I live in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, and recently I made an interesting observation - street food tastes better here. Mauritius is small, so I have had the opportunity to sample street food from other places in the country many times over the years, and I have always been disappointed. On several occasions, I did so at the bequest of friends or acquaintances saying that this or that spot tastes amazing. Nine times out of ten, I know a better spot in the capital that sells something similar that tastes even better.

Eventually, I began asking myself why was this the case? Was I somehow emotionally attached to my hometown and its food stalls? Was it that there was some sort of common signature taste that I had gotten attached to? Was my judgement biased for one reason or another?

No, it’s just that competition raises the bar. In Port Louis, the sheer number of food stalls means that people have a larger number of options to choose from. Therefore, each stall must raise their standard. The food must be better. Those that cannot improve, simply get outsold and see their business shut down.

Interestingly, the same is true in every aspect of human endeavour. Wherever there is competition, the standard gets higher. People push each other to innovate and reach for higher extremes. Now why did I feel like this obvious thing was worth a blog post?

It is now my personal conviction that we must not shy away from competition or rivalry. There are some who advise others to seek niches in order to avoid competition. Why? Are you so confident you will not come out on top? What makes you think you cannot win?

There are many reasons why wartimes are some of the most innovative times in human history. The first world war led to the mass production and widespread usage of airplanes. The second world war resulted in the invention of the general purpose computer. People made it to the moon only because they were racing each other there. There are countless examples in history that illustrate how competition brought out the best results in collective human endeavours.

If we wish to do great work, competition is irrelevant. The overall standard is what matter. Can we raise the bar on our own work?