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Home » 28 Competition Quotes to Inspire You

28 Competition Quotes to Inspire You

Competition has been a driving force in the evolution of human civilization. From sports to business and even personal relationships, competition can be found everywhere. Whether you’re looking for motivation or an insight into the nature of competition itself, these quotes can provide some thought-provoking perspectives. Here are some of the best quotes about the competition that will help you better understand the role it plays in our lives.

About Competition

Competition is an integral part of modern society, driving innovation and progress in business, sports, and other areas of life. While it can be challenging and at times frustrating to compete with others, the benefits are undeniable. Competition forces us to push ourselves beyond our limits and to strive for excellence in everything we do.

It requires you to compete against others who share the same goal, but it also inspires you to do better than you have in the past. The beauty of competition is that it’s not about winning or losing, but about pushing yourself beyond what you thought was possible.

When participating in a competition, one should always remember that the most important competitor is themselves. This means setting personal goals and striving to achieve them, rather than competing against others. competitions are a great way to foster self-improvement and growth while creating a community of like-minded individuals who support each other along the way.

Lastly, participation in a competition can lead to long-lasting benefits such as improved confidence and motivation levels. It can also help create a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction after achieving a set goal or milestone. Similarly, competition in sports has led to some of the most thrilling moments in history. Athletes train relentlessly for years just for a chance at winning a championship or breaking a record.

Top Competition Quotes

Competition is a fact of life. competition can be both rewarding and challenging. Those that have gone through competition can attest to the importance of having the right mindset. To help you stay motivated and inspired during your next competition, here are some of the best quotes about competition. Through these quotes, you’ll gain insight into how to tackle the challenges created by competing with others.

“It is in vain for us to devise schemes by which competition can be put out of civilized life. Competition is the condition of life.”
– LYMAN ABBOTT
competition quotes
“In previous ages, a nation’s life and culture could be protected to some extent by the growth of armies in national competition. Today we must abandon competition and secure cooperation. This must be the central fact in all our considerations of international affairs; otherwise, we face certain disasters.”
– ALBERT EINSTEIN
competition quotes
“When a man can do better than everyone else in the same walk, he does not make any very painful exertions to outdo himself. The progress of improvement ceases nearly at the point where competition ends.”
– WILLIAM HAZLITT
competition quotes
“The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself.”
– WASHINGTON ALLSTON
competition quotes
“If you can’t win, make the fellow ahead of you break the record.”
– EVAN ESAR
competition quotes
“Never compete with someone who has nothing to lose.”
– BALTASAR GRACIAN

When it comes to competition, it’s important to pick your battles wisely. One key piece of advice that many successful individuals have offered is to never compete with someone who has nothing to lose. This may seem counterintuitive at first, but there are several good reasons why this approach can be so effective.

First and foremost, someone who has nothing to lose is likely going to be much more daring and willing to take risks than someone who stands to lose a lot. They don’t have any major stake in the game, so they’re not as worried about the potential consequences of failure. This means they may try things that others would never consider, which can lead them down unexpected paths and give them an edge over their competitors.

“I found that competition was supposed to be a menace and that a good manager circumvented his competitors by getting a monopoly by artificial means.”
– HENRY FORD
“Taste the relish to be found in competition — in having to put forth the best within you to match the deeds of risk-taking, hard-working competitors.”
– HENRY J. KAISER
“Competition is merely the absence of oppression.”
– FRÉDÉRIC BASTIAT

Competition is an inherent part of human nature. From the time we are born, we are faced with competition for resources, attention, and affection. As we grow up, this competition becomes more structured and institutionalized in the form of sports, academics, and job opportunities.

However, some argue that competition can be harmful and oppressive to certain groups of individuals. Opponents of competition argue that it creates winners and losers based on arbitrary factors such as socioeconomic status or genetic ability. This often perpetuates existing power structures and reinforces privilege for those who already have it.

Additionally, extreme forms of competition can lead to a toxic culture where success is prioritized over ethics or morality. However, proponents argue that true competition is merely the absence of oppression. In a fair and equitable system where everyone has equal access to resources and opportunities, competition can be healthy and even beneficial.

