Everyone wants to be amazing. Even more so, everyone wants to be recognized for being amazing. In fact, I think most people can become fairly competitive when it comes to reaching that next opportunity to prove their greatness (or in most cases an opportunity or a promotion).
In reality, being competitive is probably the worst mistake you could make in your professional career. Why? Because being competitive damages your relationships. In today’s professional world, a person’s professional network plays a key role in an individual’s success or failure.
By having a competitive attitude, not only are you damaging the relationship with what could have been a strong collaborator, but you’re also losing access to their network. While you may be proud of coming out the victor in the perceived ‘competition’. You’re gaining a single opportunity while losing access to an entire network of opportunities.
Each ‘race’ in the professional world isn’t an isolated experience. You may think you’re coming out as the winner because you beat your perceived competitor and you were the one to come out on top with the new title or achievement. But your ‘competitor’ isn’t going to simply disappear. In this world, your ‘competitor’ isn’t a loser to the race you ran against them. They are a professional within a network of other professionals. Conducting yourself in a professional manner regardless of the circumstances is the real factor that will determine your long term success.
In the end, don’t strive for achievements, there are always plenty of opportunities, instead, strive for a dynamic in which no one could ever have anything negative to say about you. That is the real win in life. Sure, people won’t like you because your skinner, prettier, smarter, the list goes on. But that’s their opinion. The real win in life is to conduct yourself in a way that no one can ever say you treated them poorly. There will always be conflict. But to rise above that conflict to a place where you are able to make everyone feel accepted and valued. That is the real win.