Why I Feel Inferior To Others?

This feeling of inferiority can become an obstacle to living fully.

Feeling inferior to others can be a temporary feeling or a permanent condition . In either case, it is a situation that must be fought, because living with this constant sensation slows down the possibilities of personal growth.

Although it is something that happens to many people, it is usually a subject that is rarely talked about and less openly. This is because it is difficult to accept that you have this feeling of inferiority, so it is important to know what happens to us psychologically and how to solve it.

Why do I feel inferior?

The feeling of inferiority has various causes . Understanding the possible origin gives us an accurate panorama to be able to take action on the way to solve it. The first step is to recognize yourself in this situation and have the determination to want to change it.

A self-examination of conscience, a journey through our own history, an open and willing attitude, can help us find the answer to the feeling of feeling inferior to others, knowing what is happening and how to solve it.

1. A past with traumatic experiences

The feeling of inferiority can be traced back to childhood . Do a little analysis and remember if during childhood there was this feeling of being inferior to the rest. It could have happened that in the family environment more emphasis was placed on defects or that there were many comparisons with siblings or children of the same age.

This could have diminished, from an early age, security and self-confidence, normalizing an attitude of continuous comparison with other people with the feeling of "never measuring up". An episode of bullying or some type of abuse, whether short or pronounced, could also have generated that feeling of insecurity.

2. Being in a stage of intense pressure

During a high-pressure episode, your self-confidence may be undermined . Whether due to physical and mental exhaustion or the stress of achieving goals, being under a lot of pressure can make the person feel in a state of inferiority from which it is difficult to get out.

This is because the mind begins to run out and perceive everything with a certain negativity. However, it may have more to do with the fact that what we want to achieve requires all our effort, and the anguish of not being able to achieve it absorbs us. A promotion at work, a professional exam, or being in competition with other people to get something are common examples of this negative environment.

3. Living in a toxic relationship

Spending a long time living in a toxic relationship leads to insecurities. Living closely and continuously with a person who hurts us begins to make a dent in our personality . It is common in this type of relationship for one or both of the people involved to make continuous attacks, highlighting the flaws and mistakes in the other.

This can be in an aggressive and very obvious way, or it can be with “disguised” comments, that is, passive-aggressive. Comments like "don't be silly, you can't do something like that" or "better don't try, it's clear that you won't get it" generate a feeling of inferiority that ends up taking over who receives these comments continuously.

4. Negative environment and lack of recognition

There are environments where it is not customary to celebrate achievements, and this affects its members . A workplace where bosses are governed by sanctions and little or no recognition can generate a feeling of dissatisfaction and even inferiority in its members. The same thing happens in family systems where there is so much rigidity that it is only required, but no achievement is rewarded or recognized.

After spending prolonged time in environments with these characteristics, people can begin to feel inferior to the rest. Above all, if there are members whose efforts are recognized and there is a real grievance with the affected person. Working for a raise, promotion, or recognition and failing after several attempts causes a feeling of inferiority that can be profound.

5. Extreme competition

Growing up in situations of extreme competition results in feeling inferior to the rest . It may be that, given the loss of employment, the search for a new opportunity becomes difficult given the country's own economic situation. This makes it an extreme competition that often makes it difficult to find a job.

On the other hand, a sports or recreational environment can become a highly competitive environment where its members have forgotten that the important thing is the journey and not the goal. This results in great pressure to achieve excellence, but at the same time it can generate feelings of inferiority by being continually exposed to criticism, competition and the possibility of not achieving the objective.

Competitiveness office

How can I stop feeling inferior to others?

Stop feeling inferior to others is possible . There are tools and alternatives that can help us face situations that diminish our self-confidence and lead us to feel inferior to the rest.

It is important to take action and find the strength to achieve it in various alternatives. It is not enough just to want to stop feeling like this. You have to get down to work to stop feeling inferior to others.

1. Leave the past behind

It is important to understand that what made us feel inferior is in the past . If your family history or going back to your childhood made you understand that the origin of your insecurity is there, it is time to solve it and leave that feeling in the past. There are many alternatives to heal that story and prevent it from continuing to affect you.

It may be a good time to choose some type of psychological therapy that can help with this . The past must be left behind, although I may have defined who you are today, it is also true that the important thing is what you do now with yourself and your situations. Therefore, erasing from your mind what was recorded at that moment will be of great help to remove that feeling that does not do justice to who you really are.

2. Become aware of perfection

Neither we nor anyone around us is perfect in everything or all the time . When we feel inferior it is because we tend to lose perspective on things. Those who apparently do things better than us seem to be perfect. Or it also happens that we feel that what we do well we could do better and we feel dissatisfied.

While there are always opportunities to improve, you have to maintain a healthy balance at this point. We must understand that we are not always going to be the best in what we like and what we do. It is necessary to carry out and live these capacities, for the pleasure of doing them and not for the irrational need to achieve perfection. Making mistakes of all kinds is absolutely normal and we must accept that this makes us human.

3. Objectively visualize your defects and virtues

Making a list of our strengths and weaknesses helps us put things into perspective . As long as we feel inferior to others, it will surely be difficult for us to make a long list of virtues and we will find ourselves before an endless list of defects. However, this is a necessary exercise that requires objectivity beyond the emotion that dominates us at the moment.

As an objective we must consider being able to list the same number of virtues as defects. After this, we must continue until the qualities outweigh the defects. This will help us to have a perspective that we have a lot to offer but we are having a hard time being aware of it because the feeling of inferiority is flooding us. We must continually remind ourselves of these virtues, and hold them in good esteem.

4. Identify the people or environments that harm you

Sometimes we don't realize that those around us hurt us . As mentioned above, it may be our environment or the people we live with, who may be reinforcing our feeling of inferiority without us realizing it. That is why it is so important to identify if there is an external source that is leading us to this sensation.

Once you have identified this, it is time to strengthen yourself and act to prevent this from continuing to undermine your security. You can make several strategies. Either that you take physical distance as far as possible or that you strengthen yourself emotionally to face people and situations without being damaged and with diminished insecurity.

5. Drop the comparisons

One of the things that most damages self-esteem are comparisons. Although it seems like a very natural behavior in human beings, it is something that we can and should do without. From a very young age we are exposed to comparisons, and this is something that marks our behavior and our being.

For this reason, we must stop doing it. To achieve this, we must understand that our strengths and weaknesses make us unique beings , and that we all have fears and anxieties, dreams and desires, and that makes comparisons impossible or establish who is better or worse, so there is no point in continuing to do so. , because it ends up harming us.