Breaking Free from Comparison Culture

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Comparison is perhaps the most pervasive challenge facing artists today, silently eroding confidence and stealing joy from the creative process. This episode tackles this universal struggle head-on, offering both spiritual wisdom and practical strategies to break free from the comparison trap.

Drawing from Galatians 6:4-5, we explore the biblical perspective on comparison and discover a powerful truth: God has custom-designed your artistic journey unlike anyone else's. When we fall into the habit of measuring ourselves against others, we're essentially telling God that His unique design for us isn't enough. This realization alone can be transformative for artists struggling to find their place in a crowded creative landscape.

The comparison cycle is insidious—beginning with a casual scroll through social media and potentially spiraling into creative paralysis or self-doubt. I share my personal struggles with comparison throughout my artistic career and how recognizing these patterns changed everything. You'll learn four practical strategies to overcome comparison: practicing daily gratitude, limiting social media consumption, intentionally celebrating others' successes, and maintaining laser focus on your specific assignment from God.

Ready to transform your creative life by breaking free from comparison? This episode provides the roadmap. Whether you're just beginning your artistic journey or you've been creating for decades, these principles will help you embrace your God-given uniqueness and create with newfound freedom and purpose. Join our Foundations Course if you're ready to go deeper in establishing your artistic identity in Christ and finally experiencing the creative freedom you were designed to enjoy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Thriving Christian Artist, the
podcast, where we hope youconnect with God to bust through
the roadblocks that have heldyou back for years, create the
work you love and really livethe life you know.
God created you to live as anartist in His kingdom.
I'm Matt Tama, your host.
Let's get started.
Well, hey, my friends, superglad that you are here.

(00:24):
I'm Matt Tommy, your host, andwelcome again to the Thriving
Christian Artist.
You know, if you have everfound yourself scrolling through
Instagram or Facebook or TikTokor another artist's website or
whatever, and seeing somebodyelse's success and being like
dang I wish that was me.
Or feeling like doggone it Iwish that I could feel as

(00:47):
confident as they seem, maybefeeling even like you're a
little less than I think.
Today's episode is really goingto speak to your heart, because
I want to dive into somethingthat I think every artist
wrestles with at some point, andthat is comparison, and we're
going to take a look not only athow it affects our life, but
also what God's word has to sayabout it, specifically in

(01:07):
Galatians 6, 4 through 5,because that verse, and those
two verses in particular, Ithink give us some really
powerful keys on how to startovercoming comparison in our
life.
I don't know about you, butcomparison is probably something
that I've struggled with mywhole life.
It's one of those sinisterthings, I think, that the enemy

(01:28):
tries to sow into our life earlyon.
And I don't know about you, butI've realized, in my life at
least, it is sneaky right and itkind of seeps in really small
and kind of undetected sometimesand then you start looking at
other people's work maybe agreat painting or a piece of
sculpture, or even how theirbusiness is going or just the
success they're having.
Or maybe it seems like, wow,they had a great show and I

(01:51):
didn't.
Or their online course is justkilling it and mine is just
barely kind of getting by andbefore you know it, you're kind
of taking the bait and you'respiraling down into this pity
party of comparison, feelinglike you're not worthy.
You're asking yourselfquestions like well, why are my
pieces sounding like that?
Or why are my shows that good?
Or why don't I have a followinglike theirs on Instagram?

(02:13):
Or maybe I'm just not goodenough, maybe this is not God's
plan for my life.
You know, we kind of talkedabout that a few weeks ago on
the podcast of allowing, youknow, struggles with our tactics
that we're trying to employ,actually bringing doubt to our
trajectory.
We know that's not a thing thatwe can get into, but, man, I
don't again.
The enemy loves to get in andsow that kind of stuff in your

(02:36):
life.
And here's the deal Comparisonalways is out to rob you of your
peace and your focus and yourjoy.
It wants to remind you of whoyou're not, not who you are in
Christ.
And it either ends up becausethe enemy loves to be on the
pendulum right on one extreme,or the other.
It either puffs you up so muchthat you start believing all

(02:58):
your own press or it startstearing you down, telling you
that you're not good, you're notgood enough.
You know this.
Enough that enough talentedenough, savvy enough, good
marketer enough, good artistsare enough.
But listen, neither one of thosereflects God's heart for your
life and my life as an artist.
And again, we know that in ourhead, right, but when you're in

(03:21):
the middle of it, it can seemlike those thoughts just pull
you down the rabbit hole untilall of a sudden you're just in a
funk.
Listen, I have been in a lot offunks over my life and the only
thing that can get you out of afunk and can prevent you from
getting in a funk aboutcomparison, is the presence of

(03:42):
God and the word of God.
Remember God's word is clear,take every thought captive and
do what.
We got to compare it to theword of God and we've got to
allow principles in the word ofGod and the word of God itself
to be the thing that creates theatmosphere, the environment in
which we live and in which wethink and move and have our

(04:04):
being.
Now listen, galatians 6 isverses 4 and 5.
Great, great verses for this.
And it says this it says eachone should test their own
actions.
I'm just going to stop rightthere and say it's a regular
part of the Christian life foryou to be judging yourself,
testing yourself, not in a harshway, not like you're horrible,

