Lead Copy Editor Maya Clement leans against a trophy after winning first place in a competition. For as long as she can remember, Clement has made everyday activities and sports into serious competitions whether they need to be or not. “This has instilled in me a fire and passion to get things done, but it also makes life difficult at times,” Clement wrote. “If I can’t win, then I’m losing, and losing never feels good.” Illustration by Antonio Starks
Lead Copy Editor Maya Clement shares her experience with being competitive and how that has affected her life.
There are five minutes left until the end of class and my friend and I are rushing to get our work completed. I’m a problem ahead of her and I need to keep it that way. While there’s no reason for this, my goal is to finish before her.
For as long as I can remember, I have been extremely competitive. Whether I’m playing a sport or completing regular everyday tasks, I find myself making it a competition.
Being this competitive has made playing sports more serious than a game. While other people can go out and play for the fun of it, my focus is always on being the best. These competitions come in many different forms, not just sports, and they are always present. I’m either trying to get something done in a set amount of time, trying to beat someone at a game they don’t know they are playing or trying to outdo my previous performances.
A little bit of competition can be fun and exciting, but too much of it can be detrimental. Instead of beating arbitrary expectations of performance, I can focus more on enjoying the moment and having a good time.
While having races with friends and playing games in class like Kahoots can be fun to some, they’ve always been serious to me.
Whether I want to or not, “winning” is always a priority. This has instilled in me a fire and passion to get things done, but it also makes life difficult at times. If I can’t win, then I’m losing, and losing never feels good.
The competition might have no purpose to others, but it is real to me. The stress and pressure that comes with competition are still present and drive me to want to do well. Unlike other people, when these emotions are activated, I become even more determined to win in order to prove to myself what I can do.
Lead Copy Editor Maya Clement is shown winning various awards from age 4 to age 16. Clement has participated in many sports and academic competitions ranging from horseback riding to mathletes to track and field, many of which she has received awards for. “For as long as I can remember, I have been extremely competitive. Whether I’m playing a sport or completing regular everyday tasks, I find myself making it a competition,” Clement wrote. “Being this competitive has made playing sports more serious than a game. While other people can go out and play for the fun of it, my focus is always on being the best.” Photos courtesy of Donna Clement and ODYSSEY archives
This causes me to work harder than necessary at a lot of things for no reason. There is no point in trying to complete my school work in class faster than my friend, especially when I am sacrificing my understanding or making mistakes in the process.
I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older that being competitive can be a strength, but also a weakness. It’s not something that I need or want to change because it is who I am.
I love the motivation, focus and opportunity that all come from being engaged in competition. It has also helped me learn about failure and being able to accept that outcomes aren’t always what I expected or hoped for. In spite of this, however, I’ve learned that how you look at a competition means everything.
I used to look at competition as a means of winning. The primary thing I cared about was getting to the end. I would try to finish a show jumping course in a horse show just to get my placement or complete my
math problems as fast as possible so that I was first at my table.
I didn’t even care about the trophies or ribbons, though those were nice, as much as being able to say that I won because that was the biggest accomplishment in my mind.
Some of Lead Copy Editor Maya Clement’s horseback riding and ODYSSEY awards between 2017 and 2022 are displayed in her room. Clement has competed in many competitions throughout her life, but she likes to showcase some of her favorite awards in order to remember the memories behind them. “I used to look at competition as a means of winning. The primary thing I cared about was getting to the end,” Clement wrote. “Now, I view competition as an additional aspect. Sure, winning is amazing, but separating the actual competition from the result makes both experiences worthwhile.” Multimedia by Maya Clement
Now, I view competition as an additional aspect. Sure, winning is amazing, but separating the actual competition from the result makes both experiences worthwhile.
When I focus too much on the actual competition, the weaknesses such as stress and resentment can start to overpower all of the positives of competing.
A little bit of competition can be fun and exciting, but too much of it can be detrimental. Instead of beating arbitrary expectations of performance, I can focus more on enjoying the moment and having a good time. Instead of rushing through my moves when I’m doing trapeze, I can take the time to think about what I am doing and what works best for me.
Even with this change in outlook, I love being competitive. I love putting in effort to beat a challenge or pushing myself to do better than I did before. I love the feeling of pride when I do win an actual competition because I know of all the effort that went into it.
