Have you ever read any of Nathaniel Branden's work?
"Genuine self-esteem is not competitive or comparative. Neither is genuine self-esteem expressed by self-glorification at the expense of others, or by the quest to make oneself superior to all others or to diminish others so as to elevate oneself" - Nathaniel Branden, Honoring the Self
That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a mechanism of the brain that's directly linked to the feeling of well being. If you study psychology it is known that social heirarchy is a real thing you cannot escape. You have to accept the reality and limit your social interaction to a few hundred people. Unfortunately with the advent of social media we are comparing ourselves to the top .000000000001% of the population of the planet constantly. That's the problem. The comparative mechanism is useful and it's dangerous to remove it. It's what keeps you from getting killed by thinking you can take on someone twice your size or not take advice from someone twice as smart. Thinking about yourself all the time is a sure fire way to become miserable. Think about others. Be good at something in your group that no one else is good at...and you will be fine. We were made to live like this.
