Your post made me re-consider the EA discussions around the counterfacual impact of competitive positions where one is likely to be repleaceable, hence have low counterfactual impact. I had felt that type melancholy, which is one of the reason I imagined startup work would feel more impactful. I still believe that, but the third person perspective you describe brought the factor of resilience. It birngs a sense of relief to associate competition with resilience, as in places that are competitive ( hence one is replaceable) will also be resilient ( following your reasoning) —> doctors, BCG Gates Foundation projects. Hopefully politics?