Perhaps I’m unusual, but other people earning more than me doesn’t dishearten me. My first job after uni was UK national average for all adults, so I felt well off even on “only” £24k in 2007, but ever since then, no matter how much I get paid, other people keep telling me I don’t earn enough.

If anything, the idea of earning twice as much feels weird rather than aspirational.

Perhaps some of them also meant you don't earn enough in the sense that they feel you're worth more than what you're being paid, which can be a reasonable belief.

But I suppose that in of itself can be unhealthy if taken too far.

This happens with me and I’m not proud of it.

I make a pretty healthy salary working in the valley, certainly higher than most. But of course there are plenty people that make more. When I see these I get that brief sense of negative emotion.

I don’t like it but not sure how to control it either. Except I guess not look up engineering salaries.