Why does comparing my financial situation to others' make me feel worse about myself?

Because you're comparing your inside—your doubts, your struggles, the messy reality—to someone else's outside. And that's a losing game that Zera Yacob would have recognized immediately as a betrayal of your own reason. Here's the harder truth: comparison isn't really about the money. It's about whether you believe you deserve dignity and respect regardless of how much you have. When you measure yourself against someone else's salary or savings, you're basically saying: 'My worth depends on having more.' But that's not how worth works. It doesn't scale with your bank account. Zera believed that reason and ethics apply equally to all humans—poor or rich. Your capacity to think clearly, to act with integrity, to care for people, to figure things out—none of that changes based on your income. Those are the things that actually matter. When you catch yourself comparing, try this: notice it without judgment, then ask: 'What do I actually want to build or change in my own life?' Not for status. For you. For the life that's actually yours. That shift—from comparison to intention—is when money stress loses some of its power over your peace.