Getting motivated: "Don't compare yourself to others"??

I've recently been reading this book "Get Motivated!" by Tamare Lowe. It is nothing short of life-changing.

I have been struggling with my ambitions for a couple years now wondering why I can't be happy just playing whatever music pays the bills and going home to my garden and cooking. Well, for one, I don't really have a garden. Two, I can never just accept the status quo, regardless of how comfortable a life I have. hell, when I was making $102K a year I had to leave it to be a poor musician!

Tamara Lowe's book has taught me something about myself: I am competitive and I strive to be the best. The very fact that I am fighting this instead of celebrating these ambitions is why I have been so unmotivated and depressed lately. Everyone has different motivators, and if we do not learn what they are and work WITH them we will not be able to reach our full potential.

So I'm throwing OUT the whole "don't compare yourself to others" theory. It doesn't work for me. It only causes me to accept less of myself, which leads to self-loathing. For some people, comparison to others can cause depression and "de-motivation" to see how others have succeeded at a particular goal - for me, I get depressed either way, so why not compare? why not compete? and why not push myself to be the best?

Being competitive doesn't mean being a hater. We can still celebrate success for someone else while also using it to raise the bar in our own lives.

Our Watershade cover demo is sounding AWESOME!
stay tuned... http://ping.fm/Vjagm

finishing up recordings today for our demo!

working on some Christmas music arrangements

heading out for a nice jog with my little dog!

Working all day today. Looking forward to finishing my band's cover demo this week!

getting ready to play for a Quinciñera