Completing Not Competing: How to Build Stronger Relationships

Sometimes competition can quietly creep in and contaminate great relationships. When competition is unhealthy and misplaced, it has no bounds and can corrupt some of the closest relationships. Competition can creep in between friendships, partnerships, and relationships. Competition can exist within family members, between siblings, within marriages between spouses, and even occur between parent and child.

Know how to recognize the undercover competitions in your life. This refers to an underlying competitive spirit that has started to negatively erode an otherwise positive relationship. This can easily occur when we begin comparing ourselves to another person and inadvertently crossover to developing a competitive nature. This can also occur from the other person in the relationship, where you can detect that when you share your success they are more investigative than celebratory. As a result, you have someone who doesn’t really want the best for you but rather challenging whether you deserve it over them. It’s an unhealthy competitive atmosphere.

To avoid competing, focus on completing. We should focus on understanding what we can do to help others achieve a more holistic approach to their fulfillment. To be clear, we don’t have to provide the pieces to help them complete themselves but we should support their journey, discovery, and self-awareness to find it for themselves. Perform a competition checkup to scan and protect your valued friendships and relationships. You might laugh, but it would be worth your review to ensure the key relationships that should be helping to develop you aren’t leading to draining you.

Here are some tips on how to avoid unhealthy competition in relationships:

1. Recognize the signs of unhealthy competition - this could include feelings of envy, jealousy, or a need to outdo the other person.

2. Avoid comparing yourself to others - focus on your own strengths and abilities rather than constantly comparing yourself to those around you.

3. Celebrate each other's successes - when someone in your life achieves something great, celebrate their success rather than feeling threatened by it.

4. Encourage and support each other - focus on helping each other achieve your goals rather than trying to outdo each other.

5. Practice gratitude - focus on what you have rather than what you lack. A grateful attitude can help shift your focus away from unhealthy competition.

6. Communicate openly and honestly - talk to the other person about how you feel and work together to find a solution that works for both of you.

7. Focus on personal growth - instead of trying to compete with others, focus on improving yourself and achieving your own personal goals.

Remember, healthy relationships are built on trust, respect, and mutual support. By avoiding unhealthy competition and focusing on completing rather than competing, you can build stronger and more fulfilling relationships.

Stay uplifted!