Comparison

the measuring against everyone else

You walked in already ranked — a half-step behind someone, a half-step ahead of someone else, and never quite even. Set the scoreboard down for four short steps. These lines were written by people who knew that ache and found their way out from under it.

All that measuring is really a search for where you stand — who's worth more, who's worth less. The text agrees there are fine things to admire, then quietly points somewhere the ranking can't reach:
Trained mules are fine, and so are thoroughbred Sindhu horses and noble tusker elephants. But finer still is the person who has tamed their own self.Dhp 322
And the trouble with the contest isn't only losing it. Even pulling ahead leaves you holding something, and the text names the cost of both seats at that table:
Victory breeds enmity, and the one who is defeated lies down in pain. Discarding both victory and defeat, the peaceful live happily.Dhp 201
Stepping out of the contest starts with where your eyes go. So much comparing is just attention spent on other people's ledgers — here's the older place to spend it instead:
Don't dwell on the faults of others, or on what they did or failed to do. Look instead at your own actions: what you have done, and what you have left undone.Dhp 50
When you stop measuring outward, you can finally feel what you already have. The text adds up the things no one else can hand you or take away:
Health is the most precious gain and contentment the greatest wealth; a trustworthy person is the best kin, and peace the highest happiness.Dhp 204

You came in carrying a place in line that was never really yours to keep. You can set it down here — not because the wanting to matter was foolish, but because you were always more than the distance between you and anyone else.