The question of being cooperative or competitive is an interesting and thought- provoking one. On one hand, there is the choice of being a part of the crowd or team to foster team-spirit and camaraderie, and on the other hand there is the prospect of being an outstanding and preeminent human being. When I ponder over the choice of whether to be competitive or to be cooperative, I conclude that it is indeed more politic and fruitful to be cooperative than to be competitive.
To begin with, cooperation is term that encompasses a lot of virtues as trust, concerted effort to attain a goal, empathy, to name a few that make a human being a noble person, and these qualities also have a salutary effect on the psyche of other people who are involved in any endeavor with the person. For example, in any project that requires mutual collaboration and pooling of ideas as the development of a software, or constructing a complex finance product, the success of the project depends on the cooperation of the people involved in it, and the more helpful people are towards each other, the more successful the project is and higher the morale of the team is lifted, even to the extent that the team-members can serve as paragons of efficiency and caliber to others in the organization.
Then again, there are a lot of situations and professions that require people to overlook their self-interest for the greater good of team, or the society and country as a whole. A case in point may be quoted from the teamwork spirit of the game of football, where the urge to make each other succeed can lead to the glory and victory of the entire team. Not surprisingly, the coaches always look for teammates with a feeling of cooperation and inculcate the same repeatedly in the training sessions.
Furthermore, in modern day world, the urge to remain competitive has had a detrimental effect on the attitude of people who are exerting themselves too much, or even employing all the fair and foul means for attaining the success, often quoting and maligning the saying "The ends justify the means". It is not uncommon to witness parents exhorting their wards to put in more study hours to remain ahead in the race, professionals in any company trying to outstrip each others in their superior's eyes, or for that matter even corporations vying with each other to garner a huge market share by completely outwitting their competitors. In contrast to this situation, if people were to step behind a bit and reflect seriously on virtues of cooperating versus competing, the miseries in the lives of several individuals would be alleviated, and we would definitely have lesser cases of people with nervous-breakdowns, hypertension, anxiety related stress, corporate lawsuits and even fewer cases of government intervention to uphold corporate governance and probity in public life.
It may however be argued, and not entirely without reason, that there are places and situations where one has to harness his inner capabilities to utmost, or there could be instances where being cooperative is not a choice and is simply a manifestation of gullibility and lack of vigor and stamina. For example, in a class, there cannot be any case of cooperation where each student's scorecard is for his own and consequently the student has to make the maximum effort in academics. However, we ought to remember that even though a few instances require individuals to be indomitable, even aggressive, for their own-selves and leave with little choice than becoming competitive, such situations are a part of bigger picture where again becoming cooperative becomes important and can bring out the best and the latent qualities of the individual. When a student studies as a part of study group and helps fellow pupils, his understanding and range of knowledge is invariably enhanced and he also learns softer skills as people-handling, interaction with others which prove to be invaluable in the long run.
In summary, while it is comprehensible and occasionally justifiable that a few challenging situations in life demand the individual to be competitive to prove his own mettle, being cooperative does not in any way inhibit the competitive spirit of an individual and can serve as a complementary attribute. Especially in the cases where the individual has to contribute on his own while ensuring that the triumphant outcome of an endeavor depends on effort and outlook of others as well, mutual cooperation can result in realization of all the expected goals, and may even result in individuals becoming stronger and more capable.
To begin with, cooperation is term that encompasses a lot of virtues as trust, concerted effort to attain a goal, empathy, to name a few that make a human being a noble person, and these qualities also have a salutary effect on the psyche of other people who are involved in any endeavor with the person. For example, in any project that requires mutual collaboration and pooling of ideas as the development of a software, or constructing a complex finance product, the success of the project depends on the cooperation of the people involved in it, and the more helpful people are towards each other, the more successful the project is and higher the morale of the team is lifted, even to the extent that the team-members can serve as paragons of efficiency and caliber to others in the organization.
Then again, there are a lot of situations and professions that require people to overlook their self-interest for the greater good of team, or the society and country as a whole. A case in point may be quoted from the teamwork spirit of the game of football, where the urge to make each other succeed can lead to the glory and victory of the entire team. Not surprisingly, the coaches always look for teammates with a feeling of cooperation and inculcate the same repeatedly in the training sessions.
Furthermore, in modern day world, the urge to remain competitive has had a detrimental effect on the attitude of people who are exerting themselves too much, or even employing all the fair and foul means for attaining the success, often quoting and maligning the saying "The ends justify the means". It is not uncommon to witness parents exhorting their wards to put in more study hours to remain ahead in the race, professionals in any company trying to outstrip each others in their superior's eyes, or for that matter even corporations vying with each other to garner a huge market share by completely outwitting their competitors. In contrast to this situation, if people were to step behind a bit and reflect seriously on virtues of cooperating versus competing, the miseries in the lives of several individuals would be alleviated, and we would definitely have lesser cases of people with nervous-breakdowns, hypertension, anxiety related stress, corporate lawsuits and even fewer cases of government intervention to uphold corporate governance and probity in public life.
It may however be argued, and not entirely without reason, that there are places and situations where one has to harness his inner capabilities to utmost, or there could be instances where being cooperative is not a choice and is simply a manifestation of gullibility and lack of vigor and stamina. For example, in a class, there cannot be any case of cooperation where each student's scorecard is for his own and consequently the student has to make the maximum effort in academics. However, we ought to remember that even though a few instances require individuals to be indomitable, even aggressive, for their own-selves and leave with little choice than becoming competitive, such situations are a part of bigger picture where again becoming cooperative becomes important and can bring out the best and the latent qualities of the individual. When a student studies as a part of study group and helps fellow pupils, his understanding and range of knowledge is invariably enhanced and he also learns softer skills as people-handling, interaction with others which prove to be invaluable in the long run.
In summary, while it is comprehensible and occasionally justifiable that a few challenging situations in life demand the individual to be competitive to prove his own mettle, being cooperative does not in any way inhibit the competitive spirit of an individual and can serve as a complementary attribute. Especially in the cases where the individual has to contribute on his own while ensuring that the triumphant outcome of an endeavor depends on effort and outlook of others as well, mutual cooperation can result in realization of all the expected goals, and may even result in individuals becoming stronger and more capable.
