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How To Reach Past the Top and Crush Self-Competition



Hello Creatives!



At one point or another in your career, you will obtain success. Success is found on many levels and reaching "the top" can happen with hard work. Both of these terms have multiple meanings depending on the individual creative. What does "the top" look like? Is it measured by the amount of awards received or how many clients that can be maintained? How can we compete to reach "the top" and once we reach it, how can we surpass the competition within ourselves?





Admit There is No "Top"


Once a label is placed on a form of success we reach, we limit ourselves. Internal competition, fear and obsession begin to wreak havoc on our creativity. The way to combat this is to admit there is no "top". For some of us, reaching "the top" gives us an excuse to quit or stop trying due to the fear of not being able to surpass previous success. This mindset tends to kill the remaining creativity living in us. Imagine what could be created if artists and creatives kept going instead of quitting out of fear.


Admitting there is no "top" or no "winning" removes the pressure, stress and anxiety of having to create to surpass someone else; it allows us to create for ourselves. We always have more to learn, reaching "the top" gives us a metaphorical ceiling. Who wants that? The more that can be learned, the farther we can go in our careers and the stronger we become in our specialties. Don't fall into the trap of acknowledging a ceiling with reaching "the top"; we can always reach farther.



Surpassing Self-Competition


Self-competition can be difficult to overcome. It requires us to reflect inward and ask hard questions. Why do we compete so desperately to beat ourselves when encouraging ourselves to improve is more beneficial? This is a change in perspective of how we view our success. The notion of beating ourselves leads to unnecessary pressure, there are no external forces here (this happens in our own minds). We all face this wormhole of beating ourselves up for bad ideas, poor execution or having no ideas at all.


Shifting the perspective of needing to beat ourselves, which sounds painful when you think about it, to encouraging ourselves to constantly improve our skills is a better use of time and energy. Our creative sides will thank us one day with future successes. Let's try not to outdo ourselves but to improve to be the best we can in our own time. This is not to say there is no competition out there, but at least it won't be within us killing our creativity. Creativity can not come out to play amidst fear, doubt and anxiety.


Don't Stop, Just Create


When the realization of success, the fear of self-doubt and the need to surpass ourselves creep in, we tend to over-react or quit completely. Some of us enter the wormhole while others don't for-see future success, so we quit. This is not beneficial, don't quit. Keep creating, even in the face of fear. There's only one true outcome when we quit creating, we don't succeed. As a wise man once said,



"The way to get started is to quit

talking and begin doing"

- Walt Disney



Don't listen to that voice of fear, be courageous and create. By continuing to create, a possible outcome is success. Keep creating anything and everything; success will show up in different forms along the way.


Keep the creativity alive by letting that voice of self-doubt and fear go in one ear and out the other. The "top" is a glass ceiling we place on ourselves, don't entertain it. Continue learning, growing and creating. The fear, anxiety and internal pressure will fade in the light of forthcoming success.



See You Soon Creatives!

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