Interior Design Business Tips: Comparing Yourself To Others

Today I want to talk about this very important topic and I am sure many of you have experienced it, especially if you work in such a competitive industry as the interior design. First of all, I made this short video on my Youtube channel:

I know that it is not always convenient to watch videos, so here is a short synopsis of what I talked about.

Lately, I have read several articles on this topic. And most of them are about how bad it is to compare yourself to others, that it can be very frustrating and demotivating, and basically all what you need to do is to stop comparing yourself to others and follow your own route to success.

Personally, I think it is very simplifying and cliche: if you feel frustrated by someone else’s success, it doesn’t necessarily mean that another person will feel the same. Some people due to their nature, temper, education are more competitive than the others and for them comparing themselves to others can drive them forward. I believe it is very important to analyze your own reactions to someone else achievements – is it driving you forward or is it frustrating you? So if it is the second scenario, then yes, it is very important to stop comparing yourself to others.

Again it depends to whom you are comparing to. If you look at very successful people in your industry and take an example from them (analyze why they are successful, which tools they are using, etc), it can be very beneficial for you. At the same time comparing yourself to your direct competitors – people who are more or less the same age as you, same education and same years of experience can be quite demotivating if you see that have achieved much more than you.

Here are some tips that helped me to stop comparing myself to others and I hope they will be useful for you as well:

• first of all, understanding that work and business is not the only important thing in your life. Start to give more attention to other aspects such as your health, your family, your partner, friends, education, finance, art, altruism. And when I say “give attention” I mean “take action”. Start to do something in all those areas every day – only by actions you can improve them.
•  Set your own goals. And again take action. You want to get more projects and clients? Then put more actions in promotion and marketing. Put specific goals, for example, 10 new projects this year and make the steps in order to achieve that: contact 10 real estate agents every day, call to 10 constructions companies, write a social media post etc. If you need more ideas on how to get more clients for your interior design business check out my eBook “Marketing for Interior Designers”:

• The third very important thing is to stop looking for external approval and obtain your own internal center. When I say obtain your own center, it means to become self-sufficient. If you did something good, you don’t need other people to tell you that, you don’t need likes or comments on your posts to understand that. Stop bragging, because it is wasting your precious energy. For example, you did all those marketing efforts that I mentioned before and you finally got the client. When you are rushing to tell about this on Facebook or to your friends and relatives you are literally wasting your energy, instead of spending it on more useful things, such as putting new goals and achieving them.

Do you tend to compare yourself to others? How do you feel about that? Please, share your own experience in the comments below.