It's a popular discourse as far as I can see that you work hard so as to be competetive and so that you won't be "defeated" by other people. Maybe it's time to see our relationship with other people in a different light. Confucius said that if I took a walk with three people, there must be my teachers among them. I think this may be a healthier way for us to see our situatedness within the world. Even competition itself can have a positive side if we see it in this light. Isn't it the best thing about being and becoming in this world that we can always learn from other people and other cultures so that we learn our own limitations and the ways to transcend these limitations? Knowing limitations is even more important than "never lose" in this world of diversity. You are not always right and there are always different ways to look at the same thing.