<p>I used to be really, really competitive. As in, if anyone was smarter or better than me at anything academic I'd keep a very close eye on him and constantly try to beat him on every test. But then somewhere around 10th grade or so I stopped doing that, and now I kinda just look up to smart people rather than envying them. Like "whoa, you're good at math. neat. so what else is new?"</p>
<p>How competitive do you think you are? How competitive do other people think you are? How competitive do you think the people who think you're competitive are? Etc.?</p>
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I used to be really, really competitive. As in, if anyone was smarter or better than me at anything academic I'd keep a very close eye on him and constantly try to beat him on every test.
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<p>That's kind of how I am. I am a pretty competitive person.</p>
<p>I am somewhat competitive, but less so on tests that don't matter much, more so on SAT's and overall GPA. However, I respect my intelligent peers, and I think some, at least, recognize that and respect me as well. Our "competition" isn't to the extent that we wouldn't help each other out with the material.</p>
<p>I am slightly competitive. I know I might sound a bit conceited saying this, but there really is no one at school for me to compete with, but occasionally I might get a point or 2 lower on a test than someone else, who immediately then thinks s/he is master of the universe.</p>
<p>haha. :) i guess i'm pretty competitive. i mean, i don't go around asking people their grades. i don't share my test grades or PSAT grades or anything without people asking, but secretly (shhh, don't tell anyone) i compare in my head, and even when i try not to, it happens. we generally help each out in school, but sometimes when people take advantage of me, i get really mad. but when a stupid person cheats off my test or something, and i know they'll still end up getting a bad grade, i don't really care. however, if like another smart person just like copies off of me or like leaves me to do all the work in a group project i will care. get it? :)</p>
<p>I'm not that competitive when it comes to grades.</p>
<p>Sports, on the other hand, I'm so competitive that PE was absolutely no fun for me. It doesn't matter the "significance" I go all out when it comes to sports no matter what.</p>
<p>I think I'm naturally a competitive person. Although I don't consider myself to be an athlete, I always get hyped up in gym when we play a game. Even if it's a board game I start talking smack (but all out of fun and games of course!). So naturally, it's the same thing for academics, mathletes, and quizbowl. As of this moment (junior year), I rank 2nd in my class. The top ~5 kids are really close friends, but ironicall we're our worst enemies too. When a big test rolls around, we sometimes exchange death threats (as jokes of course, but it shows how competitive we get).</p>
<p>Not a very academically competitive person, really. (Or in general. I hate really competitive things, but they come often in life if you want to truly enjoy yourself, so...I deal with it when it comes up.) Others doing well does not motivate me to strive for more success. I simply try to do as well as I can without being extremely stressed out. Especially at the high school level. The only reason I would ever have for being even semi-competitive is to get to a particular college of choice, but I've realized more and more recently that being valedictorian, taking on leadership roles in various ECs, and generally busting my butt isn't worth it as much, seeing as I don't really care if I go to a place that isn't extremely competitive. I'm okay with that. As long as I don't go to some extremely low-end school, I have little preference other than maybe location.</p>
<p>I also let low-grade people copy off me, but not the people who compete with me for rank. If they are ranked that high, then they should know how to do it by themselves. Also, I work hard enough to make sure that no one beats me at anything.</p>
<p>I'm usually not competitive at all.
when it comes to things like SATs and college acceptances though... I can get crazy.
I've spent hours trying to find out peoples SAT scores without actually asking and without them noticing....</p>
<p>I've learned to not be very competitive with others, because in the end, it's a harmful tendency.</p>
<p>All through middle school and early high school, I fended off feelings of insecurity by comparing my academic performance to that of others. But it slowly became clear that by doing so, my insecurity became more profound and my esteem was based on the fragile foundation of test scores and GPA. Even worse, especially when I was younger, I used my high scores as a way to hold myself above other people. When you're measuring yourself by your grade point average, it's hard not to extend that ruler to others as well. My competitiveness made me arrogant, condescending, and paranoid that I would be "dethroned." It was only when I met other people at my high school of similar predilections that I realized how unpleasant this drive made me.</p>
<p>I don't want to be that person feigning humility while 'subtly' inserting my SAT scores into the conversation. I don't want to be condescending as a way of reassuring myself that I am valuable. I don't want to drive away intelligent, admirable, kind people with my boasting.</p>
<p>These tendencies still get the best of me sometimes. But I've tried very hard in the past two years to develop myself morally and intellectually, instead of just academically, so that I can feel confident and secure enough to eliminate my need for statistics. Now, admiration feels genuine, not just like genteel jealousy. And when I feel free to make mistakes, I found I learn a lot more. Instead of measuring myself against others, I measure myself against what I know I can do and there's something very satisfying about that.</p>
<p>Oh, man. Too many people try to compete with me--to tell you the truth it gets really annoying. Dude, the only competitor is yourself. Competing with others only lowers yourself; you have to constantly worry if you are doing better than your "buddy" and you consequently focus less on what you have to do. All in all, competing with others is not a smart thing to do. If you are motivated enough, you should have set your own goals high enough so that you will be better than everyone else without the competitive stress.</p>
<p>Control you mind, and you control your future.</p>
<p>Only when it comes to real competitions, like elections or science fair, not like, i've got to get a higher gpa than _____! But I can be killer during competitions. They're when I'm most focused. I pretty much win anything I want...:)</p>