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Claire Herring

Mrs. Tatum

AP Language, 4th Period

17 December 2019

Argument Essay

In his essay, “Why Competition?,” author and lecturer Alfie Kohn argues that

“competition by its very nature is always unhealthy.” While I do agree with Kohn that

competition has unhealthy aspects, I believe that these aspects can be avoided. Competition

fuels the desire to better oneself and often pushes people to try their hardest to develop and

refine their skills in the topic of the competition.

Competition is a part of all walks of life, from students in high school to characters in

fictional movies or TV shows. In the popular drama, Grey’s Anatomy, competition is what

drives the main characters, surgical interns, to be the best they can be. By competing against

each other for the best surgeries and opportunities, each of the characters not only grow as

surgeons, but as people. The same themes of competition building skills and character can be

found across all media and entertainment platforms and even in real-life situations.

In my own life, friendly competitions between my friends and I have helped to

improve my grades and GPA, as well as other skills both inside and outside of school. For

example, during marching band practice recently, our director asked if we ever competed

with our friends to see who is the better marcher. When no one responded, he asked us to try

it out for the rest of rehearsal. Taking his advice, the two other flute section leaders and I had

a staff member watch us and decide who the best of each repetition was. This way, we were

trying our hardest to beat each other while also receiving feedback, allowing us to improve in

between every repetition. If one of us placed third out of the three of us, we knew what to

change and how to be better the next time and almost always placed first the next time. Our
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friendly competition allowed us to have fun while also learning how we can improve

ourselves to be the best marchers we can be.

However, it is understandable why Kohn does not like competition. He writes, “[...]

when my success depends on my being better than, I am caught on a treadmill, destined never

to enjoy real satisfaction.” This statement can in fact be true, but only if one chooses to see

the negative side of competition and ignore the positives. If one uses competition as an

opportunity to grow rather than bring out their insecurities, they are able to better themselves

in any way they choose.

When competition is seen as an opportunity rather than something negative, the

people involved in the competition are able to better themselves in any way they choose.

Friendly competition allows participants to build character and skills while developing

stronger relationships. To see the benefits of competition rather than the negative aspects is to

choose to live a better and happier life. If one finds something they want to improve in and

some friends to help them, it is possible to develop new and/or stronger skills while bonding

and building closer friendships.