(04:27):
I'm judging you, no but just tolook realistically at the things
that you're doing, the thingsthat you're saying, the way that
you're perceiving life.
And then it says then they cantake pride in themselves alone,
without comparing themselves tosomeone else, for each one
should carry their own load.
Now again, we're not talkingabout pride outside of our

(04:49):
relationship with the Lord, butwe're talking about the fact
that, hey, we can be confidentin who God's created us to be
without having to compareourselves to one another.
Paul is writing right here, Ibelieve, to believers who are
struggling just like we do everyday, right With this idea of
performance on one side, havingto tap, dance for Jesus, perform

(05:09):
for everybody else, makeeverybody think we've got it all
together, or judging ourselvestoo harshly on the other side,
thinking that we'll never bequalified.
But he gives us this powerfulinsight right there at the end.
It says what Each one shouldcarry their own load.
In other words, what Look atyour own work, look at your own

(05:30):
life, look at your own mindsetand carry your own load.
In other words, what Stay inyour lane, instead of comparing
yourself and your work and yourprocess and your results and
your business or ministry orwhat God's called you to do as
an artist.
I believe God's saying hey, payattention to what I've
entrusted you, because you'rethe only one that can do what

(05:53):
I've created you to do andyou're the only one responsible
for the things that I've calledyou to do.
I can remember so early on, whenCameron was a kid and they were
, you know, cameron was always,just like all of us, he was
worried about what they weredoing and worried about what
this person was doing andworried about what they had and

(06:13):
worried about what he didn'thave.
And they would always tellCameron Cameron, you worry about
Cameron, cameron, you mind yourown business.
Buddy, I think about that versein Thessalonians, right, that
says you know, uh, you know, uh,work with your hands, mind your
own business, live a quiet life.
Like that is a.

(06:34):
That's just a life verse for me.
And so you and I are on this,custom designed, custom built,
custom paced, if you willjourney from the Lord, not only
as artists, but also just in ourlife.
He did not make you a copy ofanybody else and he didn't

(06:55):
intend you to live life the wayeverybody else is living their
life.
Why?
Because he made you and I toreflect his glory and his beauty
and his nature in the earth ina way that nobody else can.
And when you and I end upcomparing ourselves, that is
taking the bait of the enemy,believing we're not enough.
We're basically saying hey, god, what you gave me is not enough

(07:18):
.
The calling you gave me is notgood enough, not important
enough.
God, the way that I create isnot valid enough for the
marketplace, for others, forwhatever.
And listen, when you test yourown actions, when you test your
own mindsets, when you look atthem clearly under the
microscope of the Holy Spiritand God's word, and guess what

(07:41):
you can do.
You can actually take thisjoyful pride in the growth that
you're experiencing, in thedesign that God's given you, in
the calling that he's placed onyour life.
I don't know about you, butthis is just the major I don't
know a major, major, majortemptation, and it's a card that
the enemy is trying to play allthe time in our life.

(08:03):
But you just got to keepreminding yourself by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Listen, my journey doesn't looklike anybody else.
The race I'm running, it is atthe pace that God's got for me.
My art doesn't look likeanybody else's.
My pace doesn't have to matchtheirs.
My responsibility is to who?
To the Lord and to the thingsthat he's called me to.
Why?
Because God has given mestewardship over the things that

(08:28):
he's given me, and so I want togive you a couple of you know
three or four, maybe a few moreif they come to my mind
Practical steps.
All right, that will help youto overcome this trap of
comparison in your life as anartist.
And the first one I would say isthis practice gratitude each

(08:49):
day.
Start each day by thanking Godfor how he's designed you, how
he's wired you, the gifts andcallings and graces and passions
and perspectives that he's putin your life.
Thank him for your journey andlisten you know, if you've
listened to me for very long,I'm a big journaler.
I've been doing that for 20plus years.
I've got stacks of journalsabout the things I've written in

(09:09):
them, and so much of what Iwrite about in my journals is
not anything profound, it'ssimply prayers to the Lord and
gratitude every day for thethings that he's brought in my
life.
Listen, when you write thingsdown, they not only become real,
they become revelatory, I thinkin our life they allow us to

(09:30):
realize, hey, things aren't asbad as they seem.
I do have a lot to be thankfulfor.
And they allow us to go backand review the things that God
has done in our life.
All right.
Number two and we've talkedabout this a lot I think I even
did a whole month on this in ourmentoring program last year
about building your business,you know, without social media.

(09:52):
But I would say, number two,you know.
Number one practice gratitude.
Number two limit the scroll.
Limit how much time you'respending on social media.
Because, again, how much timeyou are spending on social media
?
Because, again, we know thisright, social media is designed
by its very nature to beaddictive.
It is, by its very nature, acomparison trap.

