Comparison: The Death of Creativity

This is me. I am not flexible. I am not an artist. I am not a singer. I am not a model. I would argue that I don’t really have a talent. I’m awkward. I have acne and am a little pudgy. I am blind without my glasses. My twerking is subpar at best. I laugh too loud, and I dance (not well) at apparently very inappropriate times. I say whatever is on my mind without it passing through my filter, which I’m pretty sure is broken anyway. I get way too passionate when discussing Marvel, DC, or Star Wars (I love the prequels- fight me). I am also a dreamer, a wisher of stars, with an inability to follow through.   

This is my friend Kirsten. She is a crazy talented, creative person. She takes breathtaking photographs, writes thoughtful poetry, and her “doodles” could be considered works of art. Most of the photos on my page will be by her (follow her photography page on Insta @sagehoney_)! But if you asked her, she would tell you her faults and how she’s still working on improving herself. When I first met her, I struggled with the Achilles heel of all good relationships: comparison.

Comparison is the death of creativity, uniqueness, and innovation. Next to her, I feel as if I am creative-handicapped, and not good enough at the things I love to do. I expressed these thoughts to her one day and she explained creativeness in a way that changed my viewpoint on my own creativeness…

Everyone is creative. Everyone can draw and everyone can write poetry. It won’t look the same as someone else’s work, but that is the beauty of creativity. It is unique, an expression of oneself, and no two people are the same.

Wait, so I CAN be this creative person? I can draw and write and have creative ideas? I took this idea and did a little research. Did you know, every time you draw or write or do anything that works the right side of the brain (aka the creative side), that you are increasing the activity in that part of the brain? I’m sure you’ve heard that the average person only uses roughly 10% of his or her brain potential. The more you stimulate a part of your brain, it increases your capability to utilize that part. In other words, the more you draw stick people or write a poem about your Cocoa Puffs, the more potential you have to develop a creative idea within the workplace.

In what ways are you inhibiting your abilities because you are comparing yourself to someone else?

My hesitation to start this blog comes from me comparing myself to others. “I won’t write as well as other bloggers”, “Who am I to start this blog?”, “these things have already been said before.” are some common phrases that run through my brain. I am unique. I am going to say something different from the last blog you read because I went down different paths than the people who wrote those blogs. Sure, I might only get 10 readers, there might not be any comments, and someone from work is bound to give me crap over this, BUT there might be one person that reads this, and is ensured he or she is not alone. I am starting this website for that one person, and maybe a little bit for me, too. Writing is great therapy, after all.

I figured I’d start by being real. I have been through lots of challenges in my life, my biggest one being my own mind, and I want to share them. A long time ago I listened to my pastor preach a sermon about testimonies (don’t worry, I am not about to get too religious on you). He said, “Our testimonies are personal, but they aren’t meant to be private”. I have lived by this statement ever since. We are all relational beings, religious, or not, and we are not meant to do life on our own. I’m not talking about spouses, though that could be your story, I’m talking about family, friends, mentors, coworkers, etc. Talk to any successful person and you’ll find they have some sort of support system backing them up. That successful person most likely avoided running into certain obstacles or survived those obstacles because someone told them a story of how they got through the same challenges. I did not encounter my own hurdles, and travel to hell and back for my own well-being.  Sure, I’ve learned a lot about who I am, where I put my faith, and how to keep fighting, but I also went through this so someone somewhere can avoid the same mistakes I have; so that one person will feel not so alone going through the series of unfortunate events I’ve already faced.

If that’s you, feel free to shoot me an email or DM, or just keep coming back. I’m going to share my thoughts and struggles on life every other week!

XOXO,

KCB