Do you like competition?

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Unless it's a dare or a self imposed challenge, not really.

Once upon a time, I won too often -- games, academics, etc. As a child.
I end up intimidating other kids if not that fighting over me.
Flattering it may be, I didn't care in the end.

It also made me a sore loser at youth. But thankfully I've outgrown most of that.

And thankfully none of my parents told me to be competitive or get tangled in such dynamic.


Nowadays, I only crave occassional challenges.
The challenge can be very specific -- aiming 3rd, aiming last, aiming 1st...
Aim a win, aim a wild card that stands out enough for others into playing too lightly or too hard.

I don't aim to be a winner or being at top. I aim to be in control and beyond that.

Of course it can either confuse or frustrate me if it doesn't get in my way.

Or nothing, just fool around, stick for a while right after then leave with a possible laugh.
No need for competition, no need to label winners and losers.

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I think competing is really fun. I honestly am a really competitive person and people don't realize it, because it's to a degree of pettiness that I just shove down inside me. LOL

I learn skills best when I am "competing" with people. I like learning things with people because the lowkey competitiveness that I have motivates me.

One of my favourite things to do with my ex was to play Magic: The Gathering online and I took it kind of seriously... I also want to go to local Smash Bros. Melee tournaments once COVID is more under control, because I feel like being involved in that will push me to get better at it and will make me enjoy the game more.

I'm competitive in online gaming, but not physical sports. I like to challenge myself, when I'm good at something, and improve, but not at the expense of someone else having to lose.

Most competition to me seems pointless, I like seeing everyone do their best and improving. I guess in general I prefer cooperation over competition. I mostly compete with myself to do better.

I like that line from the Desiderata about how there will always be greater and lesser persons than us, so we need to focus on being our own best, or something like that.

I was super competitive when I was young, but now not so much. I think part of it was some former friends. A married couple who liked to play card games. My wife and I would play with them when we would hang out.
If the game was going well for the wife, everything was fine. The SECOND she stopped winning, though... It just wasn't fun to play with her. She was just super angry about everything, and at everyone, and was loudly vocal about how bad her cards were, how far behind she was in the game, etc. If you gave her a "draw two" in Uno or "reverse" before her turn, she would try to "get you back" like it was personal.
It was just awful playing against her in anything unless you let her win. Of course, if she thought someone was LETTING her win, she'd get angry about THAT too, so you had to just play badly but not so badly it was obvious...
I think seeing her in action helped burn the competitive-ness out of me. Just one of the worst people I've ever had to endure. She started out as a friend, but by the end I was so happy to let her write herself out of my life. I'm glad she's gone. I don't wish her ill... But I guess I don't really wish her well, either.

I deeply dislike when life is constructed as competition between people.

Yes, but not when it brings the worst out of people.

I like competition when it's just a harmless game between consenting people who can cope with losing if it turns out that they do lose, but otherwise I don't. I'm much more in my element in "real life" when I'm co-operating, and when my group gets competitive, I see it as a sign that something's gone wrong. I'm prepared to compete against people who out of greed, malice or plain disregard for me threaten my well-being (enemies) if there's no other way, and if they're a severe threat to me then I'll take some pleasure in rubbing their noses in it good and proper, but I'd rather just keep them out of my life and spend my time with co-operators and helpful, supportive people. It makes no sense to me that a group of people should pit their energies against each other when they could co-operate, which is obviously much more efficient - two equal and opposite forces achieve nothing. But if it's a harmless game for sheer fun, or for the players to sharpen their skills by giving each other some back-pressure, that's fine.

I do tend to feel competitive when I perform music and others are also performing as separate acts - part of me wants to go down better than they do, but I don't like myself for feeling that. In terms of what I do, it makes no difference though. I wouldn't try to nobble the competition or deliberately find out their weaknesses and perform something that surpasses them in that regard in order to highlight their weak spots and create the illusion that I'm better than they are, I just try to sound as good as possible. And I don't absolutely hate it when they go down better than I do - there's always a slight feeling of "you bastard," but I don't do any harm with it, and it doesn't define my overall feelings about them. Music is also a game, money isn't usually at stake at my level of the pursuit, so competitiveness isn't so terrible, but I prefer it when the overarching ethos is for everybody to do what they can to make a great show.

I like doing better than I've done before,but I'm not bothered where I come in the process of doing that.

In both a sincere yet, brutally honest manner; I absolutely deplore competition, as to quote Bruce Lee," One's greatest foe, is One's self therefore, don't seek struggle against others; rather, try to improve upon one's self"

I can be competitive but only when I care about the activity. Like if I’m playing a sport I’m not interested in and my side loses, I’ll be pretty indifferent. But when we’re playing Kahoot! in class and it’s a topic I’m well versed on, I feel myself really getting into the game, and when I get an answer wrong I might curse out loud. All the same though, I’m a good sport. I care more about playing by the rules and having fun than winning or losing... if only everyone was this mature.

If it's group sports, like say, badminton or volleyball, then I'll do it primarily to try & be more social.

But if it's something like bowling or golf, then I won't do it because of lack of interest.