As writers, sometimes we see another person’s success and believe we should have it as well. But when you stop and think about it, the logic doesn’t add up.

Creativity is like a thumbprint. Everyone has creative gifts (whether they realize it or not), and everyone has something unique to offer the world. Creativity is like the thumbprint of your soul.

You may not believe you’re unique, but you are. You are a one-of-a-kind combination of personality, experiences, gifts, and passions that hasn’t existed before, and will never exist again.

So, if you don’t believe you are a unique creation, and you don’t use your writing gift as the limitless potential it truly is… you are selling yourself short.

Where do we get tripped up? It happens when we see others writing about topics that are similar to ours. It’s easy to think, “That person is writing about the same topics I write about, and he or she is more successful, so that invalidates my writing.”

This is good news because it proves that there is an audience for your writing. You should never worry about creative competition. Two people can take the same topic, or even the same basic story, and write two completely different things.

Look at it in terms of music. How many songs about lost love have you heard over the years? Probably thousands. They all focus on the same subject and use the same twelve notes on the musical scale. The vast majority of them are in 4/4 time and use a variation of the rhythm section: bass, drums, guitar, keys. Some will throw in horns or strings.

Yet we never complain about the similarities between songs. Why? Because there is an infinite number of variations on the same theme, using the same basic creative tools (instruments).

The same is true for writing. There is an infinite number of variations on the same themes and topics. Don’t worry about another person’s strengths and success. They are traveling on their own writing journey. Don’t spend your life trying to sing someone else’s tune. Trying to copy another person’s success makes about as much sense as wishing you had their thumbprint.

Instead, focus on your own unique journey and how you can bring more of your writing, and your own story, into the world.

Daily Question: What is a unique perspective that you, and only you, can bring to your writing?