We’re kinda on a roll with the whole envy-squishing theme, so why not one more?   In our last +1,  we talked about the fact that if we’re going to compare ourselves to others (please don’t! lol) we might as well do it right—recognizing the fact that EVERYONE experiences ups and downs en route to their particular flavor of awesome.   That wisdom reminds me of some parallel wisdom from Alan Stein’s great book Raise Your Game.   Here’s what he has to say about envy: “My friend Paul Bioncardi of ESPN loves to say, ‘You will always lose the Comparison Game.’ Why is that? Because it’s rigged. It has no function besides enlarging self-doubt. I’m typing this chapter on board a flight to South Dakota. Among the 250 passengers on this plane, I can quickly find someone better looking, funnier, more successful, taller, more muscular, smarter. It won’t take long to find someone who scores higher than me on almost any metric.”   Alan concludes: “If I use these people as my measuring stick—to determine my self-worth and value—I will always lose.”   The Comparison Game.   Want to know who ALWAYS loses that game?   You.   And me.   And everyone who plays it.   But only every single time.   (Reminds me of Byron Katie’s wisdom: “When I argue with reality, I lose—but only 100% of the time.”)   (Also reminds me of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wisdom: “Envy is ignorance. Imitation is suicide.”)   That’s Today’s +1.   Let’s channel our inner Faulkner and play the Optimize Game: “Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”   P.S. You know who ALWAYS wins the Optimize Game?   You.   And me.   And everyone who plays it.   But only every single time.    (Remember: Simply striving to be your best is a pre-win.)   +1. +1. +1. FOR THE WIN!!!