Thinking about it, I guess I have a vague drive to keep the things I can control above average. It’s not really anyone in particular I’m competing with, and it’s not even really “average”, I just don’t want to be sadder or have less options than I can.
It wasn’t always that way, I was totally happy scraping by for a long long time and seeing how little obligation I could get by with.
I think there’s two reasons it changed
1) My wife and daughter deserve someone who can be part of their support system in every way I can. So do my parents if they ever need anything.
2) I was given a lot. I got great parents, I’m fully able, I have some skills and interests. At some point it started feeling like I wasn’t honoring all that by coasting along.
So like @Mimishu1995, I think I compare sometimes, but it’s mostly to see if I’m just being a stubborn fool and missing something. If someone else is living a balanced life that I’d prefer, how are they doing it?