Most of us do or try to do so. Should we? Why? What's the benefits? Is this the universal nature of competing and evolving for existence? For the rest think they are worse than others or same as the others, What are they thinking? Are they just weak anomalies which will be gone soon? As for the difference between better and worse used here, think in common sense rather than coming up with something abstract.
The type of thinking(we are better than others) is the BASIS of the entire financial trading/investment industry. But the sad, hard, cold facts is that the VAST majoity of people do WORST than average. That's why 80% of fund managers do NOT beat the index(which is just the averages). And the vast majority of short term traders do not make $. And the vast majority of people trade worst than random as noted by William Eckhart of Market Wizards.
Hidden failure is hugely common .. whats new there. But when you set off after success, you will as result of real achievement become better than others and even possibly most others. Rivalry .. well thats just part of the human condition or often as much the animal condition. Thinking you are better than others, thats just you own idea of your ranking, whether largely true or largely false. Any power book will tell you that making yourself unnecessarily felt as better than others is often not in the interests of your own advancement or even of your own comfort.
Well, not only that, nowadays most people just talk about things and do things like they are better than anyone else. Hold on. Perhaps it is just my thinking they act like that. Certainly they make me think this way.
One of the human's natural characteristics that have been well proven in our (un-?)civilisation history.
I think I am better than other as I always seem to take their money. Surely this is the only trading yardstick? What is being 'better' to a load of guys that sit looking at numbers all day? Winning - pure and simple. Making money, notes, cash etc. Anyone who says 'being better' is anything other than your pnl is clearly insane and I look forward to trading with them. Yours No 1 Trader