Competing Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old competing quotes, competing sayings, and competing proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Competing is like gambling, the more you win the more you want to compete. The only problem is, what happens when the person you're competing with is yourself? Meedee
We last longer if we compete against ourselves for the good of others instead of competing against others for the good of ourselves. Simon Sinek
You've got to be confident when you're competing. You've got to be a beast. Gabby Douglas
Remember, you don't compete with anyone, you make them compete with you. You can control what you put on yourself; you can't control what the other guy puts on you. So you focus only on the internal pressure that drives you. Run to it, embrace it, feel it, so no one else can throw more at you than you've already put on yourself. Tim S Grover
The ability to learn faster than your competitors may be the only sustainable competitive advantage. Arie de Geus
Never compete with someone who has nothing to lose. Baltasar Gracian
If you have to compete, compete with yourself. Debasish Mridha
Competition is such a virtue, and everybody's so busy competing, they have no time for compassion. Major Owens
Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It's about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your people, and heart. Winning is the result. Joe Torre
Competition gives birth to a lot of success, and if no one ever challenged you, you wouldn't go anywhere. It makes sense to compete with others for a promotion at work. But so many women take it a step further and won't even support other women. They end up competing over things that don't make sense - like how we look. Lilly Singh
You'll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him. Lou Holtz
Competition is not about fighting, it is all about helping each other to achieve a common goal. Joey Lawsin
The only competition that matters the most in life, is the one between you and your old self. Edmond Mbiaka
Competing at the highest level is the greatest test of one's character. Russell Mark
A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace.  Ovid
Competing with an other is exhilarating, challenging, and healthy. That is what Games are for. When competition is brought into the social arena it undermines the competitor's self-esteem and confidence. It is a very subtle process. One we must be sensitive to, especially when evaluating our own motivations and behavior. Eric Parslow
When you compete with someone as good or better than you, you may not always win, but you never lose. Michael Josephson
Life is not a competition with others. In its truest sense it is rivalry with ourselves. We should each day seek to break the record of our yesterday. We should seek each day to live stronger, better, truer lives; each day to master some weakness of yesterday; each day to repair past follies; each day to surpass ourselves. This is, simply, progress. C. Smith Sumner
Don't waste your time competing with someone. Instead focus on competing with yourself. Leaders don't compete, followers do. Mayur Ramgir
And what is the greatest number? Number one. David Hume
Never compete with your master, because that is disrespect to him! You are your only rival, you compete with yourself, go beyond yourself! Mehmet Murat ildan
What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog. Dwight D Eisenhower
Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one. Bill Bradley
Competition is a complex thing. It brings out the best and the worst in all participants. It refines the technique and sharpens the mind, body and spirit. Herb Perez
The one that works the hardest comes out on top. Debbie Meyer
You get out in front -- you stay out in front. A. J. Foyt
Competition is in the genes of all living things. Watch a flower compete for its share of sunlight or watch the goldfish in your aquarium. Infants and small children compete without knowing it. Remember how the queen bee wins? Competition is the spice of life and the soul of progress. How else can quality rise to the top? Charles T. Clark
You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your tricks of war. Napoleon Bonaparte
We are competing against ourselves. Ashton Eaton
Competition motivates and drives people to excel, and enables people to learn and benefit from their strengths and weaknesses. Dr T.P.Chia
You never know how long the battles going to be, you always have to be ready. Steaven Seagal
When you're riding, only the race in which you're riding is important. Willie Shoemaker
Competing is intense among humans, and within a group, selfish individuals always win. But in contests between groups, groups of altruists always beat groups of selfish individuals. E. O. Wilson
When you lose a couple of times, it makes you realize how difficult it is to win. Steffi Graf
There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if you lose, you win. Elie Wiesel
Compete with yourself; you have no knowledge about the degree of gifting others might have. Don't decide to slow down because you have gone too far and everyone is behind you! Israelmore Ayivor
Let us compete with ourselves, not with others. Debasish Mridha
Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other. Charles Lamb
When you want to win a game, you have to teach. When you lose a game, you have to learn. Tom Landry
The time your game is most vulnerable is when you're ahead. Never let up. Rod Laver
We want to be first; not first if, not first but; but first! John F. Kennedy
If you can't win, make the fellow ahead of you break the record. Evan Esar
Competing is different than violence. Sport is love. It's passion. There's no passion in hurting people. Rohan Marley
Any master of his craft knows that it is not his oponent he is fighting. It is himself. Chae Richardson
Surely the best way to meet the enemy is head on in the field and not wait till they plunder our very homes. Oliver Goldsmith
The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort. Colin Powell
When you compete, you gain more than you lose, even when you lose. Aaron Lauritsen
You have to be competitive to be relevant. Sunday Adelaja
The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself. Washington Allston
Compete with no man but thyself. Always seek opportunities to improve upon your best performance. Lailah Gifty Akita
It's hard to think that a $2 billion company with 4,300 people couldn't compete with six people in blue jeans. Steve Jobs
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you. Laozi
I murmured because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet. Persian Saying
When you see a nobleman, try to equal him. When you see an evil man, examine yourself thoroughly. Kongfuzi
You don't have to blow out the other fellow's light to let your own shine. Bernard Baruch
Real learning comes about when the competitive spirit has ceased. The competitive spirit is merely an additive process which is not learning at all. This is true not only of competition with others but competition with yourself as well. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy. Wendell Berry
The joy of this quest is not in triumph over others, but in the search for the qualities, we share with them and for our uniqueness, which raises us above all competition. Theodore Roszak
You will never scar on your own psyche if you achieve success through harmonious cooperation with others. That is something you can't say about fortunes acquired through conflict and unfair competition W.Clement Stone
We try to understand what other people are doing, even if their apparent mission is so distant that it is not obvious competition. Bill Gates
Competition makes you better, always, always makes you better, even if the competitor wins. Carlos Slim
If all your competitors are banding together to sort of attack you, that's a good compliment, I think. A very sincere compliment. Elon Musk
The Miss Universe contest taught me how to compete. And competing among women is very different from competing among men. Women are fierce competitors. Irene Saez
Competition speeds the race, sharpens the wit, and challenges pride. Alfred Henry
For the winner, competition is a celebration, for the losers, a revelation. Alfred Henry
Without fairness, competition can turn friends into villains. Alfred Henry
Competition is for athletes, not artists. Alfred Henry
Winner and loser / Not against each other / One half of another / Complementary nature / Compete to make it whole K.V. Srikanth
Sporting competition is deft ambition. / You may lose at the meet or thrive if you beat. / You may have a derring-do or have a set-to. / You may run a fast race or drop in disgrace. Wallace Dean LaBenne
Competition whose motive is merely to compete, to drive some other fellow out, never carries very far. The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all but goes on making his own business better all the time. Henry Ford
As humans, we have evolved to compete; it is in our genes, and we love to watch a competition. Peter Dimandis
As soon as I hear the word 'competition' I get serious and start doing everything that I can do. Maureen McCormick
It's good to have high-quality competition; it helps drive research forward at a faster pace. Shuji Nakamura
I looked at my competitors and I thought that, If they could do it, I could do it. And if they are popular and doing well, I could compete with them. Tommy Hilfiger
The idea of competition, particularly in a creative atmosphere, is always there; if you don't acknowledge that, you are doing yourself and the process a disservice. Jake Gyllenhaal
To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another. John Maxwell
The only person you should compete with is the person you were yesterday. Prem Jagyasi
Competition gives me energy. It keeps me focused. Conor McGregor
When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you. But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you. Simon Sinek
If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete. Jack Welch