Comparing yourself to others

... is a killer of creativity.

"I'm never going to compose like J.S.Bach."
"I'll never reach the technical level of Marcel Dupre."
"These kids play way better than me and I'm much older."

These thoughts arise from our Resistance (as Steven Pressfield calls it), this weird internal force which wants to sabotage your success. It wants you to stop playing, improvising, composing, studying, creating, teaching, raising a child, starting a business, following your dream or whatever it is your mission on this planet.

These thoughts are an excuse that Resistance throws at us whenever we are on to something that matters.

It never says "you're never going to become an advance viewer of TV." It never says "the picture of your cat is not as beautiful as this guy's, therefore you should not post it online."

The Resistance is very clever - of course, you will never compose like Bach or play like Dupre so you are all set - you shouldn't even try.

I'm not sure that comparing yourself to others is going to do you any good going forward. What I'm sure about is this: the world needs your input, your originality, your creativity, your uniqueness, your insights, your generosity, your persistence, and your connection.

Be yourself. It's so liberating. (HT to Ron).