Photo by the US Army, used under Creative Commons licence.

LIFE IS A COMPETITION

It’s a fact.

Sometimes in the modern world, we try to protect children and young people from that. We give them the message that everyone’s a winner really. But that’s not true. So, in the end, does that help them? I don’t think so.

To compete effectively, you must want to win

Out there in the world, things are tough. They’re going to have to please their bosses, their managers. They’re going to have to compete wiih others. And to compete strongly and effectively, they need to want to win.

I know right now that the opinion I am expressing is not a fashionable one. But I don’t need to be fashionable. I don’t think that everyone should get a prize for trying. That’s not a good lesson to learn.  You have to learn to compete, and to prove your qualities.

Learn how it feels to win – and learn how it feels to lose

That means learning what it feels like to win, and learning what it feels like to lose. Then, with that experience behind you, you can cope with both.

And in the end, it is about the winning. Children should have to compete. LIFE IS A COMPETITION. You don’t just give everyone a ‘C’ grade. Some people get Bs and some  have what it takes to get As.  We should encourage our children to believe and to strive for those As – and we should strive for them too.