Life is not a teeter-totter.
When you go up, an equal,
opposite reaction doesn’t happen,
never shoves me down. When we work
together, we can’t feel resentment,
don’t  have to yield stature so another
can shine. Like bedsprings not connected,
my high, your high, both reign supreme,
independent – though together we reach out,
lend the hand of encouragement, banish fear
for love.

Fear develops from our incessant comparisons with others. We think everyone else is better than we are, “has it more together” than we do. And out of our feelings of inadequacy, we consciously or unconsciously wan to undermine them, their confidence, and their capabilities in any activity we share. We think judging them, and in the process hopefully reducing their success, elevates us, at least in our own minds for a few brief moments. (Change Your Mind and Your Life Will Follow, Karen Casey, pp. 55-56)