Particularly for new writers beginning the blogging journey, comparison can kill confidence and create problems.
New bloggers often struggle with comparison, much like my youngest child who said, “I’m a slow runner. I don’t want to play soccer.” When I asked her why she thought she was a slow runner, she mentioned how much faster her older brother and sister ran. She struggled with confidence, not realizing she was unfairly comparing herself to her older siblings. She couldn’t see this was not a realistic comparison. Bloggers often struggle with comparison creating problems with confidence and negative thinking.
Comparison Creates Competition
Resist the scarcity lie that the success of others crowds out your own opportunity.
Comparison can cause significant set-backs when it comes to writing. All too easily, it can create competition when we allow the success of another to diminish our writing or sabotage our confidence. Choose to celebrate the achievements of others. Learn from their skill and experience.
Comparison Breeds Negative Thinking
Comparison opens the door to the problem of negative thinking. Comparative thinking leads to other forms of negativity—pride, envy, jealousy, resentment, discouragement, and criticism. What can begin as comparison and negative feelings can quickly ignite destructive thoughts and actions.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. James 3:16
Comparison Demotivates Passion
Comparison can stifle passion to fulfill the writing desires God places in our hearts.
Have you ever compared yourself with a more experienced writer and thought, “Why bother…I’ll never be as good as ________.” The power to demotivate passion is one of the greatest problems of comparison.
Resist the temptation to measure the gap between where you are and where someone else is. We often see this gap as a diminishing, devaluing thing rather than embracing the growth process of our own writing.
I have hung over the edge of motivation, wanting to quit because the journey to “success” is steep and difficult. Maybe you have too. Comparison saps passion and energy when we forget that God is with us in the process.
Distracting us from God's call and purpose, comparison makes the process about personal success rather than obedience to God's call to write. Share on XMake a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Galatians 6:4-5 MSG
Choose to celebrate and learn from successful and experience writers, rather than give into comparison. Give yourself permission to grow through the process and develop skill at the pace that is right for you.
Don’t let comparison rob you of confidence and joy in writing. Comparison is a choice you don't have to make. Share on X
At the end of it all, comparison asks the wrong question.
The right question is this: what does God want to do through my writing?
We love helping your growing in your writing career.
3 Comments
Thanks for this, Ginger. This is the game changer I needed — comparison is a choice I don’t have to make. When I spend time trying to figure out how I match up with others it really steals my joy. Instead I want to celebrate the success of others all while being gentle with myself and enjoying my own journey.
What a winning perspective to get the most our to your blogging experience and encourage others along the way. I love the recognition that we need to be gentle with ourselves.
Thanks Ginger. I don’t struggle with comparison with novel writing, but I’m intimidated to get into blogging, mainly because I don’t think my blog could measure up. Good insights, I’ll just have to do it and be happy with it myself.