Stop Comparisonitis from Holding you Back

I recently posted a podcast called Stop Comparisonitis from Holding you Back.  Read all about it here or alternatively if you would prefer to take a listen, head on over to Products to Profits on Itunes https://apple.co/33oJiAQ or anywhere you listen to your podcasts.

How to stop comparing yourself to others.

Social media, as we know, is all about making everybody believe that you’ve got it all going on and that your business is successful. But what you need to remember is that every single business is at a different stage in their business journey and that your journey is yours alone.

I mean, we rarely see the unpolished version of anyone on social media. We see the curated finish with the filters and all the bumpy corners ironed out. We don’t hear the tales of failure and, let’s be real, business is a roller coaster! There are moments that are fabulous to celebrate, but then there are also moments of failure. I think that is the story that you want to share and that you want to keep it real and be transparent and authentic. Every part of everyone’s business story has had moments of failure, moments of struggle. and I think for people who are comparing themselves, it’s always good to look at finding inspiration but not actually looking at the negatives. Comparison can just be a big distraction and can actually really impact your self-confidence.

So… you need to mute the noise and step out on your own journey with a total focus on what matters to you and how you can connect deeper with your audience. Comparisonitis kills creativity, and it also stops us from doing what we are good at. It can be so paralyzing and debilitating and leave us unable to show up for the good of our business. So today I’m going to give you some tips and help you to overcome this. If this is something that you have actually battled with or had moments in your business where you feel quite defeated sharing these tips with you is going to help enable you to slowly step out of the shadows and into the limelight.

Explore Triggers

The first step that I recommend is to explore the things that really trigger you. If you see something that makes you feel bad, explore what it is that has triggered you. Is it better to ignore or to block, take time to understand it and know what it is specifically that you are comparing to, and then take it back to what you really want and what are your own goals. So, use rationalization and add perspective.

When you acknowledge something that triggers you, then you know how to manage it better. You already know what the effect going to be so take time to understand it and know what it is specifically that will stop you from comparing.

Create Boundaries

Number two is create boundaries. Limit the amount of time you spend on social media. If it’s Instagram, then use the app in a really purposeful way. My suggestion is to mute accounts that evoke comparison, or trigger negativity. Promoting your business needs to be a positive experience and something that you feel connected with.

Help Each Other

Now, I love this one, help each other! Have people around you who can reflect a belief in you to back you up. This will help you to believe in yourself. A business buddy or a group is perfect. Join a community and show up. Showing up is great. It will help others to do the same and it means that you can be a positive role model for those around you. So don’t stop now, as you never know who you are inspiring.

Invest In Your Own Self Esteem

Now, my number four tip is to invest in your own self-esteem. Get comfortable with who you are and get comfortable with what you are wanting to share. The more real and authentic you are the deeper connections to your followers and you will know your strengths and superpower.

Stepping into your own uniqueness and knowing that it’s okay just to be will naturally build resilience to see others as they see you.

It will also assist to understand what your strengths are and tapping into your story; whether it’s that you are doing a story for an event or what work-life looks like for you, it could be a case study story or a reel (reels are obviously fabulous to do, but it can be confronting to get in front of the camera, especially on days where you are not feeling that polished or not having a great hair day.) I think every one of us has to really put on our big girl pants and rise above that.

Create a Short Mindset Routine

And finally, number five is to create a short mindset routine. By doing this, you can reconnect with your goals about what you are really trying to achieve. Who are you trying serve? How are you going to feel when you do that and visualize your day going well and positively.

So journaling can be a great way of addressing overwhelm and stepping forward. And journaling also helps you to map out and visualize what your world, what your day is going to be, what your week is going to look like and the direction that you wish to take your business in. But don’t focus on the negative as you may be wiring it in. Use journaling as a positive adventure.

While I’m on a bit of a roll, I’m gonna keep going and share with you, just a couple of other really handy shortcuts and tips that you can implement about how to stop comparing yourself and holding yourself back in business.

Look Within

One way of improving what you do is rather than looking at others is to look within yourself and within your community;

• What is needed of you to better fix the problems of your target customer?
• What do they need from you and how can you provide it?
• Is it getting feedback from your buyers through your social reviews?
• Is it chatting with your stockers and finding out more about what they love and what’s selling?
• What is your best sellers and why are they your best sellers?

Focus on keeping on improving what it is you do rather than looking at what others are doing.

Focus on Your Own Journey

Compare yourself only with your own journey. Focus on what you do and your own audience. The best way to do this is to acknowledge how far you’ve actually come and how brave you have been in taking the steps you’ve taken so far.

