You are drinking your morning coffee when a friend’s news comes across your phone. A woman you came up alongside has just been named CEO of the company she helped build. You type a warm congratulations and you mean every word. A few minutes later, you notice a small tightness in your chest that was not there before.
If you have felt this, you are in good company among successful women. You can be genuinely proud of your friend and still feel a quiet pull to measure your own path against hers. Holding both at once does not make you a lesser person or a lesser friend.
What the Sting Is Pointing To
Comparison often carries a message about something you want. When one particular win catches you, it usually touches a hope you have not said out loud yet. Maybe it is a bigger role. Maybe it is being recognized for work you have been doing quietly for years.
Seen that way, the feeling becomes useful. You can ask yourself, gently, “What is this showing me about what I want?” and give the answer time to surface.
Celebrating Her Fully
Successful women are often encouraged to see each other as competition for a few seats at the table. Among women in business, the friendships that last through a career are usually the ones where each person cheers the other on.
So reach out personally, with a call or a handwritten note, and name the specific thing you admire about how she got there. Later, when you have a quiet minute, sit with what her news stirred in you, without judging any of it. The next time you talk, you might ask her a real question about her path. People tend to enjoy being asked.
Taking One Step Toward Your Own Hope
Once you have celebrated her, turn back to the hope her news revealed and give it one small step this week. That might be a conversation with a mentor, an application you have been putting off, or an hour of planning on a Saturday morning. If you tend to wait until a goal feels fully earned, a small step lets you begin sooner.
As you take that first step, a quiet walk with The OM Factor: A Woman’s Spiritual Guide to Leadership audiobook can keep you connected to your own sense of direction, so the next friend’s good news is easier to simply enjoy.
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