So her boobs are bigger...

What is it about women competing with other women? Whether it's the new girl that just started work at the office or a girlfriend you've known for years, something inside us begins to turn its wheels. At its best, it can be wonderful. Those women become mentors, examples to follow, pushing us to become more than what we are. At its worst, it can be deadly. We become unspoken enemies of people that could very well have been our friends.

If jealousy and competitiveness don't rear their ugly heads outright, they definitely exist inside our heads, creating a constant conversation with ourselves, our brains churning out private thoughts that if said aloud, would paint a very different picture of who we are.

Once we meet another woman, like an internal calculator, so begins the flow of self-analysis. If you're like most of us, it goes something like this…

Oh, she's really pretty. Well, she's probably high-maintenance. Those are really nice shoes. I'll bet she paid way too much for them and had to run up her credit card just to buy them. She just got promoted? Oh, she's an a-kisser and takes credit for everyone else's work anyway. She's really thin. Wouldn't surprise me if she spends all her time at the gym and doesn't have a life. She got her drinks paid for all night? Must be a skank. I mean, her boobs are huge...

Upon first glance, this may scare the bejesus out of the guys who are reading this. It all sounds like women just being bitches. And a lot of the time, they actually just are. However, this is also some insight into how many women think, what they notice, what's important to them and how many personal battles they wage not only with those around them, but also with themselves.

In truth, the petty thoughts belie the comparisons that inevitably come next…

She has her life together more than me. People like to hang out with her more. Guys pay more attention to her. Her relationship is more romantic than mine. She's more sexy, stylish, smart, talented, charismatic, funny, popular (insert whatever adjective is important to you here).

What's important to realize is that this comes from somewhere deeper, somewhere that is devoid of ego or self-centeredness, somewhere that is the core of where we doubt ourselves. In fact, these constant comparisons can, and often do, turn toxic. It all begins to boil down into a thought that is much simpler yet much more damaging…

She's better than me. Therefore, I have failed…

We all want many of the same things: love, money, health, recognition, good looks, a great career, a supportive family, true friends, security, adventure, what have you…yet somehow, that doesn't translate into us banding together to reach these goals but rather, into competing to be on top, out in front.

I don't pretend to have the answer to changing the nature of woman or to have the antidote to self-abusive thoughts. I also don't believe that women will ever stop competing with one another. However, I do know that seeing another woman succeed should do two things: inspire you to change the things you want to about yourself and make you appreciate those things about you that she's secretly wishing she had.

Keep on running the race, but against yourself this time. You'll always come out better in the end. Even if her boobs are bigger than yours. Everyone knows it's easier to go for a run when they're smaller anyway...