Dealing with jealousy of other artists

Let's talk about jealousy!  It can be easy to be jealous of other artists in the art world, wether that be skills or opportunities or exhibitions that certain artists are a part of.

What happens when you are jealous is that you are triggered.  When you're triggered by someone, it means that person has something that you want.  It means you want to experience that for yourself, and there's a part of you telling yourself that you can never have that or achieve that.  

Here are three tips to help dissipate jealousy and use it as fuel to propel yourself forward.

First of all, close your eyes and imagine embodying what it is that that person has.  So if you are jealous for instance of an artist who is having a solo show at a prestigious gallery, close your eyes and imagine being the one shown at that gallery.  Feel the feelings of elation, happiness and pride in your achievements.  This is a trick so that you feel like you are sharing in their achievement, and lessen the feeling of antagonism.

Two is to give that person an active compliment.  It can be in person, or on social media, email, whatever.  Identify what you are jealous of, and compliment them!  Let's say you are jealous of an artist's recent publication in an art review.  You can reach out and say “I really enjoyed your recent feature, thanks for the inspiration!”  Just keep it brief—this isn't as much for them as it is for you.  This is a trick to help you feel like you are on the same team as them, instead of in competition.

Three, is to tell yourself you are not in direct competition with them.  You are a separate person with separate experiences and unique gifts to the world, with your own memories and offerings that the person you are jealous of does not have.  You are not in direct competition with them, only with yourself.  Remind yourself you are not competing against them.

Fourth and most important is to identify what it is that you are jealous of.  If someone really makes you jealous, it means that they have something that you want.  If you want to be a full time artist making work that makes an impact on culture, and you see someone who resonates with you doing just that, then you know where your desire is pointing you---to be a full time artist making an impact on culture!  You can be jealous of endless things: travel, job, recognition, career, money, status, physical appearance, youth, maturity, relationships, opportunities, press, exhibitions, house, health, location, even good mental health...there are really endless things that we can be jealous of!  

And here's the most important thing: identify what it is that you want, and start to cultivate a plan to do, be or attain what it is that you desire, that this jealousy awakened in you.  Don't let it just sit there and become bitter.  It only becomes bitter if you tell yourself it's something you can't have.  When in reality, jealousy is just a GPS pointing you towards your deepest desires.  You must know that you can attain what it is you desire, give yourself permission to hope for it, work for it, and create it for yourself, and step into it.

I hope this has been super helpful for you, let me know in the comments below any times you may have been triggered with jealousy and how you can use this new method to move forward into what you want to experience! 

Watch my youtube video covering this topic here.

Remember what is inside you is unique and can only be expressed by you. You are priceless!

xox,