In the heap of senseless reels that we consume everyday, I saw something really meaningful which said that "when you stop looking down on people, you also stop looking up to them." It was so powerful that I had to write about it, because I do kinda live by that rule, but never really appropriated it, the way the girl in that reel did.
So, yes, when you stop looking down on people lesser successful than you, you also stop looking up to other people doing better than you in life, the entire top down approach of looking at life and doing comparisons begin to dissolve, and with it, the quiet insecurities and inflated egos that come from placing people above or below you. There’s no hesitation around someone more successful or more talented, because you’re no longer measuring yourself against them, you’re observing them. Insecurity is replaced by curiosity. You begin to study what works in their life, what doesn’t, and what can be meaningfully integrated into your own, without blindly accepting anything at face value. The truth becomes clearer, and the individual slowly fades into the background; you’re no longer reacting to people as personalities, but to the truths they embody and the flaws they carry. At the same time, you don’t deny the existence of roles, some situations require you to lead, decide, negotiate, or direct, but those roles no longer translate into differences in human worth. Hierarchy remains functional, not psychological. You can ask your driver to take a different route or negotiate a price, you can ask your employees for accountability in their work but without ever placing yourself above them. What remains constant is a sense of equality at the human level. You look up to what is true, and look down on what is false: not in people, but in principles. And in doing so, you move through life with a rare balance: clear in your actions, grounded in your values, and free from the need to either elevate or diminish anyone, including yourself.
