Competition forms the basis for many of our playful activities. Competition is rooted in our evolutionary biology and its connection to survival is why it is so ingrained in our makeup. Competition raises our energy and enthusiasm because of this biological basis. The hormones and neurotransmitters that are released as a result of competition give us a sense of power and euphoria when we are victorious, and can cause some of the opposite feelings in defeat. This tension between winning and losing causes great excitement for many people. Competition certainly explains behavior beyond the realm of play, such as work and livelihood, but it can be appreciated and harnessed to make our playful activities fun and exciting. An understanding of the negative feelings associated with loss can help the victor to be gracious and generous in victory, rather than obnoxious, for the sake of maintaining positive relationships beyond the competitive realm.
To deny the value of competition is to deny human nature. Granted, not all of human nature is positive in the context of modern society, but competition does not displace the need or the ability to work in cooperation with other people, nor does it foster only negative outcomes or beliefs. In fact, participation in competitive activities is one of the best ways to bring people together in close and long lasting bonds of friendship. Competition also fuels rather than diminishes creativity. It enhances, not harms, self esteem and self worth. Even in defeat, the act of participation in competitive activities, of expending effort and passion, in conjunction with others, can lead to the development of healthy emotional coping skills, increase motivation, and produce more drive and determination toward goal directed activities in the future.
Competitive play is a great way to relieve the stress of daily responsibility. Physical competition in particular has tremendous health benefits for both physical and emotional well being, and is fun and enjoyable. It is a good way to foster physical activity in a way that promotes long term healthy behavior. By making exercise fun, participation becomes easy rather than a work-like chore. Purely mental competition is also positive in terms of developing thinking skills, flexibility and creativity. As with any human activity, competitive passions can become excessive and lead to socially detrimental behavior. As with laughter, awareness of the adverse effects of overly competitive actions on others around us can help temper and moderate competitive behavior to preserve positive feelings and relationships.
Competitiveness is a trait that varies in it's intensity among people. If one is engaged in intense competition with a similarly highly competitive person, the passion will tend to be high, and the result will sometimes result in temporarily negative feelings, but in general there is mutual acknowledgment in the value of the intensity and all out nature of the clash. For such people, not giving full effort diminishes the quality of the engagement. Other less competitive people may enjoy more subtle forms of competition with lower stakes or somewhat less passionate intensity. In either case, competitive activities can be enjoyable and stress relieving.
Competition is certainly a driving force in work and economic activity. Competition encourages creative advancement and new innovation to improve products and services for society. Incorporation of playful competition in the work environment can enhance enjoyment and relieve stress as well, making work more fun. Games and competitions can increase productivity and drive performance improvement. In work environments, the stakes can be much higher for the competitors, particularly with regard to economic performance. It is important here to have well established values and norms of behavior, as well as principles of fairness and justice to mitigate unearned or meritless advantage. By acknowledging the importance of competition in our lives, and employing it wisely and fairly, we can increase our abilities, our knowledge, our productivity and our success. In turn, we can live with joy and passion and relieve suffering and distress.