Comparisonitis can totally knock you off course to become a Virtual Assistant so we need to address it now.
Do you ever find yourself scrolling through social media, looking at other people’s seemingly transition from 9-5 to Virtual Assistant, and feeling like you’re not measuring up? Or maybe you’re constantly comparing yourself to your peers, feeling like you’re falling behind in your Virtual Assistant business?
Now, I am not a doctor but I can tell you, you have acute comparisonitis. Sadly, this doesn’t yet have any over the counter cures but I have found a few ways you can stop it happening which I have listed below, and I am going to use capital letters throughout so BE WARNED!
Write down YOUR goals
The first step to overcoming comparisonitis is to get clear on what YOU want to achieve. Take some time to write down your goals, whether they’re related to how many clients you want, how many hours you want to work, how much you want to earn a month, etc. Be specific about WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE AND WHY it’s important to you.
Remember that everyone’s goals are different
Once you’ve written down YOUR goals, it’s important to remember that everyone’s goals are different. Just because someone else is at capacity, working just four hours a day or marketing like they’re Amazon doesn’t mean that you should measure yourself against them. Your goals are unique to you, and what matters most is that you’re making progress towards achieving them.
Example… That other Virtual Assistant you keep measuring yourself against who started their business the same time as you and is at capacity but you ‘only’ have one client. Yeah, that one! How do you know what their capacity is? Maybe their capacity is just two hours a week. Maybe their partner supports the household financially, maybe she still works a 9-5 and doesn’t plan on leaving, whereas you do!
You can NEVER measure yourself against others without knowing EVERYTHING about them – and you don’t!
Focus on your own strengths and achievements
Instead of comparing yourself to others shut down those thoughts as soon as they arrive by unfollowing the person who makes you trigger, or blocking them (it really doesn’t matter if you block people for your own good – it’s not like you have to sit with them in an office tomorrow!). Dwelling on what you think you’ve not achieved stops you getting closer to your own goals. Never underestimate what you’ve accomplished so far, wherever you are on your journey to become an established Virtual Assistant.
Even being able to turn Skype on without having a major breakdown or swearing endlessly at my laptop was a huge accomplishment for me when I started out. So much so I still remember the ‘win’ today!
Remember that there’s always someone who’s ‘better’
It’s easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves to others who ‘seem’ to be doing better than us. But the truth is, there’s always going to be someone who’s ‘better’ in some way. Maybe they’re better (in your eyes) at marketing? If so, watch what those people are doing and use it as inspiration to do the same. Sometimes, the people we compare ourselves against can turn out to be our best mentors.
Make a plan to achieve your goals
Finally, once you’ve identified your goals and smacked your comparisonitis in the face, it’s time to make a plan to achieve them. A great way to do this is to focus on getting to the end goal but in tiny steps. For example, perhaps you want to earn £3k a month as a Virtual Assistant. If so, here are the first three steps I’d suggest taking…
- Work out how many hours you’ll need to work to earn £3k a month as a Virtual Assistant using my free calculator here.
- Work out how many clients you’ll need to achieve it without breaking the 20% Rule (no one client should take up more than 20% of your time, or your income)
- Make a marketing plan / strategy so that you market yourself consistently to get the clients.
- etc. etc. etc
Focus on what YOU can do today, rather than worrying about what others are doing.
Comparisonitis can be a tough mindset to overcome, but with a little bit of repetition of the above strategies, you can stop it taking over and start focusing on the only one who really matters. YOU!