Most of the people you envy are envying someone else. Nobody’s at the top of the ladder they’re looking at.

Envy looks upward, which means nearly everybody is looking up at somebody, including the people you are looking up at. There is no top, because the ladder gets redrawn every time you climb it and a new rung appears. Whatever you imagine the person above you feels, they are mostly busy comparing too.

Take the person you most envy and ask honestly what they are probably worried about. Then swap one comparison this week for a measurement against yourself a year ago.