When does competition become unhealthy?

Hey guys,

Let’s talk about competition! In honor of today’s topic, I would like to share a photo of me wrestling both of The Bella Twins 😛 (I have a collab coming up next week with Nikki and Brie that I think you will really enjoy!)

I know I’ve said I don’t like competition a bunch of times. But I think you deserve to know why it’s not for me, but how it can be good for other people.

Okay, first off, competition is not meant to be a bad thing. It has so many benefits. It pushes us to try harder, to be better, and to always strive for the next level. Those are good things! Competition is a great source of inspiration. It’s why musicians have “influences”. It’s why athletes like training with people who are “more skilled” than they are. It breeds growth and excitement.

If you attend a group fitness class, you might find yourself pushing more than you would if you were working out in your living room. It’s not that you’re in competition with the other people in class. It should always be a supportive, encouraging environment! But naturally, you’re going to go a little harder. You’re going to give it something extra, you know?

These are all the positive aspects to competition! We grow. We challenge ourselves. We become better versions of ourselves. We learn new skills. We reach higher places.

But when does competition become a problem? When does it transform from something motivational to something unhealthy?

Competition should be a motivating factor, but not something that consumes your entire life. Because honestly, you’re never going to be perfect. And someone is always going to be better than you at something. That’s not something to obsess over! That’s not something to ruin your self-esteem and self-image over. That’s just a fact. And it’s okay.

Your self-worth is not determined by what someone else is doing. It is not determined by how you stack up to the people you see on social media, your friends, your family.

Competition can plant these toxic seeds in us. We compare ourselves to everyone else. We want to be the best. We want to be the best one. But guess what? The only person you are ever REALLY competing with is YOURSELF. That’s it! And the cool thing about that is it’s not a race you have to win in a certain amount of time. It’s lifelong. And you get to decide the pace. You get to make the final call.

I still have moments when I need to check in with myself and make sure I’m competing WITH ME and only me. And real talk, it can be sooooo hard sometimes. But it’s always better for my mental health when I remember I am not competing with the other people I see. Just me.

How about you guys? Are you competitive? Has competition ever negatively affected you? Share your stories!