Comments on: The curse of comparison

By: car57

car57 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:28:43 +0000

Kathy, thanks so much for the kind words!

By: Kathy Kiely

Kathy Kiely — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:48:56 +0000

Great posting, Chris. And, as one mired in the curses of comparison recently, I totally get it.

I’m so glad you posted the Tree of Life image on Twitter. I see just how truly gifted you are. You’re not just a great resource for us other designers in the area (you and Anne Kerns–gotta give props to you both!) but you create beautiful images. Keep that inner critic quiet. You deserve to be head of your creative table…

By: Chris Raymond

Chris Raymond — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:01:32 +0000

Sean, thanks for the links–looking forward to checking them out. Glad to know I am not the only one beating myself up–well, that doesn’t sound quite right, but you get the point!

By: Sean Shanahan

Sean Shanahan — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:07:16 +0000

This entry struck a cord with me. I am a photographer in Washington D.C., and sometimes(more than I’d like to admit) I find myself intentionally avoiding looking at other photographers’ work. I find it depressing, and I start figuratively ripping my work to shreds and feeling depressed.

Below is a link to a radio interview with Jim Rubens, former New Hampshire State Senator; and author of “Over Success: Healing the American Obsession with Wealth, Fame, Power, and Perfection” (Greenleaf).

It is an exploration of the impact of the “keeping up with the Jones’” mentality can have on our psyche in the age of the internet, and tabloid celebrity worship. It parallels the differences in our ability to compare our work to other artist pre-internet and post-internet.

As you said the key is to find reward in the creative process, or as it applies to our every day lives in the process of living.

http://wamu.org/programs/kn/08/12/16.php#23646

Studies show one in three Americans are “pervasively dissatisfied with their lives.” We look at how genes, commercial culture, and global hyper-competition are combining to lock millions of Americans into an unsatisfying race for success.