Grow Where You are planted.
You'll never see how your cup is overflowing if you're too busy looking at someone else's
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I started this post a couple weeks ago, but never really knew how to start it. My apologies if the beginning doesn't read well.
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I've been doing photography for almost 6 years now. I can't say I haven't loved every second of it. I've always been presented with new challenges, new subject to photograph, and now it has taken me to new mediums, such as videography and graphic design. I'm also extremely grateful for the many mentors I've had that have helped me grow into the artist I consider myself to be.
Recently though, I've been experiencing some doubts about what I've been doing. I would venture to say that I know more now than I ever have about media, but with my growth came a lot of comparison. I follow many fellow photographers/videographers on social media, and I am absolutely in awe of some of the product I see. I felt the need to be as good as some of these people were, even though they had years of experience and knowledge that I didn't have. Over the last few months I had hit a creative block. I didn't think I could keep up with those around me, and began to tell myself "if only I had this equipment setup" or "if only I traveled as much as they do, THEN I can be a good photographer." I wanted to be in others' situations rather than my own, because I felt mine wasn't good enough. The more I compared myself to other people, the deeper I dug myself into a series of pure doubt. For a short period I considered dropping the whole photography thing and just sorta moving to something where I felt a little safer and that I could be better.
"IF YOU CAN'T CREATE FOR YOURSELF, THEN YOU'LL CREATE FOR NO ONE"
I saw that quote on a Saturday morning, while scrolling through a videographer's instagram, who at the time he posted the video, was also going through a creative block. It took me a second, but it hit me that I have to be happy with what I produce, and if I'm not, then nobody else will be either. I needed to produce things that I was happy with, that were pleasing to me, because if I enjoy it, then it doesn't matter how it stacks up to anyone else's'.
"There is a time for everything and a reason for every activity under the heavens."
Ecclesiastes 3:1
"For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."
Philippians 2:13
I know this struggle happens with more than just photography. We all wind up in situations where we don't really want to be, or we compare ourselves to others, where we wish that we had what they had. The two scriptures above I think really speak that God uses us wherever we are placed, even if we think we should be elsewhere. Starting with Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes that there is a "time and place for everything." Even when we doubt ourselves because we see what others are doing, God always knows our plans, and has us where we are for HIS reason, because HIS plan is higher than ours.
To take apart Philippians 2:13 a little bit, I really put emphasis on the "God who is at work in you" because He is. While we think we may not be enough for what we want, God is always at work in us, making and crafting us into our own story. I spoke with a friend the other day before I wrote this, just to get some of their thoughts. They asked me *to paraphrase* why would we compare and try to be like somebody else, when God has created us to be our own story? You might not have what they have, but they also don't have what I have. God has shaped us to be individuals, not like anyone else. It might not be the version that's as good at videography as others, but we are handcrafted by God alone, and there is no mistake made by Him. Wherever God plants us, He calls us to grow into what he has blessed us with.
In conclusion, I'm not saying that we will magically stop comparing ourselves to others, because we won't. I compare myself quite often to others, we all do. I am saying however, that we cannot let this comparison overtake us, because we are who God has made us to be, and we are all blessed in our own ways.
I started with this quote, and I think it's only proper to end with it. I've been holding this sentence close recently because in one sentence, it completely explains how God has blessed us so.
You'll never see how your cup is overflowing if you're too busy looking at someone else's
If you have any questions/would like to talk more about this I would love to talk about it! Shoot me a text, 803.206.1301