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Apples and Oranges
How Unfair Comparisons Fuel Impostor Syndrome
We are no longer cave people.
Comparisons are a healthy, very human way for us to process the information we take in from the world around us. It’s a natural instinct that we honed in our very primitive days, comparing rampaging animals to that time when a saber-tooth tiger mauled and killed Uncle Urg.
However, we are no longer cave people. Our comparison radars are too finely tuned for the nuance, diversity, and relative safety our modern world offers. When we’re unfairly comparing ourselves to others, like apples to oranges or fish to bananas, we’re making a mistake. It’s this unfair comparison that starts to feed the good old impostor syndrome — the Doppelganger inside all of us.
We obviously want to strive for big things, lofty ambitions, and pinnacles of mountains. That said, when we’re first starting out, comparing ourselves to the best in the world isn’t a great idea.
When you’re starting out at anything, or even when you’re moderately experienced, comparing yourself to the best in class is just not fair — to you or them.
I remember starting art school and watching in awe as my instructors would do a quick demonstration and produce something so breathtakingly beautiful it was painful. They’d capture in twenty…
