In some forms, but we also cant improve if we have no idea what to compare too.

I agree to about 50% of that.

No not at all

I compare myself to people all the time and thank my self that I am not that fucked up person.

Depends what you’re comparing to. One of the ways I deal with stuff I’m finding unpleasant is to compare the experience to a worse situation. My work can be stressful, but at least I don’t work 9to5, 48 weeks a year like so many people do. I’m renovating a house and it’s exhausting and such a long commitment, but at least I’m in good health. Many of my friends have health problems that would make heavy labour and climbing on roofs impossible, so when I’m tired and achy at the end of a day I try and see it as a sign of my good health and strength.

Obviously, if I compared myself to a younger and fitter person, whose knees wouldn’t hurt and didn’t need to wear wrist braces, that could make me feel bad or envious and that would be dumb. Only make comparisons that highlight how lucky you are to be you.

I read about the lives of terrorists, mass murderers, and I feel so much better lol

Because at least I’m not that fucked up

Comparison is the thief of joy

Depends on how realistic your expectations are for yourself.

If your comparison is aspirational, identifying places where others succeed so you can figure out how to adopt their methods yourself, it can be quite beneficial.

If you’re not adopting an active-improvement mindset, and you’re essentially just dick-measuring, then yeah you’re eventually gonna be miserable. There’s always a bigger dick.

Comparison is the thief of joy

Nope, I like a good A/B comparison. I recently compared two whiskeys from a distillery; one their regular release and one aged in sherry casks. The side by side comparison made it easier to pick out the difference between the two. The comparison makes whiskey tasting all the more enjoyable.

I love a good A/B comparison on just about any food or drink.

For most people under most conditions I’d guess so, but it’s not inevitable. It’s all stardust in the end, and I think you can compare yourself favourably or unfavourably without too much danger, if you keep that well in mind.

“If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” - Desiderata

Yes

I think comparison can be accompanied by misery but I don’t think it’s inevitable. I don’t know if it’s possible to go your whole life and not compare yourself to anyone, ever, on any metric. Some people are better than I am at some things, and I learn by comparing myself to them. I think the trick is to not condense it all down into a single spectrum. I mean that for broad moral judgements (e.g. “I am a better person than my boss”) as well as in particular domains (“My co-worker is a worse coder than I am”). I think that type of quick judgement can always be peeled apart and analyzed, and learned from, and I think that resolves a lot of the tension that typically comes from comparison.

Only if it comes to dick size.

Not if you only hang out with losers!