As students and faculty of West Texas A&M, we are familiar with Gallup’s StrengthsQuest. WTAMU is partnering with the Gallup, Inc. to become a strengths-based campus, which will engage students in challenging and meaningful experiences that aid in their intellectual and personal development. It is important to know our strengths because they help us discover and talk about people’s greatest talents.

Garrett Brockman, senior marketing and economics major, presented the theme of the week, Competition, to students and faculty last Thursday to deep the theme’s unique characteristics. Garrett’s strengths, in order, are Competition, Adaptability, Self-Assurance, Empathy and Communication. People exceptionally talented in the competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others, and they strive to win first place and revel in contests. People with strong Competition talents have the ability to stimulate themselves and others to a higher standard of performance. They can raise a group’s achievement level by creating a culture of winning and an aspiration to be the best. In other words, people talented in the Competition theme have an enduring relationship with victory.

Garrett says, “Competition has forced me to become better at what I do throughout all aspects of life, like sports and jobs. I have a natural drive wanting to be the best and that makes me work harder day in and day out to be the best I can be.”

Other words to describe those who possess the Competition theme are winner, comparer, and scorekeeper. Gallup.com says that Competition is rooted in comparison. When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other people’s performance. Their performance is the ultimate yardstick. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how worthy your intentions, if you reached you goal but did not outperform your peers, the achievement feels hollow. Like all competitors, you need other people to compare. If you can compare, you can compete, and if you can compete, you can win. And when you win, there is no feeling quite like it because you compete to win. Over time you will come to avoid contests where winning seems unlikely.

How does someone with the theme of Competition reach success? When you win, investigate why you won. You can learn a great deal more from a victory than from a loss. Sometimes people think Competition is intimidating. Let people know that being competitive does not equate with putting others down. Explain that you derive satisfaction from pitting yourself against good, strong competitors and winning. And don’t forget to take the time to celebrate your wins. In your world, there is no victory without celebrations! Competition is a great strength to have, despite the misunderstanding that people who possess it are intimidating. They just have the drive and awareness that winning does matter.

Howard Cosell says, “The ultimate victory in competition is derived from the inner satisfaction of knowing that you have done your best and that you have gotten the most out of what you had to give.”