Have you ever had an idea, but felt like there was no point in pursuing it?

Maybe, like me, you want to write a book, but someone else has already written about that very topic.

Maybe you have an idea for a new product or app, but there are many others like it.

Maybe you have a passion for makeup or decorating, and you want to showcase that online. Still, the market is saturated with those kinds of influencers.

It really seems like there is no more room for you. Yet, the idea won’t leave you, and instead nags you, begging to be accomplished.

Often times, it feels like we have this dream or calling, but someone else has beaten us to it, so there’s no point. Yet the constant feeling keeps coming back, over and over, and over again.

So, what do we do? Do we try and press forward, or do we just let it go?

Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash — Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

Collaborate rather than Compete

A few years ago, I started writing/blogging in hopes of one day actually starting a book. I had the perfect idea, and when I started doing research, I found a book exactly about what I wanted to write…. So, I quit. Clearly, that author was more equipped and traditionally published… there was no way I could compete.

Then, another idea came about. I spent many late nights typing away and conducting research to get this book just right. I was confident in my abilities, and then it happened again. An influencer I look up to and follow was releasing an eBook covering the same exact topics.

I am not kidding when I tell you my heart broke.

Not again, I thought.

But then I come across an image on social media showing the bread aisle in a grocery store. Looking down the aisle, you can see hundreds of loaves of bread. Different brands, but similar ingredients and similar purposes.

Could you imagine an aisle with only 1 brand of bread? See, Sara Lee or Natures Harvest didn’t allow the fact that bread already existed to stop them from developing their own product. They believed in their bread and produced it for the world to enjoy. There is room for Sara Lee on that shelf, and there is room for us, too.

Just because someone else has published a book or created a product that fits your description doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you at the table. It’s not about the competition. Instead of giving up because the competition is fierce, consider collaborating with them to advance both.

Please remember, the world needs you. It needs your ideas, and it needs your voice.

I’m preaching to myself here when saying that there is room for you.

Stop the Comparison

It’s very difficult to press forward and believe that there is space for us in this world, but there is. The reason we hold back is because we chose to compare what we have to offer to someone else.

You know what they say about comparison?

Comparison is the thief of joy, the thief of ideas, the thief of innovation… the thief of so much in this world.

Comparison kills creativity and destroys contentment.

“Don’t compare your life to others. There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it’s their time.” - Anonymous

Instead of comparing your voice, or product with someone else’s, focus solely on what you have to offer.

Use Your Experience

A few years back, I heard a pastor preach on the importance of hearing messages from different people. Mainly, the Pastor was caught off guard when members of his congregation were transformed by a message spoken by a guest pastor. The head pastor gave the same sermon to the congregation year after year, repeating the same thing over and over again. But

it took someone different (a different voice) to get through to the church.

The head pastor realized that sometimes people have to hear it over and over and over again from different people at different seasons in different voices for them to fully grasp the message.

So sure, someone has written the book I want to write, but no one has written the book in my voice, with my stories and experiences.

People need your voice. They need your ideas.

Don’t allow comparison to rob you of following through with what God has placed on your heart.

There is room for you.

Top Takeaways:

Instead of focusing on competition, consider collaboration.
Stop the comparison. It doesn’t matter that someone has more experience or a bigger audience. Nothing good comes from comparison.
Use Your experiences and what’s unique to you. What makes you special? What makes you different?