Acharya Prashant addresses the question of why people tend to compare themselves with others. He explains that comparing oneself with others is a secondary problem. The more fundamental issue is whether you truly know where you stand and what you must be. The most primal and important comparison is the internal one: comparing your current self to your potential self. If comparing yourself to others facilitates this primary, internal comparison, then there is no harm in it. For instance, seeing a healthy person can remind you of your own potential for health. However, this external comparison is peripheral. The first step must be an internal evaluation, asking, "Am I happy with myself?" The speaker illustrates this with an analogy: if you are sick, knowing that others are almost dying does not heal your sickness. Similarly, being comparatively better than others does not resolve your own issues. The problem is an "inner thirst" or "mental thirst" that we are often not sensitive enough to experience. Because we don't know what we are truly thirsty for, we consume miscellaneous things, which only aggravates the thirst. The speaker advises the questioner, a student, to spend time with himself and expose himself to things beyond his immediate campus environment, which can be an echo chamber. He suggests that the student should not let the drift of the environment carry him away, as this leads to a miserable life where one's destiny is determined by random, unconscious choices. Instead, he should create an environment for himself where insight and clarity can emerge. This involves reading a lot, especially the biographies and autobiographies of great people from all walks of life, to see how they made decisions in their youth. By exposing himself to new dimensions and perspectives, he can understand his own unique needs and make conscious decisions for his life, which is the one precious opportunity he has.