(Un)Healthy Comparison
Do you compare yourself with other writers?
The Internet has made it easier than ever to compare ourselves with other freelance writers and bloggers easier than ever.
The question is: Is comparison with other writers healthy?
Everyone’s probably already heard about the problems of “keeping up” with the fictional “Joneses.” Comparing yourself with other writers can certainly lead to unhealthy competition and posturing.
Comparison can also be a healthy way to learn more about writing. After all, we’ve all learned from reading each other’s blogs, right?
Frankly, though, I sometimes don’t do well when I spend too much time comparing myself with other writers. Too much comparison leaves me feeling, well, somewhat inadequate, overwhelmed, and even a little bit sick.
“How do they ever manage do get all of that done?” I wonder. “I could never manage even half of that .”
Of course, without contacting the other writer directly, there’s no way for me to know how they did it, either. It might be that their accomplishments look more amazing than they actually are.
The trick when reading other writer’s works is to spend enough time so that you learn something usable, but not so much time that you get caught up in unhealthy comparisons.
How does comparing yourself with other writers affect you?
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About the Author: I am a successful freelance writer with 20 years of copy writing experience. I am available for consulting, business writing, copy writing, editing, technical writing, and web content writing. In addition, I have written an ebook, 
I read tons of work by other authors, and I learn so much from them. It’s amazing how much you can pick up about word choice, style, pacing, even grammar and new words from reading the work of others. Yet comparing yourself to other writers seems counterproductive.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m my own worst critic. All comparing myself to someone else, no matter what type of comparison I’m trying to make, I always end up feeling inferior and just plain down in the dumps. So I say, read for enjoyment. Read to learn. And leave the comparing alone. You’re you. What matters is finding the best you, you can be.
Great advice!
“Read for enjoyment.”
I like that.
Thanks. . .
Laura,
I suspect most of us end up putting ourselves on the losing side when we compare ourselves to others. The grass is always greener … other people always seem more successful and talented than we are. I try to learn from other writers but try not to compare myself to them.
Excellent post on a topic we don’t hear much about but is bound to be pretty common.
Thanks for the encouragement Lillie!
This post actually sat in draft format for a week before I published it because I wasn’t sure whether anyone else would be interested. Obviously, others experience this feeling as well.
Thanks for writing, I truly liked your most recent post. I think you should post more frequently, you obviously have natural ability for blogging!
I’ve been comparing my writing since the beginning, and as a result feeling inadequate, unworthy of being called a writer, and frightened of sending out my work to prospective publishers. Now, instead of comparing, I read to learn and improve my own writing. We all have different styles and we need to do what works for us, not someone else.
Great post!
I’d definitely get overwhelmed if I compare myself to other writers. I think you just have to write the best to your ability and not worry how you measure up to the others. I do not think comparing yourself to other writers should ever be thought of as healthy.
Good comments!
The trick, I think, is to learn from other writer’s experienced without being overwhelmed.
I think comparisons are generally healthy, in that it spurs me to write better and work harder. It becomes unhealthy only when I allow it to put myself down, seeing myself as inferior, etc.
Well said, Laura! Since every persone is unique therefore comparing ourselves to others is not healthy at all. Better concentrating on our own potentials as everybody has something to say!
I used to compare myself to the competition. It was unhealthy. It would stress me out and keep me from being productive and achieving what I needed to achieve.
Since learning to worry about myself, my objectives and nothing else, I’ve gotten much, much better and have been so much more productive. I don’t care what the competition is doing and as a result, I’m all the better for it!
sometimes i do, it feels like you are the last person in the league especially if i love the article so much, one time i reposted an article but i asked permission of course.
Thanks so much for the encouragement and motivation laura…
Great post!
I’m seeing more and more how when I compare myself to someone else, and see a quality or an ability that I wish I had, that in reality I do have that ability too and maybe just haven’t fully cultivated it yet.
I think that others are nothing but a mirror of ourselves!
Another thing I’ve noticed is that when we’re comparing ourselves to someone else and thinking they have something that we don’t, the reverse of often true too.. Those same people often see something in us that they wish they had! Ironic!
Elliott
I do a lot of unhealthy comparing. I think the only way I keep writing is that I can’t really stop.
I do not compare myself to other writers. I genuinely enjoy reading and so for me, a good writer is a golden find!
I do however try to solidify and continue to develop my own writing “voice”.
~Kellie
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Comparison with other writers has always been a good experience for me. Sometimes I get the confidence boost up as I feel I write better than them. At other times, when I come across experienced lot like you, I get the inspiration to write better and some useful tips to enrich my writing.
Thanks Eru!
I think this varies from person to person. A Type A personality might tend to be stressed out by comparisons, while a more laid back type will just enjoy reading other people’s work.