Recently, I took part in a competition, which required me 8 months of preparation and in the end, our team came in 10th. Considering the huge amount of effort that we have put in just for the competition, I feel that this is actually quite unjustifiable. However, what done has been done, and we can only accept the results and try to strive again for the next competition in 2 years time.
Competitions are what bring out the competitive spirit within us, to strive and to achieve, and thus beating others in the competition. Although the experience as well as the joy may be rewarding, however, the stress that comes along with it is huge as well. There are many others who argue that competitions may be beneficial while others argue that it is not even a single bit helpful. In my opinion, I find that competitions are beneficial.
Firstly, competitions allow us to aim for the best. By having competitions, it will actually affect the other factors within our life as we attempt to strive for the best, and thus stretch us towards our fullest potential. Next, people might say that it brings about stress. However, this is how it is beneficial. By bringing about stress, it teaches us on how to manage our stress, and thus allow us to be better at balancing this later on in our lives, such as in our A levels, and finally allowing us to do better.
Other than these points, another bonus point is that it allows us to forge new friendships, especially in competitions that involve teamwork. By involving teamwork, there is a need for the team to bond together, and thus help one another out in the competition as it requires each and every single one of them to play a part. Over time, via the trainings, the experiences we get, as well as the interactions as a team, it then allows us to gain new friendships as we get closer to each member of the competition team.
Last but not least, competitions train us to manage our time well. During competitions, it might come in at any period of our school lives, including that of our exams. By being in a competition, we then need to manage our time very well so as to allow ourselves to excel both in our academics as well as our competitions; otherwise, it will then lead to allow a success in one end.
All in all, I feel that competitions are beneficial to all of us, and that I have never regretted in taking part in this competition at all.
~Gordon Koh
Friday, August 19, 2011
Competitions
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Dear Gordon,
ReplyDeleteI agree that there are some benefits of taking part in competitions, and agree that it can be quite upsetting when one loses a competition even when one has put in a lot of effort. However, one must always consider that the other party has also put in a lot of effort, and therefore, also had the right to be the winner.
I liked how you turned the demerits of taking part in competitions into benefits - that it teaches us how to manage stress and how to manage time. However, I think you could also offer other aspects of a competition which people may find disadvantageous. I think that competitions have quite a lot of benefits, however, it may not be suitable for everyone. It may put unnecessary strain on some people, for example.
Regards,
Chong Kai En, 2i106