<p>Being at the top calls for unwanted competition with people who are above, near, or slightly below me in terms of ACT scores, grades, rank, academic excellence. How do I cope with someone who, say for a true example, scored a higher ACT score than me just by a couple points. I've always had the attention of my peers that I'm the "best" or the "smartest" kid in school, but whenever someone is above me in anyway, I feel intimidated and worried. I know it's a bad habit that I shouldn't have. </p>
<p>So for those out there just like me... or if you have a good point, how can I cope with competition? I don't want to spend most of time worrying about others when I should be worrying about improving myself.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar position. I have kids who’ll openly mock me if they score just a few points higher than me on a test because they’re beating the so-called “best.”</p>
<p>What you do is you ignore it. You are not in competition with some lint lickers at your school. If you got, say, a 34 on the ACT, that’s fantastic, regardless. Even if Sally Buttface got a 35. Your successes should be viewed in the context of the standards that you set yourself, not the standards that those around you set. Getting caught up in petty competition with those around you is toxic and will lead to constant disappointment and feelings of inferiority.</p>
<p>“Getting caught up in petty competition with those around you is toxic and will lead to constant disappointment and feelings of inferiority.”</p>
<p>You do you and forget the rest. If you compare yourself to others, you’ll never be happy.
A little competition here and there is fine but don’t get fixated on it.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s a really great advice from both of you. My goal was a 28, but I got a 30. She made a 32. My standards were met. As for disappointment and feelings of inferiority… I get those all the time. Thanks for the tips, guys!</p>
<p>Do you really want to get attention from people because of your ACT score? Honestly, I hope you beat the people you’re competing with so you can see that it’s not going to make you any happier. </p>
<p>I’ve spent all of high school competing in everything I did and now that it’s almost over I wish I hadn’t. I see where I’m probably going to end up going to college and I know that I could’ve gotten to exactly the same place with the same scholarships by working half as hard as I did. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent doing work that I hated that I now realize I didn’t have to do. Loosen up while you still can.</p>
<p>Of course, this isn’t all about me, but you really remind me of me. I’m just telling you what I wish I had heard.</p>
<p>So people just go around asking what you got? It seems like you could deflect those questions if you wanted to. </p>
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<p>It helps to just accept that you’re almost always going to “lose” in competition because the world is a big place and someone is always going to be better than you. In the grand scheme of things, you and your competition are well above average and you’ll probably all be okay (or you’ll all be equally screwed, depending on whether you want to be optimistic about the job market or not).</p>
<p>^Very good point.
There will ALWAYS be someone better. So stop worrying (I know, easier said than done, haha!). Remember that in the context of the general population, your excellence in academia makes you a freak of nature, in a good way!</p>
<p>Remember to always compare yourself to your expectations. Had you not known her score, would not you have been pleased with yourself? Instead, you seem to make her score your new expectation, which it need not be. </p>
<p>When you hear of others’ scores, try to see their scores in light of their situation. Did they meet their goals? Make it a goal to encourage or congratulate others. I’ve found that it lessens my own anxiety over test performances.</p>
<p>Competition is great, it has plenty of benefits along side the negatives. </p>
<p>The way I (try to) overcome competition is by looking beyond what I’m getting at the present. Competition in high school, whether by being rank 7 or 9 or getting a 92 or 96 on test doesn’t matter too much in the long run, or more specifically, it doesn’t matter once you get to the college you want. Even if Mr. Bob got a higher test grade than you, just work as hard as you can to achieve not a better score than Mr. Bob, but to go to the college you want. Naturally, by moving your concerns onto a bigger task, you’ll being to outdo Mr. Bob.</p>
<p>I typically ignore people when they try to hold their better grades over me, because it’s usually only a couple of points. </p>
<p>One time though, I was having a bad day and I snapped at a guy who scored better than me on an algebra test freshman year…I ended up yelling at him about how he would feel if I constantly paraded my scores that were usually better than his around him after every test. Now he never asks to compare test scores, lol.</p>
<p>Lol I thought about this for a while. People in my school know I’m good at standardized testing, and I got a 2270 on the SAT (2300 superscored). That’s a good score. Could I have done better? Yeah.
Am I retaking it?
No.
Will there be those two or three kids that study really hard and do better than me?
Yeah.
But I never really studied, and honestly after a 2250, SAT scores are all the same unless they’re a 2400. At that point, it’s a matter of missing one or two questions. So if they end up scoring better than me, good for them. I considered taking it again to get 2300+, but honestly, it’s not worth the effort. Plus one of my New Year’s resolutions is to be less competitive ;)</p>
<p>I know what you mean with the competitiveness and everything. All the kids in my grade are always comparing scores and stuff. Look at it this way, though: if someone is happy when he or she “beats” you by a couple points, you should be flattered that you have set high standards for your classmate. They look up to you as someone smart and consider “beating” you an achievement to be proud of .</p>
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