Re-sharing "Better than yesterday"
On jealousy, competition, and the drive to create
For today's story, I’m reposting a formerly subscribers-only essay about overcoming our insecurities. Happy Friday, all. ~JRC
Just this morning, jealousy reared its ugly head.
My son and I were watching a recent episode of Adam Savage's Tested on YouTube. Adam (of Mythbusters fame) was doing a show-and-tell on a set of Phil Tippett-designed tauntaun maquettes from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (you can see the maquettes at Regal Robot here). Tauntauns are those bipedal animals from Hoth, ridden by Han and Luke as they traversed this snow-covered planet. And Phil Tippett is the genius creator behind these and many other fantastic creatures in the original Star Wars trilogy (as well as a director and Oscar and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer).
This Tested episode was basically a skillful maker sharing his praise for another gifted creator.
And I felt somehow less.
The feeling - that uncomfortable pang of jealousy - only lasted a brief moment. I was mainly in awe of Tippett's designs and, as always, engaged by Savage's commanding presence on camera. My son and I enjoyed the episode immensely, and I mostly walked away inspired. But still, there was that instant where I wished I could sculpt, narrate, and overall create as well as either of these two masters. And that feeling got me thinking about how and why I make and what - really and truly - is my goal in creating.
My answer to this is simple: I make each day to make better than I did the day before.
Sure, I create for a whole host of reasons, many of which I've shared in this newsletter over the last few years. I make to use my mind and hands, connect with my humanity, and inspire myself and others. But each time I pick up a tool or sit down to write, I don’t often consider these existential reasons I make. Instead, I strive to do only one thing consciously - create better each day.
My drive comes from this inner competition, not an outward one. I strive to do better than before and try not to compare myself to others. Creativity, I believe, is best when done from a place of growth, not rivalry. It's the goodwill of it all; a job well done, a new skill learned, a degree of mastery shared - these and other pleasing feelings make the creative process what it is.
This is not to say that outward competition is all bad. One of the main drivers of progress in society stems from humanity's competitive nature. Innovations that improve our quality of life often arise from one person's drive to do more (or better) than another. And sports demand it, of course.
But let's face it, behind many of these over-achieving success stories is a not-so-nice person. Sure, they win, and many times we all win for their effort, but it's at a cost. Difficult, overly competitive people constitute a significant downer for those in their immediate sphere of influence.
Conversely, I want to make to make myself and others happy, and extreme competitiveness will only get in the way. Good things happen if one can channel a healthy inner competition without succumbing to an external drive to beat others. In doing so, we grow, achieve, and celebrate success without the cost of someone else losing. It's a win-win if there ever was one.
So I make to make better than yesterday. Sure, jealousy sneaks in from time to time. But then I remind myself of the goal.
And I head back into the shop to make.
Until next time.
JRC