Competition is best described as the act of striving to gain superiority over someone or something else.

In life, competition is inevitable. On a daily basis, we experience or actively take part in some form of competition whether in school, at the workplace or even among our peers. How we handle competition is what makes the difference. Majority of people approach competition with a winning mentality. This is what is commonly termed as unhealthy competition. Healthy competition is where the competitors focus on the learning experience of the whole competition process rather than on the need to win. Competition is advantageous if tackled in the right way.

Benefits of Competition

Some positive outcomes of competition include:

• You learn how to work under pressure. In any competition, you are the main person responsible for your performance. Competition enables you to have a grip on your emotions under pressure.
• Test of skills. By competing you can put your skills to the test and learn your weaknesses.
• Competition rush. The experience of competing is satisfying in itself regardless of the outcome.
• Self-confidence. Competing calls one to put themselves out there. This builds self-confidence.
• Eliminates the fear of competing. Once you experience your first competition, the nerves reduce with the subsequent ones.
• The feeling of winning in a competition is rewarding once you have attained your ultimate goal.
• You become goal-oriented. Competing gives you something to work towards.

Factors causing a competitive disadvantage

When competing, some circumstances might cause you to lag behind in the competition. This is what is referred to as a competitive disadvantage. The factors mainly affect businesses. They include:

• Lack of advanced technology compared to your competitors will put you at the losing end.
• In the case of firms, a small firm will be disadvantaged compared to a large firm because of lack of resources.
• For businesses competing, one which is strategically positioned will perform better than one which is not.
• In a situation where one retailer is selling only trousers, and another is selling more types of items, the former will be disadvantaged as customers go for variety.
• Known brands generally do better than unknown brands. This is because customers will go for what they are more familiar with.
• A business with a reputation for low quality will be disadvantaged compared to its competitors with a reputation for high quality.
• Customer loyalty. For businesses, this is very important when it comes to competition. A company that can maintain customer loyalty will always perform better.

Conclusion

Before embarking on a competition journey, it is essential to come up with a strategy. Most people fail because they take on competition without a plan. Having an approach will enable you to keep track of your steps and easily notice areas which need to be adjusted. Competition is healthy, and it is vital in every aspect of life. The wins are rewarding and the losses if taken positively give us a chance to learn and identify our weaknesses.

By Winnie