Congrats on getting accepted to grad school! And I enjoy reading your writing, you’re clearly a soulful dude with a great perspective.

There’s a healthy form of comparison that helps us understand what’s possible, which can be a great motivator to push forward and test our own limits. This is the kind that leads to records being broken, tech advancing, new discoveries, etc.

It becomes a dangerous game when it morphs into envy or resentment for others, or makes us feel inadequate about ourselves. The truth is that we’ve all been blessed with different gifts, and we have to elevate what’s unique about ourselves to make the world spin a little bit better on its axis. It’s an ecosystem from which we all give and take in our own special way.

True wisdom is reaching a point where you’re aligned with your own internal values, at which point you realize that excessive external comparison isn’t worth your finite time or energy.