Friendly Competition in the Creative World

I recently went back and watched an interview with metal vocalist and political commentator Eric July from early 2015. In a discussion about different demographics of fans, he brought up a point about the one-upmanship that can occur in the creative world. A fan, or claimant of fandom, will sometimes only follow an artist just in an attempt to one-up them. One-upmanship has positive and negative potential.

First, the good. The progression of arts, science, and economic growth all come from competition, friendly or murderous. Just as a business provides a better service at a better rate to drive out its competition, an author will create a more concise and well-worded work to get their words heard in the white noise of publication, populated by every writer and their Instagram of adorable dog pictures. Personally, I'm a cat person. This competition drives critical growth and evolves the poetry of language.

Now, the bad. Too much competition can rot the very creative nature that drives one to make works. One can easily get hung up on the competition, rather than the product that results from it. If a creator loses sight of their vision, they lose the poetry of the words. When the creator takes their primary focus off of their vision, the one-upmanship can become a creative block instead of a kindling for the creative fire.

Use competition to fuel your work. Never lose sight of the product in the race. When you strive to better yourself, your competitors will grow to be better than you and the cycle continues. - Cheers.