"Amos, What do you think is the cause of Inferiority complex?" 

That was a question, my friend Isa asked me when I visited him in his hostel. I gathered my thoughts for a minute before responding.

"Personally,  comparison is a major cause of inferiority complex. When we compare our failures and successes to that of others, we are prone to either feel inferior or superior to them."

Dear Reader,

I used to do that a lot. I used to compare the successes of others both online and offline to mine and feel useless, like I wasn't serious with my life. Sometimes, it was over something as trivial as the number of likes, comments, and shares on a social media post.

Most times, I compare their successes to my failures and feel like I'll never get better. The irony was that most of the people I compared myself to had been doing what they were doing for years and I was only starting, yet I was expecting to get the results they were getting. I didn't understand that they'd failed before they succeeded. I only know half their story (the successful part) and yet compared myself to that. 
My mentor Jim once joked about how wonderful it would be if failures gave seminars and workshops on how they failed. 
Everything changed when I came across a post that changed my mindset of superiority and inferiority complex. 
It was a photo of two lightbulbs describing our reaction to the success of others: one lit and the other unlit. 
Underneath the unlit bulb was the word " Envy" and underneath the lit bulb was the word "inspiration"

That photo gave me two choices; I could either be envious of the success of others or be inspired by it."

Since seeing that, I've conditioned myself to be inspired by and not envious of the achievements of those around me, especially my friends.

When a friend achieves a feat, I congratulate them and say to myself. "This person set a goal, worked on it, and achieved it. If I do the same, then I'd achieve my goals too."

Besides, I've learned that if you're the most intelligent in a room, you're in the wrong room.
There's nothing more inspiring to me than to be surrounded by high achievers and individuals chasing their goals. I stand the chance to be influenced by their optimism and drive to achieve their goals.

There's a term I use to refer to such individuals, I call them "Ballers" 
This is a recognition of the capacity to grow and how that can influence me.

The words of Jim Rohn couldn't be more true; "Each of us needs all of us." 
I realize that I can't succeed by myself, which is why I surround myself with "Ballers" 
Learn to be inspired and not envious.

Tell yourself the following words, "I am inferior to no one and superior only to my former self."

Yours truly,
Amos Bani
(The Bibliophile)