An Enemy of Envy

I've been absent from writing for a long, long while and it is due to the amazing amount of things I fill my life with, aka functioning anxiety. At least I'm productive?

Anyway, I've been struggling with bouts of jealousy in my art and found this wonderful post about envy via Musing About Mud, it's by Austin Kleon (you know, that guy who wrote Steal Like An Artist) and it was the read I needed. 

I think a lot of artists struggle with jealousy in so many ways. Maybe you’re envious of someone else’s perceived productivity, their creative mind, an ability to network or even just speak about their own work. Those things reflect our own insecurities and things that we would like to improve upon so pay attention to that ugly feeling! It has so much to teach us, not least of all to stop comparing ourselves to our contemporaries. Don't ignore jealousy when it rears its head or else it will eat you from the inside out.  Instead examine that envy, pull it out and look at it from all angles to see what it says about what YOU truly desire.  Then turn it around and use it as fuel for your art.  As someone once said to me, the best revenge is living well.

So take revenge on jealousy, use it for your own power and betterment.

*This is a re-post and edit from my old WordPress blog