It’s Okay. My Grass Is Green Enough.
Comparison is a never-ending game that you will always lose.
It’s a game that we often find ourselves being caught up in.
I’ve always known someone will always be a better writer than me out there. Sometimes, I even doubt if my writing skills are better than they were yesterday. The imposter syndrome gets to me sometimes. (Or maybe they were valid?)
While it is true that millions of writers are better than me, it doesn’t stop me from writing or at least trying to do better. Sometimes I do get tired and ask myself, “All this writing and where does it get me?”
Yet I keep going anyway, because of two things: (1) I made peace with THAT fact and (2) I just love writing.
First Reason: I made peace with THAT fact — that someone will always be better than me.
Go ahead and try to surpass someone else’s writing skills. Or, make it your goal to prove someone wrong. You’ll find out one day that you wasted time and effort because you will gain little to nothing from it.
One, because you’ll discover someone who is 1000x better than the person you are trying to surpass.
So you have a new standard to beat. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And another. (I can go on but there’s a word count limit.)
Two, because people just don’t care.
Only people who don’t have many worries or nothing better to do care too much about what others do. Everyone is the main character in their own lives, so they are busy minding their business. They won’t remember everything you said, did, or contrary to what everyone says: even how you made them feel.
Third, because people who doubted you will always doubt you.
No need to impress the doubters or non-believers. You will never be good enough to them, no matter what you do. People only believe what they want to believe…and you will find the people who believe, support, and will be impressed by you.
If there is any goal you must have, it shouldn’t involve proving someone wrong.
Revenge tropes in dramas are amazing, isn’t it? But I guess some stories should just stay on our screens. Don’t flood your imagination with those kinds of things. You are the main character of this story; you can do a better storyline than that!
Better to focus on YOU and YOUR writing. 😊 If there is a standard to beat, it’s not that of others. It should be your previous, best work. There’s no better competitor than yourself.
Second Reason: Writing is what I love to do.
For my birthday last year, my colleague gave me a cup that read “Writing is what I love to do.” I guess said colleague had heard me say it a lot of times when asked how I manage to keep my energy up and keep going.
And that’s the truth. When you love something, your focus and effort are poured into said object of affection. Even if you get tired, heartbroken, and angry — you easily overcome all the negative things because your LOVE of writing drives you to keep going.
Some people might say that love is not enough. I agree that it isn’t. Love grows when you do your best to stay patient and consistent. Try and try for as long as you can because you will never know how close you are to the finish line if you stop right here.
I realized this long ago: I own my writing journey.
And to me, my grass is perfectly green because I commit to making it thrive. Yours will be too if you first believe in it and make an effort.
✍ — Published by Dr. Gabriella Korosi, at Dancing Elephants Press. Click here for submission guidelines.
