It’s an easy mistake to assume that competition in life is always healthy, but that is definitely not the case. The Harvard Business Review and other outlets have made strong cases against obsessing over competition in life. While it can sometimes be productive, too often it is actually destructive to your overall goals. That’s why people who don’t have as much of a heart to compete have advantages in life and the opportunity to be more successful. Keep reading for eight big reasons why those types of individuals are more motivated than most of the people around them.
1. They aren’t as ego-driven
People who compete often do so in large part to satisfy their egos. If you don’t have the heart to compete, then most likely you don’t have a big ego. That’s a huge advantage, saving you the time most people would waste trying to sate their large senses of bravado.
2. They’re less stressed
Competition in life adds a lot of unneeded frustration. If you’re not obsessed with competing, you’re largely free of that stress. That frustration is an almost overwhelmingly negative influence on your sense of self. The stress takes a lot of energy away from your body, mind, and soul, so, if you’re retaining it, success is that much easier to get a hold of.
3. They hold less jealousy in their hearts
Someone who places number two is almost always envious of the person who receives the top prize. If you don’t have the heart to compete, you are probably less concerned with trivial matters such as that. That lack of jealously allows you to make decisions that are good for everyone, not for just for you.
4. They wish success on others
The person who doesn’t obsess about competition often wants others to find success as well as themselves. What’s so great about that is how success begets success. With good karma, you get to attain the awards of competing, and more, without needing that harmful sense of intense competition in life.
5. They believe success can be shared
Competitions are almost always win-lose situations. People who don’t want competition in their lives tend to believe in win-win scenarios. Instead of looking for ways they can outsmart their opponent, they search for methods to team up with them and overcome whatever obstacle that they face together instead of apart. By doing that, they double the chance for success
6. They’re calmer
A sense of calm comes over those who don’t endlessly think about how they’re going to get ahead in races of all kinds. If they don’t know already, those who don’t need as much competition in life should learn how to start meditating, because they’re the perfect candidates for attaining spiritual enlightenment due to their lack of a competitive edge.
7. They innovate
Those who compete tend to look for the ways to do already existing things the best. Those who don’t dwell on competition in life, on the other hand, consider new ways to go about things. Without that desire to “win,” the non-competitive devise ways to make everybody a victor.
8. They have inner peace
Obsession is unhealthy, whereas peace is just around the corner once you remove competition from the equation. By focusing on improving yourself instead of beating others, you are well on your way to the inner peace everyone craves, even if some of them don’t know it. That hunger to win by those who compete is usually an emptiness in their hearts that they need to fill. Unbeknownst to them, the real way to fill it is to live and let live, removing as much competition from life as they can.
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