Can you be too competitive with people? | Source: Shutterstock

A little competition can be a good way to motivate people or to just make things a little more fun – I mean, would it be as fun to watch sports if nobody ever really tried to get the ball from other players? That said, there is definitely a point where a person can be way too competitive, whether it’s turning everyday things into a battle or just fixating on being the best at all costs.

So do you have a healthy approach to competition or do you tend to get swept up in a constant need to win? Find out if you are too competitive in this quiz!

Do you think that you’re a competitive person? Has anyone ever told you that you are too competitive? Tell us in the comments!

Quiz: Are You Too Controlling?

Follow Us On Twitter!

I had to learn to stop making everything a competition with my friends. Source: ShutterStock

Another day, another made-up celeb feud. What is it this time? Jessica Chastain responded to the rumor that she didn’t like fellow actress Jennifer Lawrence. Jessica went a step further though, saying not only does she respect Jennifer, but in general, she supports women in her same profession.

The final line from her statement really stuck with me: “With support and encouragement, we help to inspire this industry to create opportunities for women. And as we all know: a great year for women in film, is just a great year for film.”

Basically, when one of her female peers succeeds, that means that things are actually improving for her and others, as well. I definitely wish I had been wise enough to take that approach back when I was playing sports in high school. I was crazy competitive, especially with field hockey. I worked super hard and was really committed, so I felt that it was only fair that I would be considered one of the best people on the team because I obviously cared more.

If someone on my team scored a goal and got more attention when I felt like I had a really good game, I couldn’t stand it. Even if we won! On the outside I was totally smiles and high fives, because I was embarrassed by how competitive I would get inside my head. I absolutely loved my teammates as friends, and I knew it was awful that my competitive self was somehow taking away their success. Even if I wasn’t vocalizing it, I have to think that it slipped out in my attitude from time to time.

During my junior year of field hockey, our team was actually really good. As we started winning more games, I started really that this wasn’t all because of me. Yeah, I was helping the team, but the fact was that everyone was working together. I gradually stopped caring about my personal statistics, and saw the season as a big picture. Everyone on the team had to do well if we were going to make it far. By that logic, there was no way I could keep up my behavior of needing to best everybody.

It’s funny, because even though I’d been playing well in previous seasons, when my team wasn’t doing well as a collective group, it had been way harder for me to stand out as an individual player anyway. Not only that, but I actually think taking a less competitive approach actually made me better because every move wasn’t so calculated. I could just naturally do what I loved and that’s when the best me came through.

The next season, we didn’t win as many games, but as I remembered this was my senior year, I was able to keep that competitive nature at bay. That approach to not indulge my insecurity with competitiveness just started to seep into my personality. In addition to sports, I also started caring less about needing to be the best in the class, and instead wanted to really enjoy what I was learning in school.

The thing was I realized there was a time and a place for getting a little competitive. I still liked winning games, but I realized that it wasn’t worth it at the expense of purposely setting out to outshine my teammates or discredit the hard-working players on other teams. Even if other players from other teams were getting attention, the respect for our sport was gradually growing in our community.

It’s one thing to let a little competition motivate you from time to time, but it’s quite another to let it dominate your life and ultimately how you define yourself. At the end of the day, we have to respect those who have similar goals of wanting to do well and understand that often the road to success is more rewarding when it’s not just one person, but everyone, getting the chance to shine.

Do you think you are a competitive person? Have you ever found yourself competing against the people you should have been working with? Tell me in the comments.

Really Cosmo? Another Battle Of The Sexes Argument?

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter

Do you have brothers and/or sisters? Do you guys deal with sibling rivalry, or do you always get along? How competitive are you in general? Tell us everything in the comments!

Feel Like You Don’t Fit In? Here’s How To Deal

Don’t Forget To Follow Us On Twitter!

Dear Heather,
I told my best friend about this hot guy on Facebook and within a few minutes, she added him. What offended me the most is that every time she wants to hookup with a guy, she tells me not to add him on Facebook. But when I wanted to make a move on
this guy she added him and that sucks because she’s a flirt and I’m not. I’m more into just getting to know him by being myself and seeing where things go. But now, I’d never know ’cause she probably already got his number. My question is, how do I make him notice me for once without being too much of a flirt?