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I know the feeling but I will leave you with this: "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former

I know the feeling but I will leave you with this: "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. ― Ernest Hemingway"

mariodiana 5y ago
Thanks. The horrible thing is I came here to say that sometimes I find a project that I did a year or two ago and end up feeling shallow and dumb.
- codegeek 5y ago
  You will be surprised how much you know. Comparing with others is almost always a losing game. Trust me because I do this a lot myself. There is always someone whom you want to be like. But remember there are a lot of people who want to be like YOU. So just focus on yourself and keep becoming a better version of you and most importantly, keep an eye on your Goals whatever they may be. Remember that there is a cost to everything. You may look at someone and say "Wow they are so smart or successful or whatever". But do you know what they don't have or what they truly desire ? You will never know. May be what they truly desire, you have it.
- rrauenza 5y ago
  Embrace that feeling but reframe it. It means you've learned something and grown since you did that project a year ago. If you looked back on work you did five years ago and didn't see room for improvement ... you've had no growth in your skills and experience.
  - freetinker 5y ago
    This. Life is a constant process of reframing.
- Auracle 5y ago
  Try being a photographer. Work I delivered just a couple of years ago - or sometimes even months - makes me cringe. Those are someone’s once-in-a-lifetime event that you now think looks terrible and that you proudly posted to your social media accounts. That’s gotten better for me in recent years, but I suppose that means I’ve somewhat plateaued. Either way you can’t win.
HWR_14 5y ago
There are a lot of people who look at that past self as being something they fell away from. In some cases by choices they made and regret and in others where they suffered some accident. I'm not sure how the Hemingway quote is supposed to make them feel.
- tomrod 5y ago
  That the future can still inspire, once they account for sunk costs being irrelevant even if emotionally difficult.
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    If you're so emotionally mature as to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, do you need the emotional boost of inspiration? It's like saying "once you're happy, you're no longer depressed".
    - tomrod 5y ago
      You do. Maintaining maturity can be difficult.
  - Typhon 5y ago
    This is one of those things that is both very true, and very much easier to say than do.
    - tomrod 5y ago
      Agreed!
LamdbaMamba 5y ago
This is a quote I remind myself of a lot, because it's important, but for the life of me I can't find a source for Hemingway ever saying this. I think it was attributed to him before even before Kingsmen: The Secret Service but I'm not sure?
nepalvibes 5y ago
This resonates a lot with me. There will always be people smarter, richer and prosperous than you. Appreciate the fact that you are always going to be in a line where you'll have people better and worst than you. Being able to motivate and make small consistent improvements is the key to being a better yourself.
lunatuna 5y ago
The first part of the quote reminds me a bit of the ted talk on leadership and starting a movement. More to the point: leaders are over glorified. Follow what you like. That's more important. I hope that the OP can see that. Find something that you like to do and follow it. It could be knitting, could woodworking, could be gardening . . . It has done its rounds, but still enjoy watching this: https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement#t-31766 https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_moveme...
paulpauper 5y ago
Maybe nothing noble about it, but it sure feels good to be the best at something or close to the best and respected and successful
- johndevor 5y ago
  I think that's the point Jordan Peterson has been making for a while, referencing increased serotonin released in lobsters who win fights against other lobsters, and a lowering in the ones who lose.
AareyBaba 5y ago
“Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.” ― Jordan B. Peterson
racl101 5y ago
Best reply here. Comparing yourself to others is a fool's errand. Never goes well.
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  But the quote isn't relevant to the way OP is comparing themself to others. If that quote is about trying to win the race, then OP is lamenting being miles behind the leaders. The feeling of not pulling your own weight is a different sadness from "oh no I can't be the best".

I know the feeling but I will leave you with this: "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. ― Ernest Hemingway"

mariodiana 5y ago

Thanks. The horrible thing is I came here to say that sometimes I find a project that I did a year or two ago and end up feeling shallow and dumb.

codegeek 5y ago
You will be surprised how much you know. Comparing with others is almost always a losing game. Trust me because I do this a lot myself. There is always someone whom you want to be like. But remember there are a lot of people who want to be like YOU. So just focus on yourself and keep becoming a better version of you and most importantly, keep an eye on your Goals whatever they may be. Remember that there is a cost to everything. You may look at someone and say "Wow they are so smart or successful or whatever". But do you know what they don't have or what they truly desire ? You will never know. May be what they truly desire, you have it.
rrauenza 5y ago
Embrace that feeling but reframe it. It means you've learned something and grown since you did that project a year ago. If you looked back on work you did five years ago and didn't see room for improvement ... you've had no growth in your skills and experience.
- freetinker 5y ago
  This. Life is a constant process of reframing.
Auracle 5y ago
Try being a photographer. Work I delivered just a couple of years ago - or sometimes even months - makes me cringe. Those are someone’s once-in-a-lifetime event that you now think looks terrible and that you proudly posted to your social media accounts. That’s gotten better for me in recent years, but I suppose that means I’ve somewhat plateaued. Either way you can’t win.

HWR_14 5y ago

There are a lot of people who look at that past self as being something they fell away from. In some cases by choices they made and regret and in others where they suffered some accident. I'm not sure how the Hemingway quote is supposed to make them feel.

tomrod 5y ago
That the future can still inspire, once they account for sunk costs being irrelevant even if emotionally difficult.
- HWR_14 5y ago
  If you're so emotionally mature as to avoid the sunk cost fallacy, do you need the emotional boost of inspiration? It's like saying "once you're happy, you're no longer depressed".
  - tomrod 5y ago
    You do. Maintaining maturity can be difficult.
- Typhon 5y ago
  This is one of those things that is both very true, and very much easier to say than do.
  - tomrod 5y ago
    Agreed!

LamdbaMamba 5y ago

This is a quote I remind myself of a lot, because it's important, but for the life of me I can't find a source for Hemingway ever saying this. I think it was attributed to him before even before Kingsmen: The Secret Service but I'm not sure?

nepalvibes 5y ago

This resonates a lot with me. There will always be people smarter, richer and prosperous than you. Appreciate the fact that you are always going to be in a line where you'll have people better and worst than you. Being able to motivate and make small consistent improvements is the key to being a better yourself.

lunatuna 5y ago

The first part of the quote reminds me a bit of the ted talk on leadership and starting a movement. More to the point: leaders are over glorified. Follow what you like. That's more important. I hope that the OP can see that. Find something that you like to do and follow it. It could be knitting, could woodworking, could be gardening . . . It has done its rounds, but still enjoy watching this: https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement#t-31766 https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_moveme...

paulpauper 5y ago

Maybe nothing noble about it, but it sure feels good to be the best at something or close to the best and respected and successful

johndevor 5y ago
I think that's the point Jordan Peterson has been making for a while, referencing increased serotonin released in lobsters who win fights against other lobsters, and a lowering in the ones who lose.

AareyBaba 5y ago

“Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.” ― Jordan B. Peterson

racl101 5y ago

Best reply here. Comparing yourself to others is a fool's errand. Never goes well.

Dylan16807 5y ago
But the quote isn't relevant to the way OP is comparing themself to others. If that quote is about trying to win the race, then OP is lamenting being miles behind the leaders. The feeling of not pulling your own weight is a different sadness from "oh no I can't be the best".