Here is why comparison is your creativity killer..
I really enjoyed drawing when I was little.
Then, sometime around grade 4, I sat next to a girl who was sketching stunning portraits with ease and a natural sense of proportion.
This is when I decided that my attempts at drawing one-dimensional flowers and butterflies should stop. Same happened with my love for singing, dancing and writing.
As soon as I saw someone doing it “better” than me, I lost any motivation and just gave up on myself…
At some point in my teens, I realized that I’m just not a creative type. I couldn’t see any special talents in myself, and stopped experimenting and trying. I also didn’t want to be just good at something. I wanted to be the best!
For as long as I can remember, I blamed it on being a competitive leo and a generalist, but I am now realizing that it stemmed from lack of confidence and not understanding that creativity simply can’t be compared. Picasso wasn’t less creative than Rembrandt. He just was uniquely different.
As we grow older, most of us stop exercising creativity because we compare ourselves to others and experience shame. Also, who has time for drawing, dancing, singing or just creating something for the sake of creating - when it’s our society puts so much emphasis on measuring achievements?
Here is what I learned from Brene Brown:
"There is no such thing as being a creative person or a non-creative person. There are just people who use their creativity and those who don’t. And the only unique contribution we will ever make in this world will be born out of creativity"
Read this again.☝️
If we want to go beyond mediocrity and do something meaningful, we need to exercise creativity and make time for it. Any form counts, but it has to spark joy and come from our heart. It can be anything - writing, creating fashion looks, taking pictures, scrapbooking, sketching, or decorating. Singing in the shower counts too 😁🚿 Only when we are creating, we cultivate meaning.
But it comes with one caveat: we must let go of comparisons because creativity is about originality. While comparisons make us feel inferior or superior, creativity makes us embrace our uniqueness and cultivate self-acceptance. This is why mindless consumption of other people’s content takes so much time, triggers toxic comparisons, and sucks our energy.
Imagine how much you could create if you just stopped constantly consuming and comparing yourself to others? Or if you started intentionally consuming very specific content with the sole purpose to inspire your own creativity?
Ever since I made creativity my priority, I discovered how much of my potential was lying dormant. I finally allowed myself to write and design. I finally see my incomparable uniqueness and awesomeness. It gives me strength and confidence. It energizes me. It creates my meaning.
And just think of some talents you might’ve buried when you were little. Revive them. Make time for them. Enjoy them. Cultivate them. But don’t measure them. And don’t compare yourself to others. You can’t be “behind” or “ahead” when it comes to creativity. But creativity is what will crack you open and accelerate your growth.
I hope you do something creative today. And every day ❤️
Xoxo Olena