Some people think that competition at work, at school and in daily life is a good thing. Others believe that we should try to cooperate more, rather than competing against each other. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.
Band 9 essay sample
According to some people, it is important to compete with one another in all aspects of life. Others insist that learning to cooperate is even more important. In my opinion, a competitive mentality certainly benefits us in some ways. However, in most other aspects of life it is essential to cooperate.
Competition enables us to get ahead in life. If we are always happy with whatever comes our way, we cannot achieve much progress. A competitive mentality enables us to work harder so that we can outperform others. This is important when it comes to studies or work. For example, if we want a good job, we need a degree from a reputed university. University programs admit only the most deserving students. So, if we want admission, we have to try to do better than our classmates. Of course, they are our friends but that should not deter us from competing with them. If we do not, we will not get what we want and we may end up living our life in regret. At the workplace, too, some amount of competition is necessary if we want promotions and raises.
Even so, there are several other aspects of life where it is essential to cooperate rather than compete. For example, we cannot be competitive if we want to have healthy relationships. If we are competing with our spouse, siblings and colleagues, they will start detesting our presence in their life. Unhealthy competition also limits our success. In the modern workplace team work is extremely important as there is very little that individuals can achieve on their own. Hence, employees are encouraged to cooperate with their colleagues to achieve common goals. This cooperation enables them to complete their projects successfully. By doing this, they not only contribute to the growth of their company but also make themselves indispensable members of their team. On the other hand, if they are constantly competing with their colleagues with the sole objective of inflating their ego, hardly any employer will want to keep them on their payroll.
In short, healthy competition certainly enables us to get ahead in life. However, if we become overly competitive and try to do better than others in all aspects of life, we will only make us thoroughly unpopular. Highly competitive people fail in their relationships and sometimes they may also fail in their career. An ability to cooperate, on the other hand, takes us far in life.
