I had this when I discovered that my first friend who we bonded over computer achieved a better job at the same company. But I later landed a promotion that outdid him, so he can fuck right off. And now I’m in another highly desirable / competitive role. I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve got nothing to prove to anyone but myself. It feels pretty great.
Life is a marathon not a sprint. We don't all have the same problems and we don't all have the same tools at same time to deal with them and that's ok. The value of you is so much more than just the accolades you receive or the money you earn. The meaning to your life is whatever you decide that meaning is not whatever is forced upon you. Remember to be kind to yourself. All anyone can do is try and be a lil better than the day before.
Eh, my last shroom trip is the reason I no longer do psychedelics. Although through the ego death I did have the epiphany that life doesn't matter, but it really doesn't need to.
But, for a decent amount of the trip I felt like invisible hands were trying to drag my brain into insanity.
Too bad legal LSD isn't a thing, because that was way more chill than shrooms.
Anyways, my depression is persistent depressive disorder, so I don't have any super lows. My depression sits at a 4-5 scale and doesn't move. I just go through life basically not feeling feelings.
It also hurts when they're younger, and have been doing it for less time than you. I'm a purple belt in BJJ, and have trained with people competing at a high-level that were basically small children when I started, and have done it for half the time I've been in the sport.
Pair that with working with several accomplished engineers at work that outlevel me, despite me graduating before they even went to university, and sometimes it's easy to feel a bit shit.
At the age of 8 he enrolled at The University of South Alabama, where he received in 1994 a bachelor's degree in anthropology and is listed in the Guinness Book as the world's youngest university graduate at the age of ten. At the age of 14 he obtained a master's degree in chemistry at Middle Tennessee State University. At age 18 he obtained his master's degree in computer science at Vanderbilt University.
I often use that as a source of encouragement rather than defeat. My two favorite sports are snowboarding and muay thai which are filled with people who've been practicing before they formed memories. If a child is better than me then I'm almost certainly capable of becoming that good with continued practice. Even if it takes years it's something to aspire to regardless of the relative age difference. I was one of those kids who was way better than a lot of people on a dirt bike. I was put on a dirt bike at the age of 4 and don't even remember learning, so it's not like it's a fair comparison. Just run your own race and aspire to be like those around you.
To shine at something you have to put effort into it. Usually it's the lack of willpower that makes us average. Look at exceptional people, they succeed in very different areas.
Lol, yea. I need to stop it but I often look people up on Wikipedia and compare myself. If their parents work in the same field or are like a politician or something I just mentally go "nepo baby" or "rich kid" to try to feel better about it. If they're younger, grew up in poverty and are still super talented... 😭
I felt like that when I realized most of the men in the avengers movies were my age. Like damn, they're all so good looking and accomplished and here's my fat ugly ass failing at everything.
The really fun part is that the first few times this happens to you, you're the same age and feel insecure that someone your age achieved more, but as you age in to your mediocrity you gradually get to see people who are younger and younger than you achieve more than you ever did, and now, likely ever will. But hey, there's always the memes to take your mind off it... oh wait.
Our environment has a lot to do with it too, like what we're born into. Billie Eilish's parents were both actors with a very limited amount of success. She's not a nepo-baby by any definition of the word but she had parents who supported her passion and a have few connections. I don't know what your situation growing up was like but I can take a guess and say that your parents said to you what my parents said to me when I said I wanted to be a rockstar. "You can certainly try, but most people who do don't get very far." They were right of course. You can cut yourself a little slack, life is hard.
Thanks for your kind words, but I have grown in the last few years ;) Today I would never ever want to get famous fast.
I think it's very tough to find any meaning and contentment for people that got famous "over night"