“Competition, founded upon the conflicting interests of individuals, is in reality far less productive of wealth and enterprise than co-operation, involving though it does the constant apparent sacrifice of the individual to the common interests.”
– ROBERT HUGH BENSON
“Competition is warfare. Mostly it is played by prescribed rules–there is a sort of Geneva Convention for competition–but it’s thorough and often brutal.”
– ANDREW S. GROVE
competition quotes
“Strip away all the assumptions about what competition is supposed to do, all the claims in its behalf that we accept and repeat reflexively. What you have left is the essence of the concept: mutually exclusive goal attainment (MEGA). One person succeeds only if another does not. From this uncluttered perspective, it seems clear right away that something is drastically wrong with such an arrangement. How can we do our best when we are spending our energies trying to make others lose–and fearing that they will make us lose?”
– ALFIE KOHN
competition quotes
“Free competition is worth more to society than it costs.”
– OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR.
competition quotes
“Competition brings out the best in products and the worst in people.”
– DAVID SARNOFF
competition quotes
“Competition is a lot like cod liver oil. First it makes you sick. Then it makes you better.”
– AMERICAN MICRO DEVICES
competition quotes
“Healthy competition keeps you alert–keeps you driven: You’ll notice things that you might not have noticed before. When everyone else is in gear, there’s not time for you to sit in neutral.”
– PHIL MARTIN
“You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your tricks of war.”
– NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
“You have a real life if and only if you do not compete with anyone in any of your pursuits.”
– NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEB
“Focus on competition has always been a formula for mediocrity.”
– DANIEL BURRUS

Many businesses are obsessed with their competition. They constantly monitor their rivals’ every move and spend a significant amount of time and resources trying to one-up them. However, this focus on competition may not be the best approach for achieving long-term success. In fact, it can lead to mediocrity.

When companies focus solely on what their competitors are doing, they limit themselves creatively and strategically. They become reactive instead of proactive, always playing catch-up instead of leading the way. Furthermore, when businesses only concern themselves with outdoing their competitors, they risk losing sight of what’s truly important: serving their customers’ needs.

By prioritizing competition over customer satisfaction, companies may end up neglecting the very people who keep them in business in the first place. Ultimately, focusing solely on the competition can result in a race to the bottom where everyone ends up losing – including customers.

“Competition is a complex thing. It brings out the best and the worst in all participants. It refines the technique and sharpens the mind, body, and spirit.”
– HERB PEREZ
“Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.”
– FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
competition quotes
“Life is not a competition. No one has to lose for someone else to win. A true blessing blesses everyone.”
– DONNA GODDARD
competition quotes
“Competition, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. If a person or group seeks a desired objective to the exclusion of such higher ethics as truth and fairness, the seeking indeed is unhealthy. However, if a person or group seeks a desired objective while remaining true to high ethical standards, the pursuit will be a healthy growth experience.”
– PHILIP SOLOMONS
competition quotes
“While competition isn’t without its upheaval–what with companies that go out of business and jobs that disappear–it is essential in producing the progress and innovations that have benefited our lives.”
– KIRK TYSON
competition quotes
“Competition is in the genes of all living things. Watch a flower compete for its share of sunlight or watch the goldfish in your aquarium. Infants and small children compete without knowing it. Remember how the queen bee wins? Competition is the spice of life and the soul of progress. How else can quality rise to the top?”
– CHARLES T. CLARK
competition quotes
“All you have to do is play better than the other guy and things go well. If you don’t play better than the other players then somebody takes your place. Now a lot of guys, in this day and time with the transient nature of the sport, as soon as the competition gets too good, they want out.”
– BILL PARCELLS
“Contrary to what people think, competition isn’t productive. It doesn’t necessarily lead to greater success or achievement, because trying to do well and trying to beat others are two different things. They may even work in opposite directions because the research shows that people do better when they are intrinsically motivated by the activity they’re engaged in, but trying to beat others, trying to win, is an extrinsic motivation. Competition decreases intrinsic motivation, and performance diminishes.”
– RANDOLPH FREEZELL
“To free the mind from the habit of competition, we must see in detail the process by which the mind is ensnared by competition. The way out of a trap is to know the way the trap is built. Only then will it cease being a trap. The release from the stranglehold of competition lies in the increase of self-reliance since competition can only arise out of a lack of self-reliance! It is that simple. Self-dependence accomplishes that which competition can never touch. As we have said, the competitive person makes pacemakers out of those he sees around him and puts their heads higher than his own. He abdicates his own birthright.”
– MARGUERITE BEECHER

FAQs

Why competition is important?

It creates jobs and provides people with a choice of employers and workplaces.

What is the type of competition?

perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly.

What is the nature of competition?

Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal that cannot be shared

Let’s Wind Up…

Competition quotes can provide a great source of motivation and inspiration. Whether one is trying to succeed in their career, start a business, or just get through a difficult day, these quotes will help guide them through the process. No matter what stage in life one is at, there is something to be gained from reflecting on the words of those who have succeeded before them. Competition quotes offer valuable insight into the power of ambition and striving for excellence.