Anne Hathaway once commented about being highly sensitive and comparing her career as an actor to another artist:
“I cry terribly easily…I was reading an article about Kate Winslet in Vogue, and I love her so much, I started crying, realizing how great she is and how far I have to go.”
The entertainment business may be a prime example of a profession where talented people compare themselves to others.
Award shows and award seasons can add to the pressures of trying to be “better” than others in areas such as career accomplishments and body image.
Striving for excellence can, of course, be a way to more fully express and enhance your talents, but unhealthy comparing can be self-limiting – perhaps especially for creative people, who often have the personality trait of high sensitivity, which typically includes stronger emotional reactions.
Self-compassion researcher Kristin Neff notes “Being average is unacceptable. We have to be special and above average to feel we have any worth at all.”
Elaine Aron, a psychologist and author of books such as “The Highly Sensitive Person” notes research indicates “low self-esteem is in a sense natural, one result of our instinct to rank ourselves among others.”
Psychotherapist Mihaela Ivan Holtz helps creative people in TV/Film, performing and fine arts with “their life struggles, depression, anxiety, performance anxiety, creativity, relationships and love, PTSD, and addictions – to become their own best version.”
She comments in one of her articles:
“Being creative is your life. You are fascinated by the arts and you couldn’t imagine a life without creating.
“At the same time, you are scared and terrified by this career. It’s a fine balance between keeping yourself grounded and slipping into the territory of insecurity.
“When you do fall into that insecure territory, you start comparing yourself with others.
“Their accomplishments and successes make you feel sad and scared.”
Read more in my article
Getting out of the comparison trap
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In an article of hers, Dr. Holtz writes about the impact of envy and jealousy:
You are talented, bright, and very ambitious. You’re devoted to your creative career and you know what you want.
But, you don’t seem to be happy with your creative life.
You find yourself consumed with others’ success.
Sometimes you feel a wave of envy taking you over.
Your heart almost freezes and it shrinks with jealousy for other creatives’ accomplishments.
At times you just want to run away and hide.
Your motivation and inspiration disappear.
You forget about how talented and ambitious you are.
What can you do with these big feelings?
First, remind yourself why you wanted to be a creative in the first place.
If you don’t express your creativity, how would you feel?
What would you do if you weren’t an artist?
What did you secretly dream your life as an artist would be? Does the reality match your dream?
Answering these questions will help you ground yourself back into your own truth and help you anchor into who you are as a creative.
Grounding yourself in your own truth as a creative is powerful.
It gets you back in touch with your talents, abilities, hopes, and dreams – your authentic connection with yourself.
This is the place where you want to be, act, and create from.
It’s the core of your own truth, your own aspirations and interests.
Your creative emotional space, the place where you find yourself as an artist and create your unique art.
Continued in her article
When Envy and Jealousy Get in The Way of Your Creativity and Artistic Career
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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