Last year I purchased a game for my boys and I played it with them. The trouble was that everyone won the game. We all arrived at the end together. This seems great in theory, but where"s the incentive (刺激) to keep playing We played the game twice, and it has been there gathering dust ever since.
Without a potential winner, a game or contest loses its excitement. If there"s nothing to compete for, the drive to do one"s best is replaced by a "What"s the point" attitude. Competition is closely related to motivation (动力). It"s part of human nature to be competitive; after all, survival of the fittest is the basis of evolution . A competitive spirit is the key to our success as adults, so why shouldn"t we cultivate it in our children
I"m not suggesting we set our children against each other in heated competitions in all aspects of life. We should guard against coaches who lose the spirit of good sportsmanship (运动员风格) in the heat of the game. But in the right situations, a healthy competition can teach our kids a lot about life. While games and contests illustrate the importance of drive and determination, they also teach our children how to lose. And with that comes other good lessons -- about learning from mistakes, searching for ways to improve and finding the will to try again. The second paragraph mainly tells us that ______.