Comparison Feeds Self-Doubt
There are so many good things about Wealthy Affiliate platform and of them, I personally find the personal blog posts of members among the best of the lot. To the user, it is a way to keep the writing-habit engine roaring and to the followers (of the writers), blog posts give insights to their progress and their success stories. A wealth of knowledge is there for keeps, and to a newcomer to the online business world, there’s so much to learn from these posts.
While blog posts are mutually-beneficial to both the writer and the readers alike, one must guard against the inclination to compare oneself against the more successful members here. There will be many success posts, celebration posts and announcements that bombard you day in day out (remember Wealthy Affiliate is a community that never sleeps!) and when things aren’t going bright for you, you might unconsciously (or consciously) compare yourself with their success bar. Well, nothing could be more dangerous to your motivation than this. Comparison with others can deflate your enthusiasm and can spell disaster for those who are raw and new here. It kills your creativity too.
One should always remember that the progress or success graph is different for everybody and depending on the niche, the latency before the take-off happens can be longer. Having said this, one should be aware of the reasons why not many succeed in online business too.
One has to find ways to keep motivated and needs to keep on working. I’m more interested in learning how the internet marketing works than learning how-to-make-money-online. Because I know that before money starts coming, I need to be fully equipped with all the tools for a successful online business. When I have the tools with me, I know money will flow in. I know my strengths. I’m aware of my weaknesses too but I cannot let them overwhelm me. Cheers!
Recent Comments
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Excellent post! I think it is natural that we validate our efforts with other members. Validation can be both helpful and a hinderance to our progress if not careful.
Yes...that is the great advantage to WA. We are individuals, progressing at our own speed with unique goals. Yet, we have the support of thousands. We compete with ourself and have fun doing it.
Debbie
Completely agree!! We are all in different stages, some rise, some fall.. but if we are consistent and keep moving forward while at the same time applauding others, then that's success! We all have to remember that there will never be a shortage of income, success and wealth. Also, we are not masters of everything,. It takes time and help from Professionals to get better at certain tasks, which is why we are all on this platform...to constantly be learning from each other. I get excited for those who are successful as I know rewards come from those who put in the work. Sorry this is so long, it's been a couple weeks since I was able to comment on these mini blogs, and I got a little carried away. Happy Thanksgiving!
Great post. As a tutor, One of the first things I discuss with my students is in regards to comparing themselves to others. When we do, we will either have a false sense of superiority or a false sense of inferiority. The only true way that we can compare ourselves and improve our own life is to compare ourselves with who we used to be. How we were doing five minutes ago, five days ago, five years ago. Success comes from constantly improving ourselves and maintaining a personal best.
This article gives invaluable information on tracking personal progress, and IO will share it with my students. Thank you for the resource!!
The fact that I'm already writing motivational posts here itself is a testimony to the progress I have made and indicative of how far I have come from the wide-eyed newbie I was two months back. Thanks to Wealthy Affiliate. Money-wise, there's nothing to talk about. I haven't made a single sale so far, and the only money I have earned till now is through the AdSense clicks. It's too small an amount to talk about. But I'm not worried. I'm just starting out and it's going to be an exciting journey.
Same here. The money is a byproduct of how much we have learned and of how well we apply what we have learned, so I still have much to learn. I once heard a saying that has stuck with me over the years. It goes, "If you want to be successful, look around you to those who are successful and emulate them . . . and it will work!"
Good luck!
Excellent post. Everything is in perspective here.
There is much to be gleaned alone from reading the internal Blog posts at WA I agree.
With so many people coming together to share, there is bound to be great value to chew on for a lifetime.
You are correct. Learn to fly the plane first, passengers will come.
Great post.
David
On hindsight, it feels funny that I'm already writing "advice" post here :) It was more like talking to myself, talking to the person in the mirror. I was advising myself not to compare myself to others and not to get demotivated.
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Excellent post and totally agree with you on this. We all have to find our own processes and procedures on attaining our goals. It won’t come easy and it surely will take time but the dedicated efforts we put forth to attain it will be well worth it in the end.
Jerome