Over the past few years, I’ve heard people say, “I don’t like the word competitors. There’s enough business for everyone.”
I get the intention. I don’t believe we need to knock other people down to succeed. But pretending competition doesn’t exist has never felt quite right to me.
I like competition.
It can push me to try harder, get better and take myself more seriously. Sometimes seeing someone else do something well is exactly what I need to realize I could aim higher, too.
Of course, it can go the other way. I’ve looked at someone else’s work and wondered if mine was good enough. I’ve had to learn the difference between paying attention to what’s possible and using someone else’s success as evidence that I’m falling behind.
Years ago, I lost a branding project to Donald Miller of StoryBrand.
I was disappointed. He was such a big name in the branding world. How was I supposed to compete with that?
I told a friend about it, expecting a little sympathy.
Instead, she said, “Wait. You lost out on a project to Donald Miller? That’s awesome!”
I thought she’d missed the part where I lost.
But she saw something I couldn’t see at the time: I was being considered alongside someone whose work I respected. I wanted the project, obviously. Still, I’d been in the running.
That was a boost to my ego. I needed one. And it helped me stop treating one loss as proof that I didn’t belong in the room.
When I was running Lab Creative, paying attention to others in my field helped me grow. I could see work I admired, notice what I would do differently and get clearer about what made my own approach mine. That was useful. Sitting there comparing my worth to someone else’s website was not.
Competition can sharpen your work. Losing can teach you something. Winning can feel pretty damn good.
I don’t think we need to be embarrassed about any of that.
For me, the question is what competition brings out. Does it make me curious, brave and willing to improve? Or does it leave me so busy watching everyone else that I forget to do my own work?
I’m still learning to notice the difference.