How Do Expert Chess Players Do It?

There is a human tendency to compare ourselves to other people, specially when it's something ego related. We immediately want to know how we stack up. My honest answer is, i would probably rather be five % more talented than the people on me because why my ego exists. And it does it by making a relative judgment to what i see. So you'd rather be a big ish in a slightly stinky pond than a slightly smaller fish in a pristine pond. I love to play golf with golfers who were better than me, but not too much better. Leaders often say that the secret to success was just to surround himself always with people who were a little smarter. The downside really