Feeling threatened by people who are better than you in some way

Feeling threatened by people who are better than you in some way
A secure person is comfortable with where they stand in the world, even if it's not at the top. An insecure person feels on shaky ground. They only feel safe if they're above everybody. If that position seems threatened, they go through some crazy mental contortions to place themselves back on top again.

If someone comes along who is objectively better than them on some dimension, they'll find a way to knock the other person back down to earth. They may disparage the other person totally within their mind ("She's not so great..."). They may chat to the other person in a passive-aggressive way and try to subtly take them down a peg. If someone is really insecure they may confront the other person head on in an attempt to discredit them and reaffirm their pretend place at the top of the pecking order ("You think you're so special? You're not because of x,y,z.")

Take a look at your thinking if you always find yourself cutting down people who are in a better position than you. Ideally, you want to appreciate them and maybe learn something from them. Constantly knocking people down makes you stagnant. Rather than grow, you just stay where you are and mentally prune back any challenges to your position.