Everyone on Twitter is killing it.

$10k MRR in month three. Viral launches. Features in TechCrunch. Perfect products with perfect launches and perfect results.

And you're here, grinding away, wondering what you're doing wrong.

Here's the secret: most of it is highlight reel. You're comparing your entire reality to their curated performance.

The Highlight Reel

What you see on social media:

MRR screenshots. Always the best months. Never the months of zero. Never the churn.

Launch wins. The one time it worked. Not the ten times it didn't.

Confidence. Performed, practiced, polished. Not the doubt at 3am.

Success. The survivors. Not the thousands who tried the same thing and failed.

You're seeing a tiny, selected slice of reality.

What You Don't See

Behind every success story you envy:

Failed launches. Probably many. Before this one worked.

Months of zero growth. The plateau nobody screenshots.

The doubt. It's there. It's always there.

The context. Previous exits. Connections. Luck. Timing. Things you can't replicate.

Every success story has an iceberg of invisible struggle beneath it.

Why Comparison Hurts

It's not just uncomfortable. It's destructive.

Demotivates instead of inspires. You should feel energized. Instead you feel inadequate.

Makes you question your path. Maybe you should pivot? Maybe you're doing everything wrong?

Distracts from your own work. Time spent comparing is time not spent building.

Moves goalposts constantly. You hit a milestone. Then you see someone further ahead. The win disappears.

The Math Doesn't Work

The comparison is structurally unfair.

You're comparing your beginning to their middle. They've been at it five years. You've been at it five months.

You're comparing your lows to their highs. You see their wins. You feel your losses.

You're comparing apples to oranges. Different products, markets, circumstances, advantages.

The comparison would only be fair if you compared your current self to their equivalent point in their journey. You don't have access to that data.

What to Compare Instead

There's only one fair comparison:

You vs. you last month. Did you make progress?

You vs. you last year. How far have you come?

Are you moving forward? That's the only question that matters.

Progress relative to yourself. Not relative to the highlight reels of strangers.

Curating Your Feed

Your mental environment matters.

Unfollow accounts that trigger comparison. Even if they're "valuable." Your mental health matters more.

Follow for learning, not status. People who teach, not just show off.

Mute when needed. Taking breaks is allowed.

You control what you consume. Use that power.

The Only Race That Matters

Ask yourself:

Are you building something that matters to you? Not something that impresses others—something you care about.

Are you making progress? Not compared to others—compared to yesterday.

If yes, that's enough. That's winning.

The comparison trap is a game you can't win. Stop playing.

Related Reading

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