Origins, Benefits and Limitations of Competition.
My advice to you? Start small (BUT START), show up and give it all.
COMPETITION AS A TOOL FOR GROWTH
Competition is an inherent part of human nature, and it has been present in our lives since we were children. Take kids for example, they are often fascinated with trying to see who can draw the best pictures or run the fastest or throw the farthest; that is because they're trying to figure out what their basic competencies are, what they're good at, in comparison to their peers to construct a distinct identity, a sense of who they are as unique human beings. Healthy competition is a very natural and important stage in our psychological development and in fact, it very often brings out the best in us and gives us a reason to discover our hidden potential and abilities within ourselves.
While some may view competition as a negative force, it is actually an essential tool for personal and societal growth and development. Whether it is in sports, academics, or the workplace, competition pushes us to work harder and strive for excellence, motivating us to set and achieve important goals. Without competition, we may become complacent and stagnant in our personal and professional lives.
Competition also plays a vital role in the development of society as a whole. In a competitive market, businesses are forced to innovate and improve their products and services to remain competitive. This leads to the creation of new technologies, products, and services that improve the quality of life for people all over the world. In addition, competition fosters a culture of excellence and accountability. When individuals or organisations compete, they are held accountable for their actions and results. This can lead to greater transparency and honesty, which are essential qualities for any successful society.
However, it is important to note that competition can have negative effects if it is not managed properly. When competition becomes too intense or is based solely on winning at all costs, it can lead to negative consequences, such as cheating, aggression, and a lack of cooperation.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU
But why is competition such a powerful force for humans? Probably part of it involves historical and even evolutionary factors, since nearly all of human history, except for our modern era, has been governed by the logic of scarce and limited resources, where the one who was better and quicker at fighting and competing for hunting and fishing would secure food for the family.
Even if today, at least in first world countries, very few of us feel the need to compete for basic necessities like food, the impulse to compete remains and it is reflected into many other areas of our lives such as our thirst for wealth, status, influence, power, attractiveness, popularity etc.
Another reason why competition is such a powerful force has to do with how us, as children, have been socialized and more specifically socialized into believing that winning in competitions of various types is the whole point of human existence.
So it has a lot to do with the kind of experiences and…games we’ve been exposed to as kids; if these activities were more competitive then cooperative, they taught us the subliminal lesson that being a winner is what matters in this world and that we have to defeat our fellow competitors whenever possible.
PRINCE NEEDED MICHAEL JACKSON
In fashion, architecture, music, whatever field you’re in, healthy competition lets you appreciate how hard a person goes. Let’s take Prince and Michael Jackson as an example: they shared for decades an ongoing rivalry that went well beyond music chart domination. But after their death, more in-depth research were made and worldwide press was extremely surprise to find out the truth..they respected each other so much.
Yes, they were extremely competitive but as fellow African Americans and as fellow music pioneers, they recognised each other’s struggles and achievements. By kicking each other’s butts in a never-ending competition, they never stopped improving their music, living an amazing legacy to the world.
IF YOU COMPETE AGAINST OTHERS YOU BECOME BITTER, IF YOU COMPETE AGAINST YOURSELF YOU BECOME BETTER
Not a lot of people know that the real meaning of the word “compete” comes from the Latin word “competere”, which means to strive together.
This can help up to start looking at competition as a partnership.
In a recent study, athletes were asked this question: “When would you run faster?”
a) by yourself
b) with someone else
Most of them picked the second option and the reason is that we need other people to push us to a level that we could not get to on our own. At the same time it is important to know that each of us need to run our own individual race, there is nobody to beat except ourselves. Believe it or not, the biggest competitors in the world are a lot less worried about the competition.
Do you really think that Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever, knew how fast his competitors were swimming in their own practices? Absolutely not, he just practiced every single day to make sure that his time was faster than he could ever imagine his time being. He won most of his races not because he was trying to beat anybody else but because his time for himself was a lot faster than everybody else's time for themselves. So the key learning here is that you got to work on your game and become a better version of yourself. Period.
Try and change your perspective from “ME vs YOU” to “ME with YOU” and if you want to take it a level deeper
“ME vs MYSELF YESTERDAY”
with
“YOU vs YOURSELF YESTERDAY”
By looking at competition this way, we’ve completely changed the “enemy”, in fact with this new awareness, your fellow competitors become your partners in challenge, where all of you individually are trying to beat your “yesterday’s selves”.
