So often, we hear the adage of "It's a dog eat dog world", and "survival of the fittest". Most of our families taught us to look out for ourselves because life is a competition and the world around us is up to no good. But why exactly is it like that to begin with? Because we make it that way. Not everything in life has to be a competition. More often than not, you and your fellow humans can all succeed.
Being self-revolved is human nature, but it benefits us if we escape our own personal bubble. It's not just about our struggles and our achievements, because we don't live on this planet alone. When you're celebrating reaching your goals, you want others to appreciate what you've done. When you're mourning a loss, you want others to comfort you. But part of having a friend, is also being a friend. If you can do this for others, they will usually remember it, and do it for you when your time comes.
People often see competition in places where it doesn't have to exist. How does it hurt you when someone else's art does well? How does it reflect badly on you when someone else raises funds for a project? It doesn't. In fact, it often helps you. Here's how...It gets more eyeballs on the region or the field that you're in. It motivates you to create more and step up your own quality. It galvanizes relationships when someone sees that you've taken the time to support them. And it's good for your own health and well being to know that you've done something to help someone. So it's a win all around.
For example, I'm heavily involved in many artistic communities. I'm a filmmaker, author, YouTuber, blogger, and journalist. Does that mean I should only share my own work and shut out everyone else's? Of course not. By elevating others, you're not only spreading good messages and building deeper relationships, but also studying what makes others' work such high quality. Now I'm not saying you have to put yourself last, and I'm not saying there can't be a healthy competitive gene here. Sometimes it will be a competitive situation. If you win, wonderful! If you lose, you've got a great lesson and experience to build on, to work harder for next time.
The more people that are watching the field you're in, the better it is for you. The more quality work and quality people coming out of your area, the better it is for your field. After all, it's all about spreading quality art and getting good work out to the masses. If their work happens to be more successful this time, so be it. Don't be bitter, be better. You can all win at the same time. Support your friends, spread the seeds of art, work harder together, and let's all grow as creators and humans.
Love Yourselves, And Each Other
-Jason Burke
