I have wrestled with this question most of my career. Once you are past your teen age years and you are not a professional athlete, I think that competition is generally bad. I play hockey with guys that are all over forty and some of these guys still play like the NHL scouts are in the stands. Sorry to break it to you guys but a career in hockey is just not going to happen.
In the work environment I have watched in amazement as managers compete to build their teams, take resources from other managers and in some cases make up stories to influence the opinions of others. I recently read the biography of Steve Jobs and in the book the author documents his now famous reality distortion field. If Jobs didn’t like a situation he just willed it away by convincing himself that it didn’t exist. Turns out it’s not unique to Jobs, I’ve seen on at work recently in my own work environment.
For those of you who have suffered because of a reality distortion field, console yourself in that you have to absorb or possess a significant amount of evil to make them work. People who use them have to pay sooner or later. I prefer to take the high road and patiently wait for the world to settle the score.
Slightly off topic but I have been giving this allot of thought lately.
So is competition good? I suggest no. I suggest that you fall back once again on the tenets of Tae-kwon do: Honesty, Integrity, Perseverance, Self control and Indomitable spirit. That said there are a few people I would like to get into the sparing ring [grin].