Being defeated does not spur one on to do better. When a person is hurt he responds to that hurt with a negative reaction. Hurt never triggers a positive response. We only have to look at the desperation it causes, the measures that people will go to not to appear to fail- drugging in sports , cheating on exams, corporate espionage, etc. It is time to stop and take a look at what competition really does to us.
Every person is exposed to some form of competition from very early in life, in school and at home.
From the moment of birth every baby is pitted against another. Baby photo contests are popular. And in families of more than one child, each child is compared to the other in some way, especially in their academic performance. School is no longer about fun and learning and making friends. It is about securing one of the limited spaces available at particular colleges or at the top in any field.