When Every Achievement Feels Like A Threat
Please note that I am not a professional offering advice. The views shared here are simply my personal opinions and should not be considered expert guidance.
Imagine discovering someone close to you has been competing with you your whole life. They believe everything you do outshines them, even though you never saw yourself as superior.
They may have been jealous of everything you did since y’all were children. When you went to the beach and made sandcastles together, they could have been unhappy since your sandcastle turned out better than theirs. Silly right? It isn’t your fault that you have skill. And you’re not trying to make people feel inferior; you’re simply being yourself.
However, it appears that even the simplest things might trigger others who are competing with you. Let’s say you’re always dressed nicely. You don’t spend much money on clothes, but the quality and appearance make them appear expensive. As a result, your opponent gets jealous since your clothes are more attractive than theirs.
You may have won a “Best Dressed” Award at your high school prom or homecoming, and that burst fire out of their ears because they can’t take seeing someone get more attention than them. However, keep in mind that you are not doing anything on purpose to attract attention. You are just being yourself.
Competing Beyond Graduation And Into Life
People’s understanding of academics varies. It doesn’t matter how you start; what matters is how you finish. Yet, if you have reached a higher level of academic achievement than the next individual, this may result in resentment. You may have been a high school valedictorian, and your close friend is disappointed that they are not in your position. They may have received an excellent GPA, but because they did not earn the spot of valedictorian, they are bitter. Evidently, it doesn’t matter how much you’ve done; if someone feels you’ve overtaken them by a millimeter, they’ll feel defeated and will continue to compete with you.
After graduating from high school, you go to college or develop skills for a career. Along the way, you meet your soul mate, and you decide to settle down and have a family together. One day you and your partner decide to visit your childhood friend. They find out that you are having your first child, but instead of being happy for you both, their expression is one of rage and anger. Your friend had the opportunity to have a happy and meaningful life, just like you, but it’s too late now. Their life has passed them by because everything revolves around rivalry with them. They can’t take it when someone else gets more attention than them.
The Weight Of Living Under Constant Comparison
We all have goals in life and are searching for ways to better ourselves and our children. When blessings continue to stream into your life, your loved one has taken a smell of it once more and has fallen into an emotional state of despair. They believe there is nothing they can do better than you, which is false because everyone does something better than the next person. So, in their agony, they gather an entourage of other wretched individuals to see your triumph. Instead of being inspired by you, they seek methods to undo what you’ve accomplished.
After years of attempting to outperform someone who wasn’t trying to compete with you in the first place, you still didn’t win the race. It’s critical to learn from and support individuals who’ve earned their success. Seeing others succeed will inspire you to do better and pass on the torch.