You might have started off with a side hustle that then has become your primary income. It might have meant that you had to juggle a number of part-time jobs while you worked on getting a business off the ground. Think about all those really brave moments that you’ve actually used to implement and back yourself. And what has led you to taking those steps that you’ve taken so far.

Focus on those who follow you, support you and visibly enjoy what it is that you share with them. I would suggest that you invest more in your super fans, because if you get it right for them more will come and that’s just going to only increase your confidence and your followers.

Be Inspired

Choose to be inspired rather than feeing that you’ve got comparisonitis. Choose to be inspired by other accounts that you can follow. Select a few accounts that really inspire you. Maybe you’ve thought about doing something similar, but not the same, and just take the inspiration from them;

• What are they doing?
• What can you learn from what it is that they’re actually sharing that actually makes you feel a connection?

I think that’s one of the most important things on social media is keeping the connection going.

Having prepared content in advance and being ready is going to set you up for not having those feelings of comparisonitis set in. That way you can continue to keep posting, showing up for your business and not having to worry about what else is going on and getting a reactive moment of maybe feeling flat one day and wondering what it is that you have to post. It sets you up for more success.

Collaborate

One other thing that I really love that can really help you to avoid the comparisonitis is to work with other businesses, collaborate with them to combine and bring your audience more of what they need. A collaboration is just such a rewarding and enriching experience and offers fun and connection too.

From going live and sharing a carefully created collaboration; it could be a Reel; it could be as a product-based business owner you might have collaborated for instance, with an artist or a designer, or a surface pattern designer; you might have done a collaboration by purchasing the licensing to display their beautiful artwork on your packaging.

I have had many clients do this and I myself have done that with my new product baby brand called Little Koala Living where my very lovely friend and past client Victoria from the Scenic Route has done six beautiful designs of Australiana Flora and Fauna. I then have licensed and gone and printed onto organic baby swaddles and baby cuddles. If you haven’t checked it out, it’s www.litlekoalaliving.com I would love you to take a look! Together we collaborated which was loads of fun. It allowed me to really focus on building a brand, but also I personally found it so rewarding and enriching having that connection. And it was a lot of fun. I think the benefit of collaborations is that you really get to hit twice the audience. Tapping into the collaborator and the collaborate. Tapping into both audiences can really make you feel you being part of something a lot bigger.

I’ve personally found that launching myself into Instagram and highlighting the parts of my work and life that I really love has helped me to grow confidence.

Share your Journey

And that’s something that you can do too, and learned to take myself a little less seriously, to challenge myself and to step out of my comfort zone. And it’s done in, in a positive way to build that audience connection. I love horse riding. I share lots of photos of, horses when I’m up there feeding my horses on the property, horse riding, things like that. People get to know you on a different level or a deeper level, family, photos, children, photos, even mum life.

I had an Instagram audit done a number of years ago and out of my top five pillars, my mum life insights were rated the highest. That’s what people want. That’s what my followers need to have that individuality to make me stand out from other business coaches, but also to allow them to understanding someone else’s life and understand who’s the owner behind the brand. It’s like “Meet the Maker”; where people really love to see videos of how your product comes together. That’s also a fabulous thing to do to inspire more connection.

So, I hope this blog has really helped you to feel less of anything that’s holding you back. To stop the comparisonitis. I think when you get really clear about your direction, you let go a little bit more and then you really focus more on your strengths, and you find more enjoyment in the marketing of your business.

Let me tell you all about the Creative Product Institute Mastermind. It’s a time to level up your business and implement my proven signature system for creative product business expansion.

When I got started at only 24 years old, I built a successful corporate gift hamper service starting from my kitchen table. I went from landing a $30,000 offer and wrapping every package by hand myself to a company with annual sales of 1.5 million per year. And it certainly was an all glitz and glammer! I was completely overwhelmed and to start with, and I was trying to manage everything in my business all by myself.

Out of it, I have been able to devise a really solid program for those of you who are looking to take your business to the next stage.

So;

• if your business is established for two to three years +,
• you are ready to invest in yourself 10 x your sales,
• you are really committed as an action taker and ready to get the bigger results.

pop onto my website, www.sarahjcross.com and find the mastermind and you can apply there to have a chat with me or go to the Creative Product Institute Mastermind to learn more about signing up and scaling further.

It’s time to pull up your big girl pants!

Do you want to Stop Comparisonitis from holding you back? I can help.

Within the Creative Product Institute Mastermind, you will create a strategic plan for scalability and consistent thriving cashflow to launch your business to the next level.

If 2022 is your year to scale your Product Business, book a complimentary 30-minute call with me here to see if The Creative Product Institute is right for you.