Comparison: The Thief That Keeps Sneaking Back In

Lately, I've been seeing a lot. Not just in the bush, behind my camera, or through a microscope. I've been seeing a lot online too. So many incredible photographers from all over the world creating stunning images that stop me in my tracks.

You know the kind. The image that makes you stare a little longer. The image that makes you whisper, "Wow."

The image that makes you think, I wish I'd taken that. And if I'm being completely honest, sometimes those thoughts don't stop there.

Sometimes they become:

"Why can't I create work like that?"

"Maybe I'm not as good as I thought."

"What am I even doing?"

Welcome to comparison.

That sneaky little joy thief that somehow manages to find its way into almost every corner of our lives.

We compare our photography. We compare our businesses. We compare our homes, our adventures, our relationships, our achievements, and sometimes even our happiness.

We know it steals joy. Yet somehow, we all still do it.

So what happens when I find myself staring smack bang at an image I wish I could create? What do I do when that feeling of not being enough starts creeping in?

Well...

First, I put my big girl pants on.

Then I try to focus back on me.

Not on what someone else is creating. Not on what someone else's life looks like from the outside. Me. My style. What makes ME happy. What makes ME smile. Because when I look back, some of the best things I've ever done have come from simply being myself. No-one else can be me.

Being curious. Being a little weird. Deep-diving into insects when most people are scrolling past them. Lying in the mud for a photograph. Getting excited about fungi, waterbugs, leaves, feathers, and tiny details that many people never notice.

That's where my best work comes from. Not from trying to be someone else. Not from chasing somebody else's version of success. But from leaning harder into the things that light me up.

And here's the funny part.

While I'm busy comparing myself to someone else, there's probably somebody out there comparing themselves to me. Feeling less than. Feeling behind. Feeling like they're failing.

See how ridiculous the circle becomes?

It just keeps spinning. Some days you feel on top of the world. Other days you feel like you're getting nowhere. Some days you're proud of your work. Other days you question everything.

That's being human.

And despite what social media might suggest, everyone experiences it at some point.

Everyone.

The people whose work you admire. The people you think have "made it." The people who seem endlessly confident. At some stage, they have all doubted themselves too.

So when those feelings show up, don't push them away immediately.

Lean in.

Break them down.

Ask yourself one simple question:

Have I turned away from the internal guiding light that got me this far? Thats the part that is YIU! The part that makes you unique.

If the answer is yes, perhaps it's time to reconnect.

Turn the phone off.

Step outside.

Pick up the camera.

Paint.

Walk.

Observe.

Create.

Do the thing you love, the way you love doing it.Take inspiration from others when it serves you. Learn from them when it helps you grow. But don't allow someone else's story—a story you only see tiny fragments of—to become the measuring stick for your own path.

Because you don't know what chapter they're in. You don't know what struggles sit behind the image. You don't know how many years, failures, lessons, sacrifices, and moments of doubt brought them to where they are today.

The only path you truly know is your own.

And that's the one worth following.

So if comparison has been visiting you lately, know this:

You're not alone.

You're not failing.

You're not an imposter.

You might simply need to come home to yourself again.

And from experience, that's usually where the magic begins.

_________

Take care everyone - and do one thing today that makes you happy!