When presented with another person’s success, we get to choose whether we see it as a source of inspiration and an opportunity to express gratitude or an invitation for comparison and an opportunity to see ourselves as having fallen short in some way or being lesser than the other.
The internet exacerbates what is also true in the analog world: however skilled or talented you are (at anything), you will always find people who are better at it, which means that if you are looking for that skill or talent to buffer or pave over feelings of inadequacy, confusion, or shame, you’re going to be disappointed.
A more enjoyable option is to drop the comparisons and practice gratitude for the people who do what you do, and who do it much better. Let their excellence encourage rather than discourage you. Inadequacy, confusion, and shame are another matter – and they were never going to be resolved by your ability to do anything anyway.
By its very definition, inspiration will increase your spirit. Comparison easily leads in the other direction.
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