Too many competitions or are we turning everything into them?

“Competition is always a good thing. It forces us to do our best. A monopoly renders people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity.” -Nancy Pearcey
Such quotes have always motivated us to move ahead, work harder, push our limits and give our best in everything.
Competitions are among those things that we go through during the most normal and obvious times of our daily lives. In fact, competitions drive us to perform our tasks and avoid procrastinating things. “Hmm…” Umang snapped his fingers. “I can call a friend for a ride.” Ayush raised his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? Me too. Let’s see whose friend gets here first.”
However, taking a deeper and better look at our lifestyles, don’t you feel we have become way too competitive? From our mode of education, to the way we play, riding a motorbike or leaning to play guitar, all we care about is who comes first and who’s the last. Doing things for fun, no more exists.
Our mindsets have undergone a massive change. We have become way too insecure, doubtful about ourselves. No more do we appreciate or believe in ourselves, unless going through tests, of course. And even after that there are several levels, based on which we classify our intellects or capabilities.
Competitions have, in a way, led us to feel alone. There are always people either below or above our levels, and there’s no way we could develop a bond with people so different from us. Even while scrolling through our newsfeed, and seeing what our closest ones have been up to, we feel insecure, nervous, afraid; we have questions glooming — “What have I been doing in my life?”; “How come he/she is so better?”, etc.
“Take someone who doesn’t keep score,
who’s not looking to be richer, or afraid of losing,
who has not the slightest interest even
in his own personality: he’s free.” ― Jalaluddin Rumi
We, in a way, have stopped living freely, stopped achieving for satisfaction. We are all not only pushing ourselves, but also pulling others, into the race course to compete against each other. The feeling of winning has totally taken over the delight of participation.
“Real learning comes about when the competitive spirit has ceased.”
― Jiddu Krishnamurti
