I am a 5'11" slim guy, and throughout my life, I’ve often felt seen as one of the "most good-looking guys" in my social circles.
I guess I got used to that idea, and built a lot of my self-image around it.

Because of this, I remember feeling really uncomfortable back in high school a few years ago when a girl told me that one of my friends - who seemed to be on the same level as me in terms of looks, and got the same amount of attention as I did - was more good-looking than I was.
I am not sure if she meant it seriously or was teasing, but it bothered me a lot.

Now at university before the summer holidays, I ended up in a class with a 6'9" tall, very muscular man who draws effortless attention from girls.
It is pretty obvious from their flirting and frequent attempts to spend time with him that he is considered far more attractive than not just me, but most guys around.
At first, this made me feel really uneasy, since I have never felt this overshadowed by another man before, and it affected my self-image a lot.

A few girls from the class noticed this in me and kindly reassured me that I look great, but they also firmly admitted that this guy is considered "much more good-looking" than me by themselves, and apparently also by most others.

...and surprisingly enough, I felt totally fine hearing that.

This kind of direct comparison would normally make me feel anxious, but somehow, in this case, it didn't;
it actually felt perfectly fine, even though I know that I would still generally be very sensitive to potential comparisons like that.

How does this work?
Shouldn't I feel even more uncomfortable being told so clearly that someone is considered "far more attractive" than me, especially when I was told this by several girls this time, and also the fact that I reacted uncomfortably to that comparison in the past?