One common phenomenon that is peculiar to living things is the need to be competitive. While competition is good, it creates the impetus for progress.
If we are competing on the front that matters in the right way, it is all good. It is nonsensical things such as how many cafes that are notable in Singapore that you have visited, how many countries for holidays you and your spouse have visited, whether you manage to upgrade from a Japanese car to a continental car, then you will have your focus drive to questionable values.
I felt that career competition can be healthy and more often, not taken seriously enough by many chronic underperformers. They expect things to be handed on a silver platter to them and when things do not happen they tell the whole world about it.
What is important is that competition should be made with one self, and for the right thing at the appropriate amount. In the case of career, it is whether you have pushed yourself hard enough to put yourself in that position to progress.
That shift from competing with others, to compete with yourself, take some enlightenment. And I realize not everyone think like that. This requires some independent thinking.
And independent thinking allows you to compete with oneself for the right stuff with the right metrics. Marrying the spouse based on your own criteria not what your friends think should be the norm. Allocate the appropriate amount to building wealth, perhaps 70% instead of the usual 10% allocation. Holding only one of the best credit card for you instead of many. Have the best water filtration system at home compare to others because good water create profound effect.
When you compete, make sure it is for the right stuff.
Kyith is the Owner and Sole Writer behind Investment Moats. Readers tune in to Investment Moats to learn and build stronger, firmer wealth foundations, how to have a Passive investment strategy, know more about investing in REITs and the nuts and bolts of Active Investing.
Readers also follow Kyith to learn how to plan well for Financial Security and Financial Independence.
Kyith worked as an IT operations engineer from 2004 to 2019. Currently, he works as a Senior Solutions Specialist in Insurance Start-up Havend. All opinions on Investment Moats are his own and does not represent the views of Providend.
You can view Kyith's current portfolio here, which uses his Free Google Stock Portfolio Tracker.
His investment broker of choice is Interactive Brokers, which allows him to invest in securities from different exchanges all over the world, at very low commission rates, without custodian fees, near spot currency rates.
You can read more about Kyith here.
- New 6-Month Singapore T-Bill Yield in Late-April 2024 to Drop to 3.70% (for the Singaporean Savers) - April 18, 2024
- Golden Nuggets from JPMorgan Guide to Retirement 2024. - April 16, 2024
- Be Less Reliant on Banks and Build Stronger Capital Markets by Pushing for Better Shareholder Dividend and Buyback Yield - April 14, 2024
Andreas Schmidt
Sunday 30th of August 2015
Hi Kyith,
This great post reminds me of many fields where we erroneously think that we have to compete.
One is the stock market. Most of us who actively trade stocks are like weekend warriors who try to compete with professional athletes: we definitely will lose, and we might get hurt. That's why for me a passive index investing approach is the preferred vehicle to participate in the stock markets.
I focus my competitive energy on striving to make myself a better person (whatever that is) today than yesterday.
By this I become a creator rather than a competitor.
Kyith
Sunday 30th of August 2015
Hi Andreas,
Thanks for sharing. The efforts that you expand to worry about the market might not be something others are willing to take up, and thus passive approach has a role, but only if its sound in this part of the world.
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Best Regards,
Kyith