(10:14):
And so, listen, set time, don'tallow yourself to just be going
there as the default.
All right, yeah, follow peoplethat inspire you, but you know,
if you're finding yourself that,that you're getting intimidated
, or if you're just getting, youknow, pressed down on every
side by this comparison thing,curate your feed, unfollow some

(10:38):
people.
Choose the amount of time andthe things that you to set
boundaries in your life so thatsocial media is not something
that's driving you but it'sreally, you know, being a
life-giving place in your lifeand you're the only person that
can make the decision to do that.
All right, number three I thinkthis is always a good idea, but
it just kind of builds intothis thing of breaking

(11:01):
comparison over your life.
Choose to intentionallycelebrate others Instead of
really shrinking back.
You know, when somebody elsesucceeds, celebrate them, post
about them, comment on the goodthings that are happening in
your friend's life.
It's just like I've said foryears you know, if you need
money in your life or you'restruggling with finances, what
do you do?

(11:21):
Sow right.
If you're struggling withcomparison, what do you do?
Celebrate somebody else.
It's just this sort of kingdomprinciple of coming in the
opposite spirit.
When the enemy is trying to putcomparison on you, you go out
of your way to celebrate othersand say Lord, by doing this, I'm
intentionally breaking the backof the enemy over this thing

(11:43):
and I'm declaring that I am notbound by comparison.
I am informed by your grace andmy identity in you, not in
feeling less than as I comparemyself to these other persons.
All right.
Last thing I would say is thisfocus on your assignment.
If you're a subscriber to ourweekly Thriving Christian Artist

(12:06):
newsletter, you know that Italk every week about the core
four, right?
What are the core four?
Connect with God, clarify yourintentions for the day and for
the week.
Create daily and cultivaterelationships with fans and
followers, clients and partners.
Those four things will help youstay focused in what God's

(12:27):
called you to do and listen.
In that clarify part, you justgot to ask the Lord every day.
God, what is it today thatyou've got me to focus on?
How am I building my business?
How am I sharing my work?
How am I connecting with you?
How am I, you know, creatingand putting that work out in the
world for you to use it foryour glory?
Listen, when you do that, andyou and you, you know, do that

(12:50):
with excellence and let peaceguide you, let the Holy Spirit
guide you.
You won't have time to becomparing yourself to others.
So, friend, listen.
I want to pray for you today aswe close, because I know, just
like me, this is a big, bigissue that we're always
struggling with in our life.
But here's the deal you don'thave to struggle with it to the

(13:12):
point where it controls you inyour life.
You can realize it's coming atyou and you can use healthy
strategies that I'm teaching youright here in order to create a
life that is not built oncomparison, but it's built on
your identity in Christ.
So, jesus, I thank you rightnow for the uniqueness, the
unique design, the uniqueassignment, the unique creative

(13:35):
voice, god perspectives thatyou've placed in each one of us
and, god, I pray by the HolySpirit that you would help us to
fix our eyes not on everybodyelse, not on what everybody else
is doing, not on the lies andthe temptations of the enemy,
but on you, the author and theperfecter of our faith.
Lord, we repent right now fortimes that we've let comparison

(13:56):
steal our joy and steal ourcalling and steal the confidence
that you've designed for us.
In Christ, lord, I pray againby your Holy Spirit, god, that
you would restore godlyconfidence in us right now and
give us the ability to walk inyour peace and steward, lord,
what you have given us tosteward.
Give us the ability to walk inyour peace and steward, lord,
what you have given us tosteward, god, we want to walk
faithfully and joyfully andconfidently and authentically in

(14:20):
all that you've called us to,and we thank you that, by your
Holy Spirit, we can do that.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Hey, friend, listen, if thisepisode has spoken to you and
you can really feel like theLord is saying hey, I want to
deal with this thing aboutcomparison in your life.
I want to really encourage youto take a next, really, really

(14:41):
powerful step, and it's calledour Foundations Course.
You may have heard me talkabout it, but listen.
It is designed specifically tohelp you overcome root issues
behind things like comparisonand help you learn to walk
confidently in your identity inChrist, discover your God-given
uniqueness and start creatingand living from a place of

(15:02):
freedom and peace and purpose.
Inside the course, we give youstep-by-step guidance,
encouragement every day,practical tools to help you lay
a strong foundation in your lifeand in your art and in your
spiritual life.
So, listen, if you're tired ofsecond guessing yourself all the
time or constantly feel likeyou don't measure up, I promise

(15:23):
you this course is for you.
You can go to the link that'sright here inside the podcast
notes and you can become a partof Foundations Today.
Join hundreds of artists fromall around the world in just
about every creative medium whoare experiencing freedom and new
life in Christ as a part of theFoundations course.

(15:45):
All right, I love you, my friend.
Thanks again for being here onthe podcast with me and remember
until next time you werecreated to thrive.
Bye.
Hey, thanks so much forspending a few minutes with me
today on the podcast.
Listen.
I hope it's been a hugeencouragement to you on your
journey as an artist.
Hey, also, before you leave,make sure to hit the subscribe
button so you don't miss any ofthe other episodes of the

(16:08):
Thriving Christian Artistpodcast, and also be sure to
connect with me on Facebook,Instagram or at my website,
which is matttommymentoringcom.
Until next time, remember youwere created to thrive.
Bye-bye.