Competition does build character. Trying to be better than someone else at that very moment and rising to the challenge. If you succeed you feel 100 feet tall. If you fail, you learn that there is no next time. Failure can bring joy.
Sorrow can bring joy.
They are parts of the human emotional experience and necessary low points for life's highs. I take great joy in my job. I like the feeling of teaching them a lesson, letting them know that hitting is not a solution to a problem, no matter how many athletes you see do it. I cherish the pictures of Pikachu, or Tigger, or funny looking trees or self-portraits that decorate our classroom. The fact that a child took the time to create something, then chose to give it to me, is a great honor.