Skip to main content

5 Questions You Can Ask Yourself to Be Competitive

Some say that competition is bad, that we should just aim for cooperation. But looking at how the real world works, we could that we could gain something from competition. Look at how Apple and Windows are slugging it out. And see Linux. They get challenged to churn out better products (Ahem! for Vista) and we get choices.

In my opinion, competition keeps you on your toes. It spurs you on to be better. A lot of people tend to settle with just scraping by with the bare minimum. But it’s never too late to decide that you might want to accomplish something that’s above what you’ve done so far.
However, spurring yourself on shouldn’t be something that you do for the sake of doing it. Reckless abandon doesn’t often result in the best things. So before you go out launching some competition against some random bloke, go ask yourself a few things.

What do I really want?
Establish S.M.A.R.T. goals. Make sure that it’s specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to dream big. Just work on smaller goals in order to reach that big dream. If you plan to be a Hollywood star. How about taking some acting lessons first (or a series of plastic surgeries).

How much do I want it?
Motivation is one of the keys to success. And you just have to want things more than the average Joe Schmoe.
A corollary question to this would be, “What am I willing to risk to get to my goal?” Anything that compromises your or other people’s well-being is not healthy competition anymore. It’s mania.

With whom am I competing?
Remember that in this life, you are not the only one who’s dreaming big. If you plan to get rich, hey, practically everyone wants to do the same. A key to success is being competitive is acknowledging the competition. If you’re smart, expect everyone to smart as well.

What do I have over everyone else?
Focus on your strengths. Knowing that you have advantages over other people can help you overcome that sense of mediocrity.


What do I gain from it?
While self-motivation is great to push you to the top, you might also get overboard. A bit of thought given to the possible outcomes and the pros and cons can help you decide whether the endeavor’s worth taking. Does the end justify the means?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Qualify Leads

By: Geoffrey James I’ve been harping on lead generation because that’s where sales pros need a lot of help. In fact, over 70 percent of sales leaders are not satisfied with their lead generation process, according to a survey of sales managers conducted by Jim Dickie , the head of the research and benchmarking firm CSO Insights. Actually, I’m surprised that number isn’t higher because I’ve never, ever heard a sales rep say: “Gee we’ve been getting plenty of great leads!” According to Tom Roth , president of Wilson Learning , the root of that dissatisfaction lies in the widely-held (but hilariously mistaken) belief that the best way to get higher sales volumes is to have the sales team call on as many prospects as possible. As a result, marketing groups tend to generate long lists of generic “prospects” in the hopes that the sales pros can turn those so-called “prospects” into real live customers. Then management turns the screws on the sales teams to make more cold calls. Howe...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Team Effectiveness?

Team effectiveness refers to the system of getting people in a company or institution to work together effectively. The idea behind team effectiveness is that a group of people working together can achieve much more than if the individuals of the team were working on their own. Team effectiveness is determined by a number of factors, such as: * The right mix of skills. Team effectiveness depends in part on bringing together people who have different skills that somehow complement each other. This can mean different technical abilities or communication skills. In fact, teaming up people who share the exact same characteristics is often a recipe for disaster. Team effectiveness depends on people taking on different roles in a group setting. If there is no agreement on who does what in the group, it is unlikely that the team will prosper. * The right motivation. Team effectiveness is directly linked to the interest that the group has on the project. If the job is too easy or ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dream Your Future

Hopeless is Just a Word Everybody, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big. Who hasn't fantasized about being the one who hits the game-winning homer? Who hasn't dreamed of being the homecoming queen? And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful, or happy with our relationships? Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic. This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of living from day-to-day just barely existing. But you know what? Life could be so much better, if only we learned to aim higher. The most common problem to setting goals is the word impossible. Most people get hung up thinking I can't do this. It's too hard. It's too impossible. No one can do this. However, if everyone thought t...
Post a Comment
Read more