Against Competition

As a teenager, I read The Inner Game of Tennis, in which author Timothy Gallwey presented a cogent argument in favor of competition in sports. As I recall all these many years later, Mr. Gallwey explained that competition can help all parties develop to their highest potential. We hear a lot about “healthy competition” in our society. We are frequently reminded that competition in industry drives innovation. Life itself is said to be based on a system of competition that fuels evolution. There is truth to all of these assertions about competition. However, I am here to present a contrary view. Against the backdrop of near-universal acceptance and celebration of competition, I will share my deep concerns about all forms of competition.

My first year as an assistant teacher in a kindergarten, first and second grade classroom, I remember watching two young children play a board game. Because I cared equally for both children, I wanted both of them to feel the joy of winning and avoid the sting of losing. My anxiety grew as I watched them play, knowing that one of them would very soon be sad. I wondered why my observer’s point of view couldn’t be shared by the participants in the game. Could they, for a moment, forget that they each resided in separate bodies, and view themselves as one being, celebrating any outcome of the game? It seemed to me that their separateness was an illusion; after all, I could easily…