Some people have a strong tendency towards being competitive. Just like when we were younger and used to playfully compete with our friends about things like our height, the quality of our school supplies, or even who had the newest pair of shoes, there are adults who take this inclination to compare and compete with others to an extreme in all areas of life. This desire to compete can cover a wide range of things like money, power, knowledge, and popularity, basically anything you can think of. But it doesn’t stop there. After they’re done comparing and competing themselves with others, they pass on this competitive spirit onto their own children, pushing them to achieve victories. If someone else’s child excels in something, it’s hard for these competitive individuals to accept it; their own child has to always be the best. This pattern continues, causing them to expand their competitive mindset to include things like nationality, religion, ethnicity, language, and more. Everything becomes a matter of comparison. When you hear them talk, there are moments when you genuinely wish they could release their grip on this competitive nature. So, we often attempt to adjust their thoughts either by outperforming them or by attempting to alter their outlook. What we fail to recognize is that we end up becoming a part of their rivalry. This happens because we’ve embraced the challenge they presented, and once we’ve taken it on, losing becomes unacceptable. Occasionally, you simply have to let people be just the way they are. The most constructive approach might be to remain neutral and trust that our impartiality might influence them positively. Yet, it’s important not to become too frustrated by their nature. It’s important to remember to not end up trying to get into the challenge of trying to change them.
