Tips for Overcoming Comparison Challenges

The two most important skills no one tells founders to develop are the ability to manage envy and resist constant comparison These might sound soft or unimportant. They're not. They're crucial. Here's why: As a founder, you'll never feel like you're doing enough. It's the nature of the job. You hit $1 million in revenue. Great! But then you meet a founder who hit $10 million. You raise a Series A. Awesome! Then you read about a startup that skipped straight to Series C. You're growing 100% year-over-year. Incredible! But someone else is growing 300%. It never ends. I've seen this pattern play out countless times. The most successful founders I know all struggle with it. One founder I knew built a $500 million revenue business. By any measure, he'd made it. But he was miserable. Why? Because he kept comparing himself to founders of billion-dollar companies. Another founder I knew was changing the world with her technology. But she couldn't enjoy it because she was envious of a peer who got more press coverage. This is the dark side of ambition. The very drive that makes you start a company can also make you perpetually dissatisfied. So how do you deal with it? First, recognize that these feelings are normal. Every founder experiences them. You're not alone. Second, understand that comparison is a losing game. There will always be someone doing "better" than you. Third, focus on your own journey. Are you better than you were yesterday? Last month? Last year? That's what matters. Fourth, celebrate your wins. Really celebrate them. Don't brush them off and immediately set a new goal. Fifth, remember why you started. Was it to win a competition with other founders? Or was it to create something beyond yourself. Sixth, be realistic about your environment. Yes, be ambitious. Yes, strive to win. But also understand the realities of your market, your funding, your team. Lastly, be responsible to your stakeholders. Focus on creating value for them, not on outdoing other founders. It's a balancing act. You need to be ambitious enough to do the impossible, but grounded enough to not drive yourself crazy. The founders who master this are the ones who not only build great companies, but actually enjoy the journey. They're the ones who can celebrate a competitor's success without feeling diminished. They're the ones who can be proud of their achievements without constantly looking over their shoulder. If you can learn to deal with envy and avoid constant comparison, you'll be happier. You'll make better decisions. You'll be a better leader. And ironically, you'll probably be more successful too. Because in the end, the only race that matters is the one you're running against yourself. Everything else is just noise.

I used to say "Comparison is the thief of joy." I was wrong. Here's why: Research now shows that comparison doesn't have to be toxic. It can actually fuel our growth. This all depends on how we frame it: "benign envy" motivates us while "malicious envy" tears us down. We must be mindful of our feelings when we compare ourselves with others. Here are 7 science-backed ways to make comparison work for you: 1. Check Your Mental State Before Scrolling Upward comparison during low moments can trigger negative spirals. Wait until you're in a positive headspace. 2. Build Authentic Self-Esteem Track and celebrate your progress to develop secure self-esteem that leads to benign envy rather than malicious envy. 3. Practice Active Gratitude When comparison triggers negative feelings, redirect your focus to what's going right in your life to boost satisfaction. 4. Remember the Incomplete Picture Everyone is struggling with something, even if it's not visible on social media or in their public persona. 5. Get Specific About Your Envy List exactly what triggers your envy and why. Use this information to identify your true goals and aspirations. 6. Define Your Own Success Metrics Draw inspiration from others but ensure you're working toward your own definition of success aligned with your core values. 7. Let Go Instead of unfollowing successful people, follow them mindfully and transform envy into genuine admiration. Social comparison is hardwired into our psychology—we can't shut it off. But we can harness it to illuminate our path forward rather than letting it divert us from our journey. Learn more about healthy social comparison here: https://lnkd.in/efVqKF83

Comparison is the thief of joy 🥷🏻 As Chiefs of Staff, it can be especially hard not to compare ourselves. Unlike more defined roles, our responsibilities can vary wildly — from 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 — which makes it even harder to gauge “success” by any one standard. When I first started as a Chief of Staff, I connected with hundreds of other Chiefs of Staff on LinkedIn for coffee chats ☕️ I was eager to learn but quickly found myself in a perpetual state of imposter syndrome. I’d hear about others managing what seemed like incredibly complex or strategic tasks, and it made me question if I was doing enough 🤔 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀: 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲-𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀-𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳. Success in this role means adapting to your 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 🥅 💡 What you do at your organization might look very different from what another Chief of Staff does at theirs. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀: ➡️ Am I driving alignment with our team’s objectives? ➡️ Am I anticipating what my Principal needs next? ➡️ Am I adding value in areas that matter most right now? When I focus on my own progress and contributions, I find joy in the process and the impact I’m making. If you're in a role where comparison feels inevitable, how do you stay focused on your own path? ⬇️ ♻️ Found this useful? Repost and share! 👋 I post about the Chief of Staff role daily. Follow for more!

