There's nothing more discouraging than to compare yourself to others who are way ahead of you.

I know this - and yet I fall into this trap more often than I care to admit.

The other day, I wrote to you about how exciting it is to build a new business...

But that's only half the story.

It's exciting, for sure. But it's also hard.

If you're having a bad day, I'm right there with you Reader.

This morning I found myself staring at my YouTube stats for my easy and gluten free channel...

... the abysmally low number of watch hours...

...the subscriber count that's been stubbornly stuck at 499 for days...

Then I went to watch a few other creators' videos...

I should have known better!

I watch other people's content in my niche routinely, as part of my traffic strategy. But I try to avoid doing it when I'm not feeling great.

For some reason, today I did it anyway... and I shouldn't have!

Because it just made me feel worse.

30 seconds into watching Doctor Rupi's high-protein gluten free bread video and I was already feeling like I should re-train as a plumber - not try to make it on YouTube!

Thoughts like "this is SO MUCH BETTER than my stuff..." and "I'll NEVER make it!" started flying through my mind...

...followed by a string of more self-pitying thoughts that I'm ashamed to share with you lol...

If you're trying to make money online, you probably have gone through this kind of stuff many times, I'm sure.

It's hard not to see how well other people are doing, isn't it?

And as much as we know we shouldn't compare ourselves to others... it's kind of impossible not to at times!

In all honesty, when I feel like this, I want to quit.

I really do!

I catch myself actually believing I won't make it... It's not just that I feel sorry for myself - I truly lose all faith in my ability to make this work.

The secret is to learn to ignore those doubts and keep going inspite of them.

Remind yourself that even the most successful people out there had their day 1.

They didn't make it because of some magic formula... they succeeded because they didn't stop when doubts crept in.

They kept going.

They kept working at improving.

And step by step, they grew.

So if you're having a tough time today, Reader - keep going!

Compare yourself only to yourself - not to others.

If you're a step ahead today than you were yesterday, you're on the right track.

That's all that matters!

Sending lots of "keep going" vibes.

"I will not quit" Sophie
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