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When they are getting praised, promotions or that job you wanted the last thing you might feel like doing is thanking your competitors. The truth is however that you should be truly glad they exist – for these reasons:

1.They push you to do better

Having competition pushes you to do your very best, to try to stand out, to work harder. It’s much easier to slack off when you don’t need to worry about competitors doing better than you.

2.You can learn from them

If they are your competitors, then it is likely that there are some things you can learn from them. If you are able to admit to yourself that they might do some things better than you can then you have the advantage of being able to watch out for these things and to learn from them. You can also learn from their mistakes, and not make them for yourself.

3.People have something to compare you too…

…and if you play your cards right, then you can come out on top. If you have competition and you can prove that you are better than they are at what you do, then you will be more appreciated by colleagues, managers and clients than someone who has no competition and risks being taken for granted.

4.Their ideas can help you come up with your own

Creativity cannot exist in a vacuum. By observing your competitors and their ideas, you can come up with new ideas of your own or improve on existing ways of doing things that might not otherwise have crossed your mind. In other words, they can serve as a source of inspiration!

5.They stop you from stagnating

The competition won’t stop learning, improving and innovating, so neither will you. This means you are constantly improving yourself and it also keeps things interesting, whatever industry you happen to be in!

So next time you find yourself silently cursing your competitors, take a deep breath, think about what you can learn from the experience and raise your glass to them instead.

Paula Clarke

Paula Clarke

Paula is a Scottish expat living in Italy. Between her work as a marketing coordinator and consultant she runs marathons (slowly) and enjoys cooking, travelling, photography and art.

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