Competition, whether in sports or in life, we all compete, but what is acceptable?

I am competing right now, I am writing an article about competing in order for me to be noticed. We compete nearly all of the time; competition is good for us, without it we would not evolve, we could not better ourselves, sporting records could not be broken and products would not be enhanced. Competition makes life better; surely it must do, it is our human nature to compete.rnAt work, if we want to get on we need to compete, to put ourselves forward, get that promotion and move up the ladder, for some it does not matter who we tread on, dog eats dog and that is the way of the world, right?rnIn business small companies compete, jockeying for position, trying to get themselves noticed, undercutting where possible to give the best price for that new conservatory or landscaping job. Big companies compete as well, they keep a check on their competitors, discuss strategies to win contracts, always trying to go that extra mile and yes, undercutting their prices to win the contract. That is healthy competition, which is what we want as the consumer, giving us our value for our money, or is it? What then when they cross the line, an imaginary line, but a very real line where they cannot fulfil the obligation and corners are then cut. Who has caused the competition, who is the greedy party, the consumer or the provider?rnI recently flew to India. When my wife and I landed we collected our luggage, eventually negotiated the arrival checks and we were then greeted by a horde of baggage porters, desperately trying to grab a case and move it a few yards to a waiting coach or taxi, for many new arrivals to India it was an almost frightening experience with some getting very agitated indeed. India is not the only place I have witnessed competition for baggage at an airport but it is probably the most desperate, the competition for that pound or dollar in India will probably not be to pay for a luxury item, so they must compete we might not like it but we should understand it.rnLike many people I have witnessed natural disasters from the comfort of my living room, I have donated to the appeal funds, fortunately I have never been caught in an earthquake, tsunami or typhoon, I’ve never had to experience famine or disease first hand, but I do take my hat off to the aid agencies that selflessly strive in disaster zones to feed and care for all humanity, in some areas it becomes so difficult that survivors compete with each other for the bare essentials to live, we find that competition disturbing to watch, so perhaps we should act quicker and plan more for the future.rnCompetition is never as obviously intense as it is in sport. Sport is about winning is it not? Beating the opposition, coming first, there is nothing wrong with competition in sport, it drives us forward it makes us better and we often pay to watch such competition. But again, there is a fine line to be drawn that shouldn’t be crossed, when competition becomes obsession and we no longer respect our opposition but come to despise them. Such obsession can lead to violence and cheating. Fortunately most of us play sport to compete and enjoy, uneed2getoutmore, lists sports and activities to show they do not have to be competitive; they can also be fun and varied.rnSo how competitive will you be today? Will it be a fair price? Will you be helping the poor? Will you be planning for the future? Will you obsess in your game?rnMost of us like to think our competition is harmless and most of the time it is, but let us not cross that line, let us think before we get too competitive.