Why we shouldn't compare

A list of good reasons to not compare with other indie makers on Twitter or anywhere else

They say, we shouldn’t compare with others if we want to be happy. But I’ve seldom asked why. I’ve never thought it through, or listed down the reasons it might not be beneficial.

So here’s me thinking through why. A list of good reasons to not compare with other indie makers on Twitter or any social media platform:

Highlights reels vs reality

I’m comparing their highlight reels with my B-roll reality, their wins with my fails. Everyone airbrushes their projected image on social, so it’s not a realistic apple to apple comparison anyway.

Different stages of progress

I’m comparing people at different stages in their career. You’ll never compare the wins or losses of a senior C-suite executive with a junior manager in his first job since college, so why should we compare that way between 2 entrepreneurs? Their 10 year journey to get to that point is not comparable to my 2 year milestone.

Different starting lines

Unless they went to the same school, had similar upbringing, and same socio-economic environment growing up—basically your biological twin— there’s not much basis for comparison. It’s not a level playing field, never was, never will be. Someone from a rich family, rich country, great business environment, will always have an unfair edge. Our starting lines are all different.

Different finishing lines

Everyone has different goals, even if they are direct, near-identical competitors. We start at a different starting lines, and we have a different finishing lines. Entrepreneurship isn’t a race where everyone is running on the same track. Hell, we all aren’t even in the same race, even for direct competitors! If my goal is about freedom, does it make sense to compare with someone who’s goal is to make money? If I had only $5k monthly revenue but I achieved my goal of freedom, am I lesser off than someone with $100k monthly revenue but not yet achieved his goal of $1M?

Different market conditions

Market conditions, supply and demand, larger economic forces beyond your control, all determine how well your product does. If your product is in a different market from someone else, even if both are indies, there’s probably way more factors outside both of your control than we would like to admit. Uncertainty makes the grounds for comparison shaky.

Different life situations

Everyone’s life situation is different. I’m comparing my results from having to care for a toddler kid, being sleep deprived, and having many mouths to feed versus a single guy, no family responsibilities, way lesser time constraints. I’m starting the entrepreneur game in hard mode already, while the rest are in easy mode.

Big life things vs little tactical things

Comparing the big things simply does nothing productive, and does no good for my mental wellbeing. So why do it? Caveat: Compare the little, tactical things though – like compare how someone markets their product with mine, so that I can learn. If it’s strictly learning purposes with no emotions involved, it’s okay.

Any other good reasons we shouldn’t compare with others?