Do Not Compare
We humans love to compare our lives with others, don’t we? Social media drives a lot of this, but it’s also part of our human condition. We compare our houses, our cars, our children, our jobs, … we’ll compare just about anything. And when we do, it doesn’t always make us feel good. So why do we do it? Because sometimes it makes us feel better. But most of the time, it doesn’t. So how do we stop? And that leads us to our next watercolor wisdom - lessons I’ve learned through watercolor that can be applied to life – is…
Do Not Compare…
Creatives often find ourselves comparing our work with other artist’s work. Maybe we do this to try to figure out where we stand. Are we any good? Do we have the skills? But comparing my work with another artist’s work is like comparing apples to bananas. Check out the image of the three tree paintings above. Do you think one is better than another? Do you like one better than the others? They were all painted by the same artist… me… but at different stages of my creative journey. Each was painted a year apart with the left painting being the earliest and the right one the most recent. But I brought something different to each painting based on my experience, practice, knowledge, comfort, etc. And that’s how it is with all of us.
Our journeys are different, which makes our work different. Our experience, training, and practices are different, thus resulting in work that is different. But more importantly, what drives an artist… what gives each painting or creation that something special… is the artist’s own internal creativity… the soul of their work, which is unlike anyone else’s.
Teddy Roosevelt once said, ““Comparison is the thief of joy.” Isn’t that the truth?! When we try to put our work up against someone else’s work, it can cause us to feel better than, less than, incapable, etc. And none of that is healthy. We have to remember that we’re not here to paint like another artist, instead we’re here to bring our own spin to art… our art… whatever that might be.
The same goes with life in general. Instead of comparing houses or cars or families with someone else or “trying to keep up with the Jones,” what if we found joy in what we each bring to the world? What if we focus on being the best we can be in our own life journey and let that be enough to fulfill us? We each have a unique and precious set of gifts to share with the world. And no set of gifts is the same. We were all created as individuals, and it takes all of us to make the world go ‘round.
So my friends, I encourage you to try not compare your art or your life with anyone else. Treasure your individuality, develop what makes you you, and make something beautiful with it.