I find what you said about the competitiveness aspect of other people the most compelling, but aside from that, I've had increasing success with imagining someone else as myself but in another situation. It takes breaking down what a "situation" is and entails, and how entrenched it is into our identity. Think of times in your life when you were vastly different. Maybe you were stressed about your first SO in high school--perhaps someone you can't even imagine liking now. Can you successfully pretend, through the haze of time, being as obsessed o... (read more)
I find what you said about the competitiveness aspect of other people the most compelling, but aside from that, I've had increasing success with imagining someone else as myself but in another situation. It takes breaking down what a "situation" is and entails, and how entrenched it is into our identity. Think of times in your life when you were vastly different. Maybe you were stressed about your first SO in high school--perhaps someone you can't even imagine liking now. Can you successfully pretend, through the haze of time, being as obsessed o... (read more)