I opened LinkedIn. Someone got into Google.
And for a moment, I felt like I was doing everything wrong.
Jealousy is the thief of joy.
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned is to stop comparing myself to other developers. Every developer has their own journey, and everyone follows a different path.
I usually don’t compare myself to others. But there are moments when you feel stuck, and suddenly everyone else seems to be moving forward.
You start asking yourself:
"Am I doing it wrong?"
"Why am I not getting shortlisted?"
"What is the reason for my failures?"
And then comes the worst one:
"Am I even worth it?"
When It Started
This started when I began my journey as a developer.
I learned HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and then moved to React. I wanted to get better. But instead, I got stuck in tutorial hell.
Watching one video after another. Every creator had a different opinion about careers. And I felt like once someone becomes successful, they start believing their path is the only way.
I saw people leaving jobs at big tech companies and starting YouTube channels or selling courses. Every thumbnail said:
“Why I left Google”, “Why I quit Microsoft”.
And here I was, just trying to figure out how to get into the industry.
One night, I refreshed my inbox.
Rejection. Again.
That was the moment I realized something was wrong not with my effort, but with how I was thinking. Leaving my job and getting rejected pushed me into a loop.
Applying at night. Rejection emails in the morning. Then opening LinkedIn and seeing someone else succeed. Again and again.
I didn’t have mentors to talk to. I stopped reaching out to college mentors. Most of my guidance came from ChatGPT helping me with resumes and projects.
I was really interested in frontend. I discovered Awwards and was completely amazed. Every website felt unreal. The design, the creativity, the interactions. I watched people build them. But I didn’t just want the code. I wanted to understand how they think.
What Changed
Does this story have a perfect ending where I completely stopped comparing? No
Comparison is natural. But what changed is how I react to it.
The intensity is much lower now. Because I started focusing on what I can control.
Reading, Writing, Building, Learning
The more I built, the less I compared. Because progress gives clarity, and clarity kills doubt.
Comparison will always exist. But instead of letting it break me, I started using it as a signal. A signal that I need to improve not a reason to doubt myself.
What Actually Helped Me
- I stopped measuring my progress with other people’s timelines
- I reduced LinkedIn scrolling and increased building time
- I started writing what I learn instead of consuming endlessly
- I focused on small wins instead of big expectations
- I treated comparison as feedback, not failure
- I built projects even when they felt imperfect
- I asked questions instead of staying stuck
- I tracked my own progress weekly
- I learned from others without trying to become them
- I reminded myself why I started
Comparison doesn’t slow your progress. It makes you forget that you’re already making some.
I still compare sometimes. But now, I don’t let it define me. I use it to adjust, not to doubt. Because the goal is not to be better than others. The goal is to be better than who I was yesterday.
What is the one thing that helped you stop comparing yourself to others?
Top comments (2)
Very important article dude. Comparing oneself to others is really useless and of then reckless. Coz again different conditions, different family, everything is different. I really want to become an inventor, and at the very beginning of my journey so 2-3 years ago I was inspired by Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, John Kay and other phenomenal people that were inventors and successful (except Tesla, sadly, although he had a glimmer of fortune though throughout his life, nota bene I read his biography). And I used to put a lot of pressure on myself and thus I also I failed my first start-up before I even gone to the public with it.
To be honest to me study of history of homo sapiens and history of finances gave me such an internal peace, where I really don't care anymore about anyone's journey so that I should let's say feel bad because of my actions in comparison to their, would be less than nothing.
Also maturity is the key here, I would not say from now point of view that I was mature in age of 18, 19, even in 20 I was not (this year I'm 21). Also understanding that a lot of those young-success people will likely either fade, fail or are just industry-plants, not all but a lot of them.
It is so true! You made an excellent point all the time. You need to focus on yourself first .