What is Good Competition?

The ways viewing competition have gone drastically in two directions. The first direction is where the competition means everything to them and if they don't win it they act like the are going to die.  Competing with these people is no fun, because it takes the enjoyment out of the actual competition.  The people who view these competitions this way are normally very cruel to you in the competition and you don't want to be around them because of it.  Also, the people who are this way tend to also act very snooty to others when they don't do as well in the competition or when they mess up.  There is no reason to be snooty and or  cruel to anyone over a competition even if it is your life long passion.  It's just very bad sportsmanship, because the people who are competing in it are most likely just doing it for fun.  The other direction people tend to go in when they view competitions is that it's only for fun and it doesn't really matter.  These people are also no fun to compete against, because they don't try their hardest and they tend to be really passive.  Most people like some competition and if they are competing against or with people who don't care and don't try their hardest they don't have any fun, because when and if they win they want to know they won because they were the best at it and not just the person who didn't care about it.  The people who view competition in either of these ways really don't get the point of competition.  Competition is a fun way to test and compare your abilities against other people and at the same time learning from what they know.  Competition is not a way to prove you are better then anyone else nor is it something that just doesn't matter.  The best way to have fun in a competition is when people view it in a way that says that they care about what they are competing in, but don't think that if they win they will somehow be better then anyone else.  Competitions really need more of these people instead of the other two, so the next time you go to a competition try to be the person who sees what competition is really about.