REMAIN A FAN

Competition is all around and it can feel especially daunting within any creative field. Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of benefits to competition. I personally find myself the most driven and motivated when I feel like I have something to prove, but if you’re not careful, competition can be a slippery slope. 

I find it crucial to be aware of what it is you’re competing with. If you find yourself competing with someone simply to prove you’re better, stop right now and reassess why you’re really here and what it is you actually want. If competing with others is all that’s motivating you, you’ll soon find yourself in a pool of resentment, hating everything you’ve accomplished, with no peers or friends in sight. 

Compete with yourself instead. Compete to become better and to master your craft. Compete to keep learning and growing. 

The next time you feel that pang of envy towards a peer succeeding, think of it as proof that you yourself could do it too. Look at it as an opportunity for inspiration rather than a competition to outperform them. They’ve shown you it’s possible and if you’re an admirer rather than a hater, they might just show you how they did it. 

Competition can become so consuming that we risk losing sight of all the reasons we started our craft to begin with. If you make an effort to remain a fan of your craft, you’re more likely to rejoice in whatever accomplishments your peers are contributing to that craft. This will not only uplift your peers and celebrate them accordingly, but it’ll also motivate you to keep enriching that same space with your own achievements. After all, there’s plenty of room for more and no body wants to be sitting at the top all alone.