Some of the common questions I have gotten throughout my career is “what’s next for you?” Or “what did you do when you first started your career to become a CRO?” When I was an AE, I would get asked about becoming a Senior AE or Manager. When I was a manager, what about Director. And then VP, and then CRO and then a bigger team / scope 😅 While it comes from a good place, it feels never ending and unproductive to overly fixate on the next step. 🔑 It takes you away from focusing / enjoying today and gives you anxiety about how you’d get to tomorrows goals 🛑 My truth: I have never known what’s next for me. I still don’t 😅 And while this used to give me a lot of anxiety (comparing to everyone else around me with perfect answers), it’s now become a core part of how I manage my career. 💪 I look at my journey in 18-24 months increments instead of 10 year goals. ✅ Aka I still don’t know what I wanna do when I grow up :) Every 6 months I write down: ✍️ 1️⃣ what am I enjoying in the current role?what could I do without? What am I learning? How energized do I feel by the work? 2️⃣ if I had the choice, what would I want to do more / less of for the next 6 months? How does this connect to my ‘why’? 3️⃣ can I find ways to do more of what I enjoy doing and minimize what I don’t? How do I go about this? The key here is to write it down. Our brain has weird ways of tricking us into rewriting history. 📝 This approach has served me well in getting away from the comparison game, focus on improving my skills today and building deep self awareness around following my heart ❤️ regardless of what the world thinks I ‘should’ do. 👊 Ignore the noise ✌️ Run your own race 🏃♀️ #careermanagement #leadershipinsights #careerinsights #selfimprovement #cro

Get out of your head. That was Leslie Berland’s advice at our HR Kickoff while we discussed the best career guidance we received and how it shaped our path forward. I immediately wrote it down – top-shelf advice that is as powerful as it is true. We need to get out of our heads. I know there are people out there with tremendous mental grit and resilience. Some days, I can be like them – but in the spirit of embracing what’s real and telling our whole truths, I still get stuck in my head from time to time. Too often, we find ourselves battling doubt that creeps in at every turn, and it’s not always placed there by the naysayers around us but rather by the voices from within…me, myself and I. What’s worse – thought traps are like quicksand. The more you think, the more you sink. Before we even attempt to take a step forward, our minds start racing with all the ways something can go wrong and projecting worst-case scenarios. Even when there is a glimmer of hope or praise, it’s like we can’t hear or see what’s going right. It’s exhausting, and we have all been there. So, what can you do to rise above and escape the trap? 👉 Stop viewing things as black or white: Not everything will be a complete failure or a total win – most of the time, there is a bit of both. But you need to be open and see the good, great and not-so-great and translate those lessons into learnings. 👉 Don’t jump to the end. We have all played fortune teller before. Predicting what you think will happen may stop you from trying altogether. Just take it one step from the start. 👉 Run your own race. Comparison is the thief of joy. Focus on who you are and where you want to go. Remember, you are perfectly you. 👉 Stop assuming the worst and ignoring the best. When you catastrophize, you put so much pressure on yourself and the outcome that you dismiss any of the success you achieved. Flip your perspective – what was the win? Even if small or incremental, it deserves to be celebrated. 👉 Have a personal board of directors. Consciously choose the people around you who will give you feedback and lift you up. 👉 Believe in yourself. Yes, it’s way easier said than done, but it’s the best antidote to combat thought traps. You made it this far. Don’t discount or ignore what it took to get here – the wins, the losses, the lessons – you did it all. You can and will keep going, so get out of your head and focus on what’s in front of you. You got this – I know it. And if you need any other advice, take a look at this article from Harvard Business Review on how to tame your anxieties and quiet the noise https://lnkd.in/eYfxFJtj #believeinyourself #yougotthis #leadership #motivation