It drills you into thinking that to be praised means you have to be if not better, the best. Being competitive is good, it helps you improve and grow. But sometimes, it contributes to the toxic mentality that you have to constantly prove yourself to others to validate yourself.

It's sad and frustrating how at some point in your life you're going to meet someone who's always going to be better than you in something. It makes you think "what's the point of trying? When there's always gonna be someone who's better than me?"

Life will always give you an unequal footing to someone. Even if you think that you've already gave your all, someone will always be doing more than you. And that's okay, we all have different paths to take and it doesn't mean you're losing just because they are ahead of you.

And just because someone is ahead of you, doesn't mean all your efforts are wasted. Even if we feel like no one is watching us anymore because we're not good enough, sometimes all we need is one person to give us the push we needed to keep on going and to not give up.

It doesn't have to be something as grand as praises from a lot of people. Sometimes, one person's words can save you from the pool of constant doubt and insecurity. Sometimes, knowing that you inspire someone out there is more than enough to help you keep on going.