Ambition gets ugly when everything turns into a competition, even your friendships.

Competing is useful in the places it belongs and corrosive everywhere else. Once the habit spreads, a friend’s good news starts to feel like a loss for you, and you keep quiet score of grades, followers and who got picked. Nobody wins that version, including you, because there is no final round.

Watch your first reaction next time a friend does well. If it stings, say congratulations anyway and mean it by the second time. Keep the scorekeeping for the scoreboard, where there is actually a game on.