Isn't this the kind of "reference group" you want, one that inspires you, not one that makes you feel good by being less than you?
100%. It's also such a better way to go about living life, cultivating a mindset more driven by gratitude and inspiration than one so focused on jealousy and climbing some abstract/comparative ladder that doesn't really matter in the end.
if only we could step back in time a couple decades with what we know now :)
I think about this all of the time! There are so many people I wish I could go back and treat with so much more kindness. Then again, I often think that if it wasn't for my mistakes, I might not have ever learned to aim higher and to try and pass on my lessons to my kids. I'm just grateful they (mostly) stuck as early as they did.