Theodore Isaac Ruben, former president of the American Institute of Psychoanalysis, states in his 1980 essay “Competition and Happiness” taken from the book “Reconciliation: Inner Peace in an Age of Anxiety” , that competition serves as an unnecessary barrier to people’s ability to live happy and meaningful lives and that it “brings out the worst” in people. For this reason, he argues, competition leads to problems with identity, stress, emotional stability, feelings of self-worth, and what he describes as a “cycle” of a self-destructive state of mind that forces people to compete. He provides an example by describing a previously non-competitive Swiss university. Each student was assessed individually without quizzes or exams and only needed to learn and understand the material taught. According to Ruben, the Americans were not very motivated by this and responded by forming competitive groups. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While Ruben makes some excellent points, I personally disagree. Ruben tends to focus more on the negative aspects of the competition and neglects to consider the more positive characteristics. While competition has the potential to lead to an unbalanced life and possible physical/mental harm, there are also benefits such as perseverance, determination, the ability to deal with failure, and a mindset for success. For example, every sport involves competition in some way or form. In basketball, there is usually a team that you join. You use your mental abilities to formulate a goal for the game and the opposing team, as well as incorporate your physical characteristics to achieve that goal. The experience alone is beneficial because you become physically strengthened, able to access more parts of the brain or access them more quickly. Other benefits that Ruben neglects to mention are the friendships you would form with some of your competition's opponents. This fact contradicts the dark picture of competition he describes. As is known, friendships have a positive impact on a person's life. Since contests can provide opportunities to meet new people, contests can therefore make a person's life easier. Creativity can also come from competition, as you would strive to come up with new plans with a team or yourself on how to overcome presented obstacles or how to get from point A to point B the fastest. As the mind moves forward with fresh new ideas, one may think or reach this state of mind while working on a particular project and make more progress on it than one might have if this person had not participated in a competition . mind: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In short, I believe that competition is not a danger nor a complete harm to a person's life, as Ruben says. It would improve you mentally and physically, and while there is always the potential for negative effects like those mentioned, I imagine the benefits would far outweigh the cons if someone were to enter a competition. There is much more motivation to compete than the incentives provided, and this serves as a platform on which to build a better life thanks to the many valuable experiences that could emerge from it..