Overcoming The Comparison Game

Hi Loves!

Today I wanted to talk about something that prevented me from starting to blog for a long long time. I call this “the comparison game” and honestly, it was going on for a long time before I even realized it was happening! Basically, it’s when we want to do something new so we start to do “research” by checking out other people who are doing the thing we want to do. Don’t get me wrong, I think it can be amazing to have friends and mentors who are in the same field that we want to get into. However, I found that I was constantly being stifled by comparing my beginning to someone else’s journey. And most of the time, that someone else’s journey, was a successful journey. What was happening was that I would find myself, being too afraid to START (in this case blogging) because I was comparing my work to the work of all these other bloggers that have been doing it for years.

After about 4 years of doing this, I FINALLY became conscious of it and decided it would NOT be going on anymore. I’m bringing this to your attention because I think it can absolutely be true in any industry, starting any project or business, or with anything in life. I also think that with social media, we need to have our guards up more than ever before, at the kind of content we spend time consuming. Is it making us feel better about ourselves or is it leaving us feeling empty? How many hours per day are we spending looking at other people’s “projects” and are we spending enough time free from distractions, focusing on our OWN projects?

Something that has greatly helped me to quit the comparison game, it to become extremely mindful about the time I’m spending on social media and on the internet. I’ve tried to become super choosey about the times of day I go on social media and how much time I invest “scrolling.” Instead, I’ve started to spend more time without my phone, writing down lists, creating new ideas for blog posts, and really tapping into that creative part of my brain rather than reaching for a cell phone! I swear the second I reach for the phone, I spiral down a hole and have wasted 15 minutes on social media.

This being said, I’m by no means saying that you should stop scrolling though Instagram. Rather, suggesting that you steer clear from it during those times where you’re trying to be productive and work towards dreams and goals. It’s crazy how much we internalize what we take in online, even if it’s only something we see for a few seconds! My intention for this post is that I can inspire you to trust in your OWN creativity and dreams and pursue them wholeheartedly without falling into this “comparison game” by constantly looking around at what others in your field are doing.

Have you guys ever felt the pressure of the “comparison game?” What tips have you implemented to prevent it? I would love to hear in the comments or via email. 🙂