Imperfect

competitive uplifting

Alex's The comparison game: why even joy feels competitive online starts off with a Schopenhauer quote:

If you only want to be happy, that is very easy to achieve. But people want to be happier than other people. And that is much more difficult.

How can people be happier with other people? Here's an idea: replace external comparison with internal comparison and external connection.

Less one-upmanship, more mutual-upmanship. Gently coax receptive souls upward from their past selves. Prioritize people who return your favors. Help each other get closer to realizing dreams. Instead of demonizing growth, let's push for it together. As it's what gets us through life, let's go with the flow.

We depend so much on systems and networks that we should make them as efficient as possible. Develop friendships that make you feel secure in the world and get you excited for what's to come. Bolster your interpersonal infrastructure. Make it larger, stronger, and more resilient than it has ever been. Circulate friendly competition in this manner throughout your ecosystem.

Victories are infinite. The smaller they are, the more you accrue. Small victories like your breathing and heartbeats keep you playing.

Most victories occur beyond you. Your judgments only pertain to so much. Your domain supposedly having no winners might not inform others' domains. Exceptions emerge from rules. Someone out there defies the odds.

If nobody defies the odds in your presence, where haven't you looked? What haven't you tried? You will find cohorts winning in ways you want to with enough effort. Surprise yourself with how others do the same in ways you assume assured defeat from. You can find suitable crowd elsewhere without betraying the crowd you are a part of.

Even in our ultimate only way out as human beings, we have so many conflicting angles as to what becomes painfully clear. Could life be more abundant than single-track impressions imply?

Instilling peace within yourself doesn't have to exclude outward generosity. Befriend winners within and elsewhere to uplift yourself from feigned impossibility.

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