Many people are addicted to success. They want to be the first and the best. They want their names on the newspapers, acclaimed as pioneers and explorers. But, like everything else, there is a positive and a negative aspect to this behavior.

Here are 3 positive aspects of trying to become the best:

1. You will seek self-improvement

If you cultivate the desire to become the best, you will seek constant self-improvement. You will analyze your behavior and try to fix anything that might become a disadvantage along the way. You will happily go to therapy, do meditation, go to the gym, and eat healthily. You want to be admired in every aspect of your life, and nothing will be too hard to be done.

“Become addicted to constant and never-ending self-improvement.” –Anthony J. D’Angelo

2. You will learn new things

In order to come up with new and original ideas, you will spend a great amount of your time learning new things. You will try to find out everything that has been done in your area of expertise and to figure out what hasn’t been done yet, or what can be done better.

And if you realize that there are skills that you don’t have to achieve your goal, you will learn them as fast as you can. You will find the time and the money, and you will dedicate yourself to your best.

3. You will accomplish your goals

And because it is so important to you, you will achieve your goals. You will get things done, no matter what. You will never procrastinate, and you will find the resources that you need to make things happen. No excuses or limitation will stay between you and your achievements.

Here are 3 negative aspects of trying to become the best:

1. Failure and losses will hit you harder

On the other hand, people who always need to be the best can’t deal well with failure and losses. They get obsessed with winning, even if it is just a board game. A step back is a tragedy to them.

Even though they might understand that failure is a natural part of any journey, they will still feel like they are being left behind and that the outcome was unfair – considering how hard they tried. It might make far more difficult for them to recharge and start over.

2. You will expect perfection from everybody

Because it’s such a natural behavior for you, you will think that everybody should get the same thrill from being the best that you experience. That is to say that your standards will be high. So high that many people might think that they can never live up to your expectations.

As a consequence, some people addicted to success might become very lonely or find it difficult to keep a long-term relationship. Even with family and friends, things might not happen so easy as they could be.

“When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.” – Donald Miller

3. You won’t accomplish your goals

As often as being self-driven can help you to achieve your goals, it might work the other way around. Instead of giving you the energy to make things happen, it might drain you to the point of overthinking and paralyzing your movements.

People who are afraid of failure, as mentioned above, don’t usually take action, just because they don’t want to take the risk. They can’t see that doing anything at all is not a recipe for a safe passage, but to boredom and disappointment in the future.

The desire of becoming the best can be your best friend or worst enemy. It will depend on how you let it control your decisions and the way you see the world. If you use it to achieve your goals, you are bound to accomplish them. But if you take it to the extreme level, it will just make you lonely and depressed. So balance it wisely.

How has trying to be the best affected your life? Please leave your thoughts below!