We all have participated in a competition at some point in our lives. From celebrating a winning goal to being irritated because your partner got an A on a test you got a B on. Some of us do not realize the advantages and disadvantages that competition really brings to the table. As a kid, playing soccer on a competitive team, and participating in school, both had its benefits. Depending on the competition, and how its organized, it can create a goal-driven individual or it can create an alpha-male or alpha-female trapped with anxiety and multiple other weaknesses.
The book Remix, by Catherine G. Latterall, explains some of the cultural assumptions that we conclude about competition with a very general view. The first cultural assumption is that competition is apart of our DNA, and we need to be aggressive in order to live up to Darwin’s theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest (Latterall 205). She also describes how life itself is properly viewed as a competition. I played soccer for eleven years and realize now how much it changed my life, and became apart of who I am today. I do not view life as an ongoing competition. Competition to me is challenging people to see who is better for entertainment. If life was constantly viewed as a competition, challenging people on an everyday basis to see who was better than the other would create a lot more unhappy jealous people. I think most people would agree that competition is apart of our DNA, but is only active due to jealousy. Jealousy is a sign of weakness, and is a wasted emotion. The more jealous one feels towards a person the more weak that person thinks that person is compared to himself or herself. If someone kept talking behind your back and kept saying bad things about you then don’t feel bad because in many cases this can be regarded as a verbal confession that you are better than him.
The second cultural assumption is that competition makes us better (Latt...