I was always placed in competitive situations as a child. It seems EVERYTHING I was involved with in some way was competitive - dance competitions, piano competitions, beauty pagents, casting calls, etc. I think one of the reasons I had such low self esteme when I was in my late teens up until about my early 30's was due to the "banging my head against the wall" competitions I was thrust into. It all seemed a losing battle for me and all it taught me was to hate the activity I was involved in.
I'm sure this is not the case of all children, but it sure did a hoot of damage to me as a child and took many years to un-do. I think it would've been different if I learned to love te activity first and the competitive part was secondary. It is something I had to learn for myself much later in life. I'm just glad I was able to learn it.
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