Q for everyone - whe
[2022-01-03 09:09:05 PM] : Q for everyone - when you read year end reviews and someone does better than you, does it encourage or discourage you? Are you excited about what is possible, or frustrated because you haven't seen the same results?
1 Reply
[2022-01-03 09:15:57 PM] : I suspect we need to see the successes to know what is possible, but I've always been weird about sharing numbers for a variety of reasons. One reason is that I don't want to discourage anyone who has been putting in effort and growing, but not quite at the same rate as me. In many ways I was lucky so it isn't really a fair comparison for all audiences.
On the flip side, I see people like Adam Wathan and Wes Bos who absolutely crush it and that encourages me, so I worry I'm overthinking it and I should try to share more in case it helps someone.
[2022-01-03 09:21:30 PM] : If I'm honest, it's more discouraging than encouraging to me, but it's dependent on the content.
Most year-end reviews I see only mention that person's highlight reel, with little or no mentions of areas where they struggled or where they could improve. To me, the real gold in these kinds of reviews is when someone discusses the areas they could have done better or pitfalls they encountered, and how they overcame them or will deal with them in the new year.
When someone only mentions the good while I had plenty of setbacks throughout the year, it kinda makes me feel like I'm doing this whole thing wrong because others make it seem like it should be effortless. This has been something I've struggled with personally for years, though.
I'm not against anyone posting their reviews, especially since it has the potential to encourage others. I just wish it were a bit more balanced at times :slightly_smilingface:
[2022-01-03 09:52:49 PM] : I totally get that. It is kinda why I hate FB - you only see the highlight reel, and it can make you second guess what is going on in your life/family/whatever.
[2022-01-04 09:31:57 AM] : I like them as it gives me perspective I think. But as I only started recently I don't yet bother or compare myself too much to others.
It will be interesting how it looks next year, when I compare my numbers to others.
[2022-01-04 02:50:15 PM] : i find it encouraging
[2022-01-05 03:14:03 AM] : I find it encouraging as well
[2022-01-05 02:33:17 PM] : I’ll chime in siding on the “encouraging” camp as well.
One of the things I find wonderful (and helpful) is this whole “building in public” movement. Some of it’s crap, but there are some very helpful nuggets that encourage the heck out of me! With that said, I view these as the same, but more private and in-depth. I do have to be careful about “when” I view them. If I’m having a down moment I try my best to stay away from these things (and many other things) until that’s gone ¯_(ツ)/¯
[2022-01-05 02:34:53 PM] : i like the sharing because a) i’m a nosy person and i want to know everyone’s business and b) i like to see what kinds of stuff tends to work for other people so i can copy it
[2022-01-07 02:22:48 PM] : It depends for me. Mostly I find it encouraging. But I remember also that I stopped reading on indie hackers a few years ago because it made me feel bad. I guess there was lots of fomo involved. Nowadays as I progressed a bit on my path I find it more encouraging. And I can better tell the bullshit apart from the honest stories I suppose
[2022-01-07 02:25:55 PM] : And as Chris Drit says if I have a bad moment or feel like I'm not progressing I can feel bad or envious reading about people doing better than I (me?)
[2022-01-07 02:27:28 PM] : the way i look at it, i can read what other people are doing and potentially learn something but risk feeling inadequate, but if i don’t read what other people are doing, i’m guaranteed not to learn anything from them
[2022-01-07 02:28:00 PM] : so for me the guaranteed loss is worse than the risk of emotional pain
[2022-01-07 04:02:24 PM] : Back when I stopped reading IH the information was overwhelming for me. I didn't know what was relevant dice everyone seemed to say something different. Kind of how many newbie coders feel with the information overload out there. Now with 30x500 and some positive experience I have the knowledge and confidence to filter better.
[2022-01-07 04:03:19 PM] : yeah, i’ll also say that at some point i stopped reading “business” content or listening to business podcasts or anything like that
[2022-01-07 04:04:12 PM] : 95% of it was irrelevant and by consuming that content i risked fooling myself into feeling like i was actually doing work