No, really. We don't care. You are caught in your own little race with yourself. So just enjoy it why don't you? We don't care. (from a different poster)Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We’re easy to recognize. We live in the houses you wished you lived in, in the neighborhoods you can’t. Our kids go to schools you can’t get get your kids into, and we drive the cars you can’t afford.
Dude, you're in a race that a lot of us opted out of. No one cares.
You opted out because you couldn’t.... wait for it....
compete.
The way I deal with people like this - if I can't avoid them - is to think about what it must be like to be in the mind of someone who is so deeply insecure that they have to keep reminding everyone (and themselves) how special they are. That's a special kind of hell to live in - where you're never good enough for yourself.Anonymous wrote:Some people are just very intense. Like I've only met my friend's BIL a handful of times. Maybe 10x? And he is clearly one of the most competitive people I've ever met. He once told me, in a kind of jokey way, that he was annoyed because his wife had made more TV appearances than he had in the most recent calendar year, and he liked to "win that one." They are both very accomplished and smart. But there was something so distasteful to me about competing with your own spouse about something pretty shallow (neither of them do TV for a living, they just get invited on news shows periodically to discuss their areas of expertise). He also brags on his kids a lot, but in a way that feels almost offensive, like it's an attack not just on my kids but on ALL other kids. He once told me that his daughter never gets cold because his wife at a high protein diet during pregnancy. It was so weird!
I also knew a woman for a while who didn't seem that competitive at first, but it would come out whenever she did something brag-worthy. Like she'd never say "I'm really excited about my new job!" She'd say "I hope all those suckers who didn't get this job don't hate me too much!" Or if she went on vacation somewhere cool, it was never "Wow, that place was great, I loved it" or even "you should go!" It was always "Haha, sucks to be stuck at home when I was hanging out in HAWAII on the BEACH." She'd say it in kind of a funny way, but after a while I realized that she was just really competitive and liked winning (and was an extremely graceless winner).
Those are the main signs for me -- constantly comparing yourself to others, constantly talking up your accomplishments, turning stuff that shouldn't be competitive into a competition, bragging, being aggressive.
Anonymous wrote:Types of competitive people:
The ones at competitive sporting events
The ones that have a nicer car/better job/better spouse/better house/better clothes/better kids than you do
The one uppers (the ones that take whatever you say and turn it into a chance to make themselves out to be superior to you).
The ones that talk loud and talk over you
The ones that buy the largest gifts/throw the largest parties/put up the largest decorations/invite the most people (pre-covid)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have a higher IQ than anyone else on DCUM.
What’s your number? I’m pretty high.
Anonymous wrote:I have a higher IQ than anyone else on DCUM.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We’re easy to recognize. We live in the houses you wished you lived in, in the neighborhoods you can’t. Our kids go to schools you can’t get get your kids into, and we drive the cars you can’t afford.
Dude, you're in a race that a lot of us opted out of. No one cares.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The better question is "Why does it bother you?"
^^ we’ve got a live one
Heh. That's nothing, you should have seen a thread I started on this topic. I had like 50 pages the first hour.
I hope this was intended to be a meta joke, and not someone actually competing on how their thread was better. You never can tell here on DCUM!
Ha ha it was. But you are right-- you never can tell!
Now, me, I can always tell. I have such a good sarcasm radar. When jokes go over other poster's heads, I totally get it. I have the best reaction gifs too, like, "whoosh" response...nobody on here reaction gifs like I do. Plus my kids are all advanced and I'm 70 but I look like I'm 23.

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The better question is "Why does it bother you?"
^^ we’ve got a live one
Heh. That's nothing, you should have seen a thread I started on this topic. I had like 50 pages the first hour.
I hope this was intended to be a meta joke, and not someone actually competing on how their thread was better. You never can tell here on DCUM!
Ha ha it was. But you are right-- you never can tell!
Now, me, I can always tell. I have such a good sarcasm radar. When jokes go over other poster's heads, I totally get it. I have the best reaction gifs too, like, "whoosh" response...nobody on here reaction gifs like I do. Plus my kids are all advanced and I'm 70 but I look like I'm 23.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The better question is "Why does it bother you?"
^^ we’ve got a live one
Heh. That's nothing, you should have seen a thread I started on this topic. I had like 50 pages the first hour.
I hope this was intended to be a meta joke, and not someone actually competing on how their thread was better. You never can tell here on DCUM!
Ha ha it was. But you are right-- you never can tell!
Now, me, I can always tell. I have such a good sarcasm radar. When jokes go over other poster's heads, I totally get it. I have the best reaction gifs too, like, "whoosh" response...nobody on here reaction gifs like I do. Plus my kids are all advanced and I'm 70 but I look like I'm 23.

Anonymous wrote:We’re easy to recognize. We live in the houses you wished you lived in, in the neighborhoods you can’t. Our kids go to schools you can’t get get your kids into, and we drive the cars you can’t afford.
Anonymous wrote:Competitive people are usually slow to pay compliments. Paying compliments causes them pain. For me, that is generally a first sign of an envious person as well.