The Futility of Endless Competition
In school, the only way I could make my parents proud was by claiming the first position in class. The day I finally achieved it, the joy was overwhelming. Everyone at home celebrated, and for a week, I was treated like royalty. But when I slipped to second or third place, it felt like I had lost everything. This relentless competition didn’t end with school—it followed me into my career. Many businesses, too, are stuck in cycles of rivalry, fighting endlessly against competitors and forgetting why they started. Amid this chaos, we rarely stop to ask: Will what I’m fighting for still matter in 10 years? Sometimes, conflict is necessary. When it is, fight decisively and win. But meaningless wars leave everyone worse off. True innovation allows us to succeed without throwing a single punch.
