Do people need to compare themselves with others in order to appreciate what they have?

  It is humans' nature to compare one with himself to deduce if he is better than the other. After all, the word better can only be used if a comparison has been, or is being made, between two.

  If the comparer deduces that he is in a better state that the other (maybe the comparer has better shoes than the other, or has more money than the other or simply the fact that they have a better life than the other, for example, when a normal person watches a TV advert that is appealing the viewer to donates money to save starving children in Africa), his morale and self confidence will be elevated, but if he deduces that he is not in a better state then the other and that he doesn't have what the other has, the result of this realization will either have a positive or negative affect. If the comparer were to be affected positively, than he will be motivated to improve his situation and empower himself to be able to appreciate what he has in the future.
However, if the person were to be affected negatively, than the person will be demotivated, and then depressed and unable to excel in their life.

 
Therefore, I firmly agree that people need to compare themselves to others so that we can appreciate what we have and to be motivated. But sometimes comparing our selves to others can also depresses us.

People compare each other everywhere, from Olympic's 100 meters final to normal maths tests. Usain Bolt knows he is better than Yohan Blake and the rest of the world at running the 100 meters, because he is around .3 seconds faster than Blake and Blake himself is the second fastest man at the moment. Hence, Usain Bolt can be sure that he is faster, and therefore more gifted, at running than Yohan Blake and so he can proudly show off his signature move after each winning race.

Similarly, a frequently top scorer in maths tests can appreciate his talents by comparing himself to the rest of his class, who obviously score less than him in maths, as the comparer himself is the top scorer. However, the frequently low scorer of the maths class will not be able to appreciate the talent in maths he has because when he compares himself with his fellow students, he will see that he is not that competent in maths. However, the same person may be highly talented in Art, whereas the top Maths student may be not all good in Art, and so when the top scorer in maths compares his artistic ability to the low scorer in maths, the top scorer will seem to have less talent.

In conclusion, I can state that people need to compare themselves with others in order to appreciate what they have, as proved in the paragraphs above.