Tuesday Tidbits :: On Comparisons

There's an old saying, "Everybody is a Genius. But If You Judge a Fish by Its Ability to Climb a Tree, It Will Live Its Whole Life Believing that It is Stupid."

There have been a few times in my life when I've gotten hung up on Comparisons and it's not a very good feeling. Granted, there are times when Comparisons may make us try harder to improve ourselves but other times, they can get in the way of how we view ourselves.

I think it's natural to compare our children to other children to gauge their developmental stages but, as I found out when my daughter was young, that process can also be harmful because it doesn't allow for the many variations of child development. Oh, it's great if your child is the one who excels. Not so much if yours is delayed.

As a Graphic Designer, I can't shut off other designers' work - it's everywhere! And, yes, I'm often harder on myself than I need to be. There's always going to be someone better than we are (but the flip side is that we will always be better than other people, too!) So, I look at the great work I've done for my clients and I look at my customer service and I'm happy with what I see. My prices are good, my quality and commitment are excellent and I genuinely care about producing the best work I can for each customer while making sure that my clients are happy.

I once had a very satisfied client who said, "I wish I could do what you do." I told him I couldn't sell houses like he did! If I was judged on my ability to sell homes or he was judged on his Graphic Design skills, we would both look stupid. But, because we were each hired by clients to our own, specific work, we both came out looking very well, indeed!

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