A few years ago I was translating something by a wealthy Japanese art collector, and one thing he said stuck in my mind.

He said he thinks it's better for an artist to grow up in a small city or town rather than a big city like Tokyo because in a big city, you're surrounded by people at the top of the game and it's easy to feel like you'll never achieve what they have, whereas in a small city the competition is less in your face.

I think social media or the internet at large has the same problem, we all have access to the most popular entertainers, most engaging writers, the biggest podcasters, etc., so it's easy to get discouraged if you're trying to follow in their footsteps. Worsened by the fact that it seems much more within reach because of the accessibility, but secretly isn't.

Kinda wish I could just do my thing, even if it sucks, without knowing about all the people doing it better than me.