ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY 1 Argumentative Essay: Is competition really needed for a successful life? Hafsa Shahzada (F2020381002) Clinical Psychology, University of Management & Technology EN220: Research Paper Writing & Presentation/Section C30 Zakia Mushtaq November 20, 2021. ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY 2 It is the 21st century. The start of a new millennium. The world and its creatures rush by us in a blur of reds, browns, whites, blacks; each one scurrying to cross the finish line before their fellow does. Barely anyone remembers to pause mid stride, breathe and contemplate their own existence; turn around to curiously peer and wonder at the person behind the “No.5” labelled sports shirt sprinting past them; and reflect on why exactly is such a rat race so critically overwhelming to our lives? A ride or die scenario, with no alternative than to play or quit. Welcome to the bitter, hard and fast world of competition. Competition is characterized as the action of “to enter or put in rivalry with”. It is a regular part of our lives from waking up in the morning to hurriedly get dressed and chase your sibling outside in a race of who reaches the bus first; to competition in education; sports and career pursuit. Since the dawn of evolution, competition has remained rife amongst us. Success back in the Stone Age meant Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest”, where the species that adapted sufficiently to the erratic climate, new arising threats of predators and fatal vegetation undergrowth, emerged alive and best suited to combat the next challenge life hurled at them. Overtime, the abstract notion of success evolved to grow less primitive and instead of basic needs, it focused on human growth, the preservation of civilizations decades after their decline, pursuit of knowledge through academia and wisdom imparted down the line of generations, and so on. As such, to term competition as part and parcel of success is evident. Competition is not constantly about striving to win. Getting better at whatever task you perform and who you become is where you compete against yourself, placing your past history into review and then progressing ahead from that. This accounts for how the phrase “personal best” was coined to be regarded highly for sports and corporate fields. As such, motivation is a direct offshoot from competition. Indeed, research indicates that healthy competition is directly ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY 3 linked to performance, credited to the level of social motivation it affords (DiMenichi, B. C., & Tricomi, E., 2015). Complacency and settling down on past accomplishments is averted if a competitive nature burns within you. Being competitive, you can acknowledge your feats and bask in a sense of fulfilment, yet remain motivated to keep improving, particularly if you encounter failure. In addition, greater creativity is inspired via competition. To view the world with realistic clarity in order to set more precise goals and objectives, you develop a problem-solving mindset and grow more solution driven. This culminates in novel innovations, breakthroughs and accepting tasks that facilitate you to progress faster towards what you ultimately aim for. In conclusion, competition is inevitable wherever you tread in life. A selected dose of competitive spirit to initiate the path to success is highly encouraged. To label it as destructive in all aspects is limited thinking. The crux about being competitive is to avoid falling into the trap of housing a scarcity mindset, where one deems that to win or achieve what you seek, someone else has to receive the short end of the stick, lose or miss out. Instead, with being competitive you foster an abundance mindset, i.e. where not solely do you win, but others triumph too and accomplish what they want. For therein lies the fruit of healthy competition: an increase in the size of the pie, regardless of market share. ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY 4 References DiMenichi, B. C., & Tricomi, E. (2015). The power of competition: Effects of social motivation on attention, sustained physical effort, and learning. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1282.
