With stress on the rise due to cutthroat competition, it is high time that we learn from ancient wisdom that there is magical power in unity and collaboration.

While growing up all of us have heard the story or read the story titled “Bundle of sticks” but when life gets the best of us, the morals of age-old wisdom are easily forgotten by us.

The Bundle of sticks is Aesop’s fable whose moral is that there is strength in unity. The story goes like this:

An old man has three sons who constantly quarrel with each other. As he nears death, he calls them to him and gives them an object lesson in the need for unity. He ties a bundle of sticks together; he asks his sons to break them. When they fail, he unties the bundle and tells them to break each stick individually. All three sons are able to do so. Through this, he teaches them an important lesson that though each can be overcome alone, they are invincible when united.

Competition is hard-wired into us; as we humans had to compete to survive during our evolution. Its importance is evident in the fact that for us to excel and succeed, competition often motivates us to become better but, this same competition leads to backbiting, workplace politics, and stress when it is taken to an extreme.

While a little bit is beneficial, extreme competition can lead to unhealthy self-criticism reducing self-esteem. A win-lose scenario can drastically impact self-confidence, causing stress and anxiety. It is high time that we learn that losing is okay since it allows us to learn from our mistakes. It is important to replace trial and error with trial, learn, adjust and try again till we succeed.

In this dog-eat-dog world, cutthroat competition comes from limiting beliefs; when we believe in scarcity or a limited mindset. When suicide and anxiety are on the rise in today’s youth, it is high time we change our mindset to incorporate collaboration into our professional and personal lives.

There is a saying: If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, team up with like-minded individuals.

Collaboration helps organizations to create synergy and grow exponentially. It comes from the belief that there is abundance in the universe. Collaboration creates a win-win scenario that is much better than a win-lose scenario. For example, If I have an idea, and you have an idea we each have only 1 idea. However, if we share the idea with each other, we both have 2 ideas. When we share these ideas oftentimes a third, possibly better, idea surfaces. Collaboration promotes trust and safety. It reduces stress and anxiety while promoting mental, emotional, and physical health. Collaboration helps people to stretch out of their comfort zone and gives them permission to fail and learn from their failures. Collaboration helps everyone to excel and perform better. Comment down below and let us know your take on competition vs collaboration