How competitive are you?

And why it's important.

When I was younger I used to love competing in sports. I loved competing against other guys who had trained as hard as I had. I loved winning. The sports I competed in were swimming, long jump, badminton and long distance running though I was pretty quick over short distances.

I had a sports regime that kept me very trim. I was very broad (swimming) and muscly (weight training) but slim due to the running. It never helped with the ladies mind you. Wearing glasses in the 90’s put you in the nerd bracket (which I was) but it didn’t bother me too much lol.

The problem with all the sport that I did is that I now suffer heavily with my knees and more so since my accident in October 2021 means I’m probably going to be medically discharged from my job.

It doesn’t bother me though. The main point is that growing up I loved the sports. I loved winning. I loved competing.

I’m not going to lie. It did bother me when I first started hearing about participation trophies when I left school and my sporting career started to fall away as I entered the workforce. I will talk about why I dislike participation trophies in a bit.

I think my love with competing would have first started with me competing against my little brothers with silly things like drinking something the fastest etc. Everyone with siblings will understand. (comment any funny competing stories in the comments.)

The reason I bring this up is that I recently watched an episode of Bluey where the kids were playing pass the parcel and there was a prize in every layer. I hadn’t heard of this and I was just as outraged as Lucky’s Dad when he questioned it. I asked my sister and she confirmed that a lot of parents do this now.

Even something as simple as a participation trophy in pass the parcel is detrimental to………..everyone. Losing is a good thing just as much as winning is a good thing.

Lets look at why losing is a good thing in a sports context.

1. Losing helps athletes develop resilience and perseverance: Losing can be the hardest thing to happen to you at that particular moment, but it’s also an opportunity for athletes, especially young athletes, to learn how to bounce back from disappointment and continue working hard. This resilience and perseverance will be valuable skills not just in sports, but in all aspects of life.

2. Losing teaches young athletes how to handle adversity: Sports, whilst fun, can be unpredictable, and athletes will inevitably face adversity at some point. Losing can be a good opportunity for them to learn how to handle difficult situations and come out stronger on the other side.

3. Losing helps athletes learn from their mistakes: No one likes to lose (especially me), but it’s often through losing that athletes can identify areas where they need to improve. By analysing what went wrong and working to fix those mistakes, athletes can learn valuable lessons that will help them become better players.

4. Losing can help athletes appreciate the value of hard work: Winning can sometimes come easily, but losing often requires putting in extra effort and dedication. By experiencing the hard work and determination it takes to come back from a loss, young athletes can better understand the value of putting in the necessary effort to succeed.

All of this is doubly important for younger, up and coming athletes. The lessons they learn from coaches and mothers and fathers and how they handle these lessons will shape how they grow in the future. Even something as basic as losing at pass the parcel or other young child party games, teaches those youngsters how to deal with losing. Having a participation trophy, like say, a prize in every layer of pass the parcel undermines that and doesn’t allow these young children to learn about what it means to lose.

Which brings us onto the other side of this coin. Winning. I love winning. Since my sporting career has now basically ended since I was hit by a transit van in 2021, I now take great pleasure in winning at things like Mario Kart or family quiz nights or being the best at karaoke. (see below for one of my songs.)

So as we did with losing, lets look at the benefits of winning.

1. Winning builds confidence. The old cliche that “Show me a loser and I’ll show you a loser” is often cited here. Winning builds self-confidence, especially when that winning represents a true accomplishment; (i.e., I’ve beaten a worthy opponent). However, lets also remember that winning against other teams or individuals of much lower skill levels normally does little to bolster self-confidence (like when that group of young lads beat the USA football (soccer for you heathens) team………Yeah I went there LOL.)

2. Winning, especially at sports gains one access to rewards and special privileges (especially if you win at Elections and you have a D by your name.) Clearly winners and highly skilled athletes often get better fields, more recognition, greater prestige, more fans, more rewards, trophies and ribbons, and perhaps even local TV and media coverage. Lets link this to how our ancestors used to be. A strong man who brought back plenty of meat for his tribe would have higher prestige and get his pick of the stronger women and thus bearing stronger sons and daughters. It doesn’t even have to be just sports. An actor or actress might beat out the other competition to star in a film that nets them an Oscar or some one wins on a TV quiz. Winning takes place over all industries. Business’ winning contracts etc.

3. Winning increases in importance as kids get older. Prior to the age of 12 years, research clearly shows that 75% of the youngsters would prefer to play for a losing team than sit on the bench of a winning team. However, during the teenage years, win-loss accomplishments do, in fact, influence the respect which a young athlete has for his or her coach. This could be to do with the fact that in most boys, puberty has started and with that, a desire to do well so that they can impress the girl that they fancy. I can attest to this but alas I never got the girl.

4. Winning builds spirit, cohesion and team spirit. The research and science(tm) has not yet established if winning fosters team spirit or if team spirit fosters winning. Intra-squad competition often produces better performance with lowered levels of team spirit.

5. Winning increases motivation. This in turn can lead to your team wanting to maintain. They train harder, not wanting to lose the recognition or the recognition that comes with winning. The extra training builds more self-confidence, makes you more healthy and gives you better self-determination.

So there you have it. Some reasons why it can be good to lose and reasons why it’s good to win. ME personally. I hate losing. I’m a bad loser. I also have to admit that I can be a bad winner as well. Especially when I’m playing Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros. I hate playing Monopoly against my mother as she ALWAYS wins and I swear she cheats.

Speaking of cheating. I cried with laughter when I first saw this.

What are you most competitive at? Sports? Video games? Drinking? Cooking? Everyone has that one family member who they hate to lose to. Who is it?

I hope I find you all happy and healthy.

Vulkan

P.S. WINNING!!!!