Is Life a Competition? Here’s the Red Pilled Truth You Don’t Want to Accept

Uncovering the dark truths about life that society isn’t able to accept…

I’m sure you’ve heard people saying it before:

“Life isn’t a competition, and you should never compare yourself to others.”

Or:

“We’re all on our own paths.”

However, I’m here to tell you today that you’re wrong.

Life absolutely and utterly is a competition, whether you want to accept it or not.

And those who aren’t able to accept this, or choose not to view life this way, simply get left behind.

You see, in a world where opportunities and success are often scarce, especially in the graduate job markets, it’s essential to approach life with a competitive mindset.

You have to want to best for yourself, and you have to want to win!

In this article, we’re going to explore the ‘red pill’ perspective on whether life is really a competition or just a casual journey.

I’ll go over why you SHOULD view life as a competition, and what this means for you as an ambitious, high performing, goal-oriented student who wants to win in this hypercompetitive environment.

Why You Should View Life as a Competition

First of all, let me just give you a little bit of insight.

If you’re a student, take a look at some of the areas of your life that you’re likely focusing on right now, or at least have on your radar.

• Your academics
• Your future career path
• Dating

Academics

The competitive nature of life becomes particularly evident in the realm of academics.

From getting good grades in school to earning scholarships and recognition awards, the academic world is a constant competition between you and your fellow classmates and schoolmates.

Now, of course, whether you get an ‘A’ or an ‘F’ on your exam, isn’t a competition.

That part is completely up to you, and someone else’s performance isn’t going to affect the grades you receive in school.

However, think about it.

Why are we working hard in school to receive good grades?

It’s so that we can hopefully get things like scholarships, offers to the best universities, funding support from the top firms, etc.

Now that, is certainly a competition.

Future opportunities can be determined by your performance compared to your peers, and the best awards, like the scholarships and recognition, go to those who can excel beyond what their peers are capable of.

If you don’t view this as a competition, and instead, only try to be better than yourself, you might end up falling behind your classmates and lose your chances of winning those awards and opportunities that you want.

You probably won’t even know it, or will be in denial of it, saying that ‘everybody is on their own path.’

These sayings are just a way for those who are already falling behind to cope, and should not be taken seriously if you’re an ambitious student wanting to achieve the best results in life.

You should always aim and strive to be better than your competition, regardless of any advantages or disadvantages you may have.

Who cares if someone has wealthier parents than you?

That’s not an excuse for you to not do your best and achieve success.

Who cares if you needed to work a part time job and buy your own car?

I’ll share with you one of my favorite quotes form Alex Hormozi:

“There’s somebody who had it worse, and done better.”

Future Career Prospects

This idea of academics leads me into the nest point, which is your future career path and opportunities.

Whether you’re applying for internships or full time job offers, you’re always going to be competing against other candidates who want the same job as you.

If you get the job offer, you win, right?

Or, if you’re part of the majority who don’t, you lose.

Isn’t that what a competition is?

As a future job seeker, you will be competing against other people who want the same things as you.

You need to make sure that you can do better than them; build up more credibility than they can, gain more work experience than they can, work harder and smarter than they can.

It absolutely is a fierce competition out there in the job market.

Dating

Now, from a slightly different approach.

Whether you’re already in a relationship, searching for one, or haven’t really started to think about it yet, dating is another area of your life that is a fierce competition.

You’ll often be competing with others for the affection of a potential romantic partner when it comes to matters of the heart.

This competition isn’t about objectifying people or treating them as prizes to be won.

No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.

Instead, I’m saying you need to recognize that in the dating world, there are often multiple people interested in the same individuals, and in order for someone to get what they want, someone else, or many other people, have to miss out.

It may sound quite harsh, but it’s a tough reality that every student, and everyone, will face at some point in their lives if they want to find love in this life.

Therefore, you should be able to see that it is imperative to develop the right social skills, build enough self-confidence, and understand the value of mutual respect in order to navigate this dating competition.

To learn more, check out this article below:

Remember, when you land that first date, or get yourself a girlfriend or boyfriend, chances are, there was someone else who wanted the same thing with that person too.

Maybe you’ve been that person.

The point is, this is definitely a competition, and believing those sayings like: “everyone has a soul mate” or “the right person will come at the right time” simply won’t get you anywhere.

Anyone who has said that, or believed that those things have happened to them, would’ve definitely still been working hard to develop themselves, and just not realized that it was the work they’d put in that allowed them to become a winner in the competition.

So What Does This Mean for You as an Ambitious Student?

Here’s what I think you should take away from this article if you’re a highly ambitious student who wants to achieve real success in life, and isn’t afraid to believe the opposite of what today’s soft society tells us.

Always Work Hard and Smart, and Strive to be Your Best

It’s important hat you learn to work both hard and smart, as that’s ultimately the combinationt hat will result in the most success.

Hard work is about being willing to work long hours and do what you need to do, even if you don’t feel like it.

Working smart, on the other hand, means doing things as efficiently as possible, and making the most out of the time you spend working.

In essence, it’s using your time effectively and not wasting it.

Ultimately, working smart can lead to more efficient and effective results, and amplify the effects of your hard work.

Read more:

Keep on Improving, and Don’t Settle for Mediocrity or Being Average

The commitment to learning should never end.

Ever.

Always keep on working hard to be better than you were yesterday, and if you notice yourself falling behind, don’t lie to yourself!

Hold yourself accountable!

Put in the extra hours, run the extra miles, and do whatever you need to do to get back on track, and ensure you’re on a good trajectory to place well in this complex game of life.

Encourage Healthy Competition

The goal of healthy competition is not to view your peers as adversaries, enemies or opponents.

Instead, look at those doing better than you, or those who have surpassed you, as opportunities to motivate yourself to work harder and do better.

No one in this world is doing the absolute most they can, and there’s always something more that each of us could be doing.

Using competition as a motivator will allow you to set higher standards for the work you do and the achievements you achieve.

Team up with your peers, learn from them, allow them to learn from you, and all push yourselves collectively to success as much as possible.

Final Words

Society often rejects ideas like this, and that’s why it’s commonly referred to as the ‘red pill’ mentality.

However, my argument is that the red pill perspective on life and whether or not it’s a competition isn’t about adopting a cutthroat attitude or undermining the others around you.

Instead, it’s about accepting the reality of the world and using it as a source of motivation.

Use your failures as motivation to work harder and be better than your competition, and take advantage of your wins or strengths to ensure you can get the best for yourself!

Remember, if you don’t view life as a competition, you’re setting yourself up to fall behind, without even knowing it or being able to accept it.

If you’d like to learn more about becoming a high achieving student and excelling in all aspects of student life, beyond simply academics, check out the rest of the Medium publication, Grad Excel!

Other than that, all the best to you, and good luck in this tough competition in this game called life that we all seem to play.