Why comparing yourself to others is good for business growth

This might sound weird but I actually love noticing when I'm feeling jealous. It's such a window into what I really want and I why I want it if I'm willing to sit down and be present with it. I used to be a really jealous person and I'd get so uncomfortable with the feeling I'd basically just try to ignore it because it made me feel like a bad person. Then one day, i was like, fine I'm getting to the root of this. I started by looking at the etymology of the word jealous which basically comes from zealous. Which makes sense. Being jealous of someone else just shows an inner sort of enthusiasm and unmet desire that - now that it's uncovered - you can work with/toward.

This depends entirely upon what kind of person you are. People who are really competitive will probably love comparing themselves to others and challenging themselves to beat them. But for others, it just leads to self-judgement and shame, which are never rarely helpful.

I personally like to challenge myself to achieve goals that I set for myself, rather than competing with others. But with that said, I do agree that emotions like jealousy are wonderfully helpful guides. I definitely use them in setting these goals.

"Bitterly diminishing others' achievements doesn't help you grow as a competitor."

So true. Your time is better spent reaffirming your own goals and improving yourself.

This really spoke to me because I struggle with constant comparison as a dev and founder. Thanks for the important reminder that comparison can be good if handled the right way.

Lol, this is a funny yet insightful post.

I've seen this all the time on the internet.

People constantly hypothesize how other people's lives must be shitty in some other non-visible, hidden aspects just to diminish their accomplishments:

• "He must be an autistic incel, he doesn't get laid."
• "Must be nice to have rich parents to bail him out!"

And my personal favorite, the fall-back whenever there are zero other attack vectors:

• "He must be feel really empty inside. Life isn't about chasing endless achievements, life is about love, family, and doing what makes you happy."

Jesus Christ, people are just better, and credit should be given where credit is due.

You're right too -- even if these silly hypotheses were true, it doesn't move you forward one bit. It's unhelpful at best and jealous/petty at worst.

Statements like this are superficial, and thus only help to soothe the pain of insecurity, instead of fighting the root cause.

Really liked this part on what NOT to do.

Any initial “negative” emotional (like jealousy) can be converted into a positive statement to improve yourself.

This is fantastic. Thank you for sharing. This type of thinking can be destructive in your "everyday" life but might be beneficial for business growth. Just don't go overboard and make it about your own self-worth. It is a business — it's not your value as a human being.

I love Kobe's advice: Every day, it's me versus me.