Today I'd like to talk about a fail.

A very BIG fail.

I failed, you failed, that girl over there who's secretly picking her name (yeah we see you!) -- she failed too.

What am I talking about?

I'm talking about that time when we found ourselves comparing instead of supporting.

And I'm referring to the kind of comparison that's driven by jealousy.

"He's ahead of me, but I'm better than him."

"Look at her story, she only has 200 reads and I have 225. She's such a loser."

"If they get published before me I will lose my shit."

Let's be real, why are we here, on the social media?

A part of us (it doesn't have to be our entire selves) wants to socialise.

And what happens here on Wattpad?

We can sometimes, somehow, make friends.

But when do we fail?

When our social circle looks like this:

Yeah, I know, for dogs butt sniffing is like saying hello, but what I really mean here is how we're constantly in competition.

It's understandable. On Wattpad we actually have numbers that define us. We count these numbers as achievements. Ranks, reads, votes, followers...

Reaching this or that amount is a milestone. We spend a lot of time thinking over this, using these numbers as a way to weigh and measure ourselves and... others.

It's not something we can avoid. There is a race, and everyone falls into it unaware. It's okay that there's something that motivates us to improve and to continue writing. It's okay that we see these numbers as rewards.

And of course, the more numbers you have, the more influence.

[SIDE NOTE: Influence is power on Wattpad. You better use it to do good. People who use their power to do ill are always and forever the villains.]

We fail when we turn against others. We fail when we compare.

If we're behind in the race and compare ourselves to those in the front.

If we're ahead in the race and don't respect the people behind us.

We fail ourselves.

Your writing. Your voice. Your ideas. Your inner worlds. Your characters.

Your PACE.

Everyone else? Every other writer out there and on Wattpad. They're not your enemies.

They're your companions to the journey.

They're walking this path with you. No matter if you feel like shoving them off the edge of the world or just shoving them behind you -- they will be there.

And by them being there is how there is a path to walk at all.

You need them, all of them.

If there aren't writers who write poorly and are top of the list, how will your great writing stand out?

If there aren't writers who write in the similar subject matter as yours, where will the readers turn to when they finish your book? Where will you get the readers who turned to you after finishing the other books like yours?

And when you fail to meet your goals, when you struggle against that glass roof and can't seem to move forward, who will give you a shoulder to cry on?

Who understand you better than other writers?

We've all failed in this. The spirit of competition could drive us mad with jealousy if we let it.

But let's not let it. 🙃

Remember to walk the path in your own pace. Things will come when they come. If your direction is forward, you'll make progress.

And in the meantime, cherish those around you. Offer support and you'll be rewarded with something that can never be measured with numbers:

💜💚💛Friendship.💛💚💜

Sometimes, often, what you'll need is not to meet that goal. What you'll need is a true friend who will listen because they care about you.

And the more time passes and you manage to hang on and not mess it up, you'll look back at the years and realise that you've created something with this other person.

A collaboration, a work of art.

One that looks like this:

I hope this helps!
❤️
Einaty