The Benefits of Competition

Sometimes as people who have been raiding for a long time, we get comfortable.  Sometimes, too comfortable.  We know when it is time to raid, what to do, and do what we can.  But it also can be at times that you do the same thing over and over again and get very comfortable.

However, if you want to light a fire under your ass in raiding, bring another person of the same class and spec as you into a raid.  My guild is currently trying out a new moonkin who applied.  Last night going into the raid, I had one goal in my mind.  Outperform this guy on every standard whether DPS, raid awareness, being where I need to, etc.  Not that our raid couldn't use two moonkins.  I personally feel the more druids, the happier the raid.  However, being the person who has been in the guild longer, I felt it necessary to outperform him.

Competition is healthy and good, especially for raiders.  As we get comfortable with fights and raiding, we have a tendency to get lazy and make mistakes we normally wouldn't.  Competition will snap you out of it in a hurry.  When you know that you want to excel in performance, you get more on your game.  It is the same way athletes thrive on competition.  They are good normally, but in the heat of competition, some people excel and some people fall. 

In addition, it shows you take pride in what you do.  It allows you to say that I am up to this certain standard and I'm able to compete with any person who steps into this raid of my class and spec.  It allows me to say that I do everything that I can to the best of my ability.   

However, this can go too far as well.  The whole problem with Gear Score is people judging people by their gear instead of their performance.  It is a very bad way to be competitive.  However, it is better to be competitive on things that matter, like DPS or being where you need to be in certain circumstances.  Some things matter in competition but some things mean very very little.  It is important to find what things are okay to be competitive with and what things are not.

So the next time your guild recruits somebody of the same class as  you, don't demean their gear or put them down unless they truly deserve it.  Instead, look at it as competition that will raise your game to the next higher level.  Trust me, you will be thankful for it.