Day 79: Stop comparing yourself to other creators

Think about content like cooking. Every creator is a chef. We are all in the same kitchen, but everyone is making something different. Some are whipping up noodles, some are baking bread, and others are making beans or slow-cooked beef.

Each dish requires a unique set of skills and a different amount of time.

Noodles take 10 minutes.

Beans might take hours unless, plot twist, the chef has a pressure cooker, so it’s ready in 15.

And then the people making pasta might roll their eyes at the beans, like “oh please, she’s so fast because her father has money and he got her that pressure cooker,”

But what they don’t is she spent 10 months saving up for it, or maybe she got married last month, and it was a wedding gift.

While all of this is happening, there’s someone else in the kitchen who cannot even cook, but they have food. You know how? They hired a chef.

So, where am I going with all this? Please stop comparing yourself.

Everyone is on a different journey. Not only is comparison terrible for your emotional health and peace of mind. It is simply unwise. It is foolish!

You are comparing apples and oranges. You can’t spy on someone making moi-moi and then copy their steps and make banana bread because the batter looks similar.

Some people can touch hot pots with their bare hands. If you try it, it will burn you! And this isn’t me saying any one type of creator is superior to another.

Some people only know how to make noodles, but when they make that noodles for you. They’ll add fish, chicken breast, veggies, and you taste it, will just blow your mind.

I could go on and on with this analogy, but this post would take an hour to read. So I’m going to stretch the analogy a little more and leave you with this.

Everyone has different tastes. That’s why there’s a creator for every audience, and no matter how amazing you are, there will still be people that don’t like you.

For example, some people don’t like jollof. Strange! Some don’t like yam, honestly, questionable taste, but there’s still a place for them in society.

On the other hand, there are people in their right minds that like Amala. People who eat avocado in public. What can I say? There’s an audience for that.

What I’m saying is we can’t all be the same, and we shouldn’t be. Look to others for inspiration. Admire them, in fact. Learn from them, but stay in your lane and honor your process.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who is faster, who is fancier, who has the best edits, who has the best meal, or who feeds the most people.

What matters is this: Your audience is waiting for YOUR dish. So step up, cook it like only you can, and continue to serve.

This is creator 101, your daily dose of creative momentum.

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I’ll see you tomorrow.