It is alright though; you can always take a few steps back and go for a leap once you're confident enough. Just be in a routine of reminding yourself what your goal is and why you are striving towards it. If saying it out loud does not help, you can always write about it. I always picture myself sitting in front of a camera and introducing myself with the credentials I hope to, one day, achieve. This practice never fails to provide a rush of adrenaline, and I automatically grab my iPad and make my daily checklist.
I hope you enjoy your climb.
Good luck :)