COCKTAIL COMPETITIONS BENEFITS
Now that we went over the origin of competition, the importance it has in our society and the reason why we should balance healthy competition with collaboration and cooperation, not rivalry, it is time to contextualise all this to our industry and specifically to Cocktail Competitions. Please don’t make the mistake to think that Competitions are a shortcut for success.
It is a tool that we can use to become better professionals, improve our confidence, push our own boundaries, discover new flavours and techniques, train our creativity and get connected with the Bartender Community. We could use Competitions to motivate our Staff to work together towards a common goal thus creating a little extra sparkle inside the team. Some can work on the recipe, somebody else on the story, others on the flow of the performance etc.
By doing so, you can tighten the relationship with your Bar Team and make them feel even more involved, recognised and understood.
START SMALL..BUT START!
I do a lot of 1:1 online coaching for Bartenders globally, helping them from their very first competition to something a little more advanced, to a national one all the way to Global Competition Finals and every time, I want to make sure that people don't make the mistake to demand too much of themselves.
I’m talking about being humble. In Competitions start small. A great way to assess yourself is to start with a local Competition. This could be a neighbourhood Bar Competition for example, where the prices could be something as little as a free drink or a bottle of liqueur.
This could be an amazing opportunity to start assessing yourself on how you feel speaking in public and how you respond to just a little bit of pressure from these friendly contests. If there are no Competitions in your neighbourhood, in your city, in your village, talk to your manager and look into ways to organise one yourselves, bring in colleagues, get connected to the Bartender Community.
I understand, you won't have a huge media coverage…but you can initially use smaller Competitions as going to the gym and work on some of your potential fears like the fear of people’s judgement, to train on how you respond to specific timings in which you need to prepare your cocktails, explore your approach to checklists, to logistics and preparation etc.
It is also very important to assess yourself right after a Competition, when the experience is still fresh, in order to understand if you’ve given 100% (and if not, why) and what you could have done better.
If you don’t rush the process, you’ll see that little by little, you will develop your own way of preparing, researching, studying, rehearsing, organising yourself and performing.
SOMETIMES YOU WIN, EVERY TIME YOU LEARN
Most of the times we learn more from the experience of “not winning” than from the pleasure of winning. That's because winning basically just confirms what you are already doing, it tells you… “you did well, just keep doing it”. But “”not winning” sets up a much greater challenge for you as it tells you what you need to change, perhaps by refining your skills or doubling your efforts or maybe by finding a completely new area of improvement you weren’t expecting to need.
“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS NOT WHERE YOU WILL ARRIVE, BUT WHAT YOU’LL BECOME WHILE YOU GET THERE”
I just love this quote as it summarises the correct mental approach to Cocktail Competitions! Whatever is the result, the crucial thing that you need to consider is what you have become after this experience: while preparing for your Competition, you have probably worked with new flavours, techniques, new concepts, new researches, all things that will now become part of your toolbox on your path to becoming a professional Ninja in your field, nobody can take all this away from you.
After a Competition you will experience an internal transformation both as a professional and as a person, a transformation that, if used in the correct way, can skyrock your carrier and your personal growth, believe me.
I always say this to the Bartenders I coach: show up, give it all and repeat.
Take all the opportunities to show up and test yourself through Competitions.
Always give it all you can give.
Do it again.
If you instead want to go to a Global Competition straight away, it's really important that you ask yourself…am I really ready?
To be competitive, build your competence. Just like anything in life, if you want to be in a competitive situation, you have to work on your competence. I understand, you want to win, so tweak your competence, not your desire to win or the desire to be like someone else who already won.
Competition is not the bad thing; lack of competence is the bad thing.
If you focus enough on enhancing your competence, you will experience such a joy in breaking your own limitations every day, that you won’t even have the time to be interested on what (and how) your fellow competitors are doing or preparing themselves.
But wait a minute Max, why shouldn’t I go straight for a badass Global Competition? You told me to constantly push myself!!
Yes, but you can do push yourself gradually and start developing all the skills that you need to develop. Then take it from there, take it to the next level. I don’t want you to feel frustrated after your very first Competition and then hear from you the usual line that goes like this…
“I’m not a Competition Bartender”…making the mistake to give up and miss future opportunities that can potentially help your career through attending Competitions.
So…start small (BUT START), show up and give it all.
Your N. 1 fan!
Max La Rocca
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FREE COCKTAIL COMPETITION NINJA COMMUNITY
https://maxlarocca.com/ninja-community
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https://maxlarocca.com/coaching
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