Five comparisons that are leading to creative BURNOUT
Here are five comparisons that are leading to creative burnout in your print and pattern design business. Remember, we never design best from a place of stress. And BUNROUT is exactly that. So tet’s talk about comparisons for a minute because as creatives I know we all do it, but let me tell ya’ it’s never healthy. It’s like comparing salt to pepper, yes they work in harmony with each other but they are also completely separate elements that work in different ways.
Your day 12
We all have a work/life juggle, be in friends, 2 jobs, children, whatever it may be. No two people’s working days are the same. How are you ever going to feel anything but downtrodden if you’re comparing your day 12 side hustle to someone’s day 112, 1112, or even 11112? You need to be reflecting on your journey, not other people, that’s their job. You never know where anyone’s beginning was so if they seem years ahead of you, they probably are. Every step is as important as the last. Concentrate on your journey, not Susan’s.
Production
If you’re trying to produce the same amount of designs as someone else but you work slower, that’s fine. It’s quality not quantity. If you design 10 amazing prints that all sell, it’s better than producing 30, rushing, stressed, and producing ‘half job’ designs which in terms only means you sell 5. (no brainer right?)
Customer
Different people work for different companies, have different customers and therefore different markets. What works for them might not work for you. It’s great to be inspired but don’t go off on a tangent too much, in doing so you might lose your current customer base, and these are the ones you should be nurturing.
That’s why I talk so much about “target marketing”. Download my FREE guide, “The Ultimate Guide to Floral Design” to find out more.
The Copycat
No one wants a carbon copy of someone else, and if this is what you’re doing, the likelihood is that you’ll fail because it already exists and you weren’t first to the party. Find your jam!
The most important thing is to be you! You’re pretty cool and great at what you do!
Instaglam
With social media in our daily lives and as a big source of inspiration it’s easy to play the comparison game, am I right? But as what we do is so visual it’s easy to let that creep into our business too. The comparison game gets you nowhere. I know it’s easy to sit back and tell you not to compare, especially when we’re so accustomed to enjoying our morning coffee with a scroll through the gram. Enjoy the scroll and save the inspiring posts, then sit back, look yourself in the mirror, and give yourself a high five.
It’s great to walk the walk, take the journey, and be on the same path, but keep in your own lane.
Can you raise your hand to any of the above? I know I’ve been guilty in the past. Stay on YOUR path, record YOUR journey, reflect on YOUR development, and achieve YOUR goals.
