When I was in school, I used to compete with Shashwati Atwe, to secure the first rank in my class.
This is a classic example of there a Win/Lose system.
If I win, Shashwati loses.
I could never win of course. Shashwati always beat me. She was smarter than most of us.
Later, when I got to know her… I realized that not only is she smart, but she is a kind person who loves helping people.
Anyway, that’s not the point.
In many areas of our life like school, sports and sometimes even family, we have the Win/Lose system in place.
It is based on dominance.
However, there can be a different way of doing things.
Can we choose to live in the abundance mindset?
Maybe we cant do that in sports, but what about other areas in life?
When I took part in Seth Godin’s altMBA, there were no grades. No competition. In fact, all the members generously provided inputs to others, with the hope of bringing out the best out of everyone.
It was an incredible experience.
We can definitely start by changing the education system.
I still see a lot of insecurity and fear among the students. I urge all the students to be aware of this fear and instead focus on helping their classmates with their progress.
I urge all the teachers to slowly revolt against the system and help create a system where students try to help each other, rather than wanting to suppress the other person.
I urge all the parents to not academically compare their 2nd child to the 1st one. Do not let them compete. Instead, see how the 2nd child can learn problem-solving skills from his brother.
Win/Win is always better than win-lose.
Like Seth Godin says, “We need to ask the question – What is a school for?”
Is the purpose of the school to give grades.
Or is it to create leaders who can make the world better by solving problems?