People who feel small need a long list of rivals. Keep your list short and your circle warm.

Rivalry is often a symptom rather than a strategy. When your own footing feels unsteady, other people’s success reads as a threat, and the list of competitors grows to match the unease. People who are settled in what they are doing tend to have almost nobody on that list at all.

Count how many people you are quietly measuring yourself against, and notice what the number says about how you are feeling. Pick one of them and be openly glad about something they did. Then put the freed attention back into your own work, which is where it was needed.