I always say, "The quickest way to feel inadequate is to compare yourself to someone else". Don't do it. Ever. This is where cognitive-behaviorism comes in (my former profession of head-shrinking) - change the thought and you change the behavior. Instead say something like, "He does this better than I, but I do this better than he". Even if you really have to reach for something. Say something like, "He makes awesome hand-drawn maps but I scramble the heck out of eggs". So at least you come out even - never let yourself come out on the bottom. You'll end up depressed, wearing nothing but black, and sitting in your room (been there done that). It's called self-fulfilling prophecy - if you think that you suck then, in tiny ways, you make sure that you do. If you think that you make crappy maps then you'll always find a way to make a good map crappy. You sabotage yourself by comparing yourself to others in order to justify your thinking that you are less than them somehow. It's easy to give up but it's harder to work to get better. Don't take the easy way out; take the hard road and you'll feel better about yourself when you come out the other side. That work gives you motivation, drive, and once you have that you'll keep at it and eventually you'll be able to say, "He still does hand-drawn style better but I'm getting pretty good myself - plus, I still scramble the heck out of them eggs". Now you're just a little bit ahead. Don't say, "it's not as good as Mr. X and I'll never be that good". Instead say, "it's better than my last one and that's a good thing; a few more of these and I'll be pretty darn good". You want to know a secret? Mr. X said that very same thing so he stuck to it and got better and now he is where is - he just started his journey before you did. Maybe you walk faster so maybe you'll catch up to him and pass him. Maybe you won't but that's nothing to beat yourself up about...you've still come a long way and are much better than before. So while it's important to feel good about your work, you should never compare it to anything but your own work. Compare your stuff to someone else and you lose, compare your new stuff to your old stuff and you always win. Feeling like a winner helps to keep you positive and staying positive keeps you moving forward, rising above, and never accepting mediocrity from yourself. That's what drives the best. Well, I don't know really but it sounds good and that's what works for me, hence the nickname. And if I'm wrong I still make a mean breakfast.