Creativity and Competition
One upside to getting pregnant at nineteen was being absolutely sure I was grossly unprepared. I am grateful for parents who had, at a high cost, fueled my love for reading, because when our budget barely had room for ramen and frozen veggies, I still searched the shelves of used book stores for perspective and understanding. Looking for parenting support, I came across research on the effects of my favorite motivation tool—competition—and later, found ways the popular strategy impacts how we create. I was annoyed to discover a competitive mindset stifles creativity.
When we are exposed to the ideas of others in a competitive way, our self-confidence drops, we aren’t as creatively fueled by the work of others, we innovate less, and we generate fewer quality ideas. Perhaps this is why we tend to be more inspired by people outside of our fields and why social media can feel so smothering. If we view other people as rivals, not only do we fail to learn as much from them, but we choke our creative output.
A simple practice to dampen the impact of comparison is to find the learning. It’s important to see the people around us as doorways into new ideas and any feelings of comparison as clues for where to look. Asking “What can I learn from this (post, habit, performance, etc.)?” makes us more likely to walk away with lessons to apply to our own lives.
At times when comparison is necessary, when we find ourselves in a competitive field, or are human, and thus still struggle with how we measure up, a different tool is to limit the number of ideas we are exposed to in a competitive setting. The more information we drink up while comparing, the more creativity deteriorates. We can regulate how much content we are consuming, regardless of the quality, and continually distill information to the essentials to keep overall exposure at a level that leaves more room for creative expression.
Reminder: Continual comparison can also be a physiological symptom of a nervous system that is near its edges. We will all struggle with this from time to time. It isn’t simply a character flaw, but can be a normal symptom of being stressed and human. Learn to care for your self by acknowledging a lack of creative thinking as an indication that we have been unknowingly comparing or competing. From there, we can reduce total inputs, focus on inputs that feel less competitive in nature, and keep things framed by the value the ideas hold for our life. If our ability to create does not improve over time, our nervous system may need more support.
Further Reading:
Book— No Contest: The Case Against Competition by Alfie Kohn