Competition is Our Reason

Eric Bogle once sang, in "A Reason for It All": "Don't look for a reason in it all."

Indeed, perhaps there isn't a point to searching for a reason. Perhaps there doesn't have to be one.

It might very well be true that there is no single factor on which we can put our finger and say, "That's why we exist – this is why we do what we do. This is our reason." That, as humans, we simply participate in our own lives and in the lives of others, without a fundamental purpose. That days come, days go, time passes, events occur, and no common force moves humankind to act.

But even if there isn't a reason, that will never stop humanity from searching for one. There will always be someone - whether that be an individual, a group, a state or a nation, trying to explain our existence.

Surely you, reader, have asked yourself, "What's the point?".

Have you ever pondered why you do what you do?

Why you want to earn a better salary, why you want to travel, why you want to run a faster time, why you desire to look more aesthetically appealing, why you want to improve your character?

Philosophers, poets, scientists and historians pondered this even before Plato introduced his divided soul theory in The Republic. From Maslow to Alderfer, people have been sharing their theories that aim to explain our reason for millennia.

The thousands of religions throughout civilization are attempts at giving reason to our lives.

Many believe that having a legacy, that leaving one's mark on the world and future generations, is a reason. Or that feeling a sense of purpose in one's life, that spending one's time in service of others, is the overarching reason. Biologists suggest that the sole reason is to pass on genetic material.

What these are though, are pursuits. Living a noble life is a goal. Leaving a legacy is a goal. They are not fundamental motivators. They don't get to the core of why we do what we do. So what compels us to undertake anything? Why do we progress from physiological needs to self-actualization, always striving for more, for better?

I put it to you, reader, that the answer is competition.

Human reason, motivation, and evolution can all be explained thusly:

We do everything that we do because of competition. Competition with oneself, with one's peers, and with one's environment is what drives us to action. It's what motivates us. Competition is our reason.

The four types of motivation are external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic.

External motivation comes from the outside world, such as more pay in return for more hours worked. Introjected motivation is within the person, how their own ego and perceived image guides their goals, such as pursuing an aesthetically pleasing physique. Identified motivation comes from personal values driving an individual to action, such as being charitable anonymously, and intrinsic motivation comes from the inherent satisfaction of the activity.

Competition exists in each of these.

We compete with our colleagues for better pay, we compete with our current perception of ourselves to drive future improvement. We measure ourselves against a set of ideals by which we live and compete with ourselves and others to live as closely to them as possible. Even intrinsic motivation carries competition, as to enjoy an activity inherently, we need to enhance our experience of that activity relative to past experiences to keep making it enjoyable, thus we are always striving to improve.

And this drive for self-improvement, making yourself better today than you were yesterday, is an honorable pursuit. It is a fundamental force in human society, "making myself better".

But as you strive to be a better person, who are you being better than?

If you want more pay, more pay than who? Myself now, or more pay than Jenny has? To run faster, faster than who? Myself now, or the guy who came in 10th when I ran 11th? To read a new book, to learn something new, what makes us do whatever we do on a daily basis, is the desire to improve. To make tomorrow better than today. To be better tomorrow than we are today.

Therefore, self-improvement, we can say, is fundamental to our motivation for existence. We exist to improve.

But what does it mean, to improve?

Improve, verb: To make or become better.

For something to "become better than," there needs to be a starting point.

For you to achieve self-improvement, for you to "become better," you need a starting metric, a measuring stick that acts as a recognised point of "where I am now, and it is not good enough."

This recognised point can be set internally by yourself, or externally by others.

Internally, you compete with yourself to beat your personal records — whatever these records may be.

They might be a time that you wake up, how you treat others, or what you eat. In your constant state of competition, you reprimand yourself for what you perceive to be sub-par behavior, and you strive to improve that behaviour.

Externally, your competition comes in the form of goals achieved by others. Goals achieved by your friends, your peers, other people, your competitors. Their achievement might be a salary. It might be a physique. It might be a marathon time. It might be a squat weight. It might be successfully founding a company. Whatever their achievement, you take that as your measuring stick. You strive to better yourself measured against others achievements.

Collectively, we revere those who excel at competition, idolising individuals who triumph over their competitors.

Yet, at the most fundamental level, each of us is competing with every other human on the planet for resources. Some of us live in more resource-rich environments than others, but resources come in many shapes and forms.

Living in the western developed world, it might feel like you have limitless resources. When resources are bountiful, as they are in many places of the world, competition doesn't have to be so fierce. But just think back to the COVID pandemic, the supply chain disruptions, and how we were fighting with one another over toilet paper in supermarket aisles. That brought out our competitive nature.

Or perhaps the resource we are competing for is someone else's attention, for someone's time.

Your son might be competing with your employer for your time. Perhaps your boyfriend wants to go to the cinema on Friday, but it's your best friend's birthday. That girl wearing the red dress might want you to dance with her, but so does the girl in the corner.

Competition is everywhere. Competition with oneself. Competition with one's environment. And competition with others.

While you'll probably be able to buy more toilet paper, your time is truly a finite resource. Be very careful with who you allow to win your time. Because like it or not, people aren't just competing with each other for your time. You're competing with others for your own time as well.

And therein lies the great realisation — without others, I am not.

Without competition, without recognition from others, what is there? Our fundamental drive is the pursuit of bettering ourselves. But we need others to better ourselves. We need others to achieve their own goals, so we can try and do the same, but better.

So, if you're going to ignore Eric's advice and you're going to try and look for a reason in it all, look to competition. Because competition is the reason.