Why is it that we always find ourselves comparing our work to others? Whether it’s the neighbor’s lawn looking better than ours or a colleague being promoted ahead of us, comparison is something we all battle with. And more often than not, it leads to feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. So how do we stop comparing ourselves with others?
Why comparing your creative self to others is a bad move
1. Comparing yourself to others will always leave you feeling lacking.
No matter how successful you are, there will always be someone who is more successful than you. And when you compare yourself to them, you will always come up short. The grass is always greener on the other side, and that green grass can quickly turn into an all-consuming jealousy that zaps your creative energy and motivation.
2. Comparison breeds discontentment.
It's easy to be content with your life when you're not constantly comparing it to someone else's. But as soon as you start seeing all the ways in which other people's lives seem better than yours, it's hard to feel satisfied with what you have. This breeds discontentment, which can quickly lead to feelings of depression and hopelessness—two emotions that are definitely not conducive to creativity!
3. When you compare yourself to others, you're distracting yourself from your own journey.
"Comparison is an act of violence against the self." - Iyanla Vanzant. Comparing yourself to others robs you of valuable time and energy that could be used to further your own journey. We all have our own unique path to follow, and comparison derails us from staying focused on our own goals and achievements.
What to do about it
1. Acknowledge Your Feelings
The first step to stopping the comparison trap is acknowledging your feelings. When you find yourself feeling jealous or resentful of someone else’s success, take a step back and recognize what’s going on. Once you name the feeling, it will be easier to deal with it in a productive way.
2. Be Grateful for What You Have
It’s easy to focus on what we don’t have when we compare ourselves to others. But if we take a step back and are grateful for everything we do have, it puts things into perspective. Instead of feeling like we’re lacking, we realize just how much we actually have.
3. Remember That Everyone Is on Their Own Journey
We all have different journeys in life. Just because someone appears to be ahead of us doesn’t mean they actually are. We don’t know what challenges they had to overcome to get where they are today. So instead of comparing our journey to someone else’s, focus on our own path and trust that everything will work out in the end.
4. Focus on Your Own Progress
Comparison robs us of the joy of our own accomplishments because we get wrapped up in what someone else is doing. But if we can focus on our own progress, no matter how small, it remind us just how far we’ve come—and how far we can still go.
Be proud of your creative self
Comparison is the enemy of creativity because it breeds feelings of jealousy, inadequacy, and insecurity. If we want to be creative and productive, we need to focus on our own journey and trust that everything will work out in the end. By following these four steps—acknowledging our feelings, being grateful for what we have, remembering that everyone is on their own journey, and focusing on our own progress—we can stop the compare ourselves with others and live more creative lives.
