How To Conduct Market Research Without Comparing Yourself To Others

Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world . . . if you do so, you are insulting yourself. ~ Bill Gates (Tweet this)

An epidemic I see among entrepreneurs is what many self-help and motivational types call “Compare Despair Disorder.” In other words, you end up comparing your success or your progress to others and it negatively affects you.

Here’s where it gets interesting. A big part of creating a concept for a business is research. With research you often times have to look up and learn from people who are your (for a lack of a better term) “competitors.” The same thing can happen if, perhaps, you’re learning from or studying with mentors.

If you suffer from Compare Despair Disorder then you may fall into the trap of comparing yourself to them. You may find yourself thinking some of the following:

• “Oh, I could never be as successful as they are.”
• “Maybe the market is saturated and there’s too much competition.”
• “I shouldn’t even bother. I’ll never get to that level.”
• “But I have so far to go! I’ll never get there!”
• “Ugh, I should just give up now.”

For many, what inevitably happens is they stop trying because they’ve convinced themselves that there’s no point. Often times this isn’t even based in reality but rather what they’ve perceived. And often times it’s the negative perception others may have that lead them to make this decision.

Compare Despair Disorder is something that can happen at any stage of your business. I’ve been in the online entrepreneurship world for almost five years and I still catch myself thinking this way sometimes. However, it is particularly prevalent among beginning entrepreneurs who are just entering a market and are a little immature when it comes to experience.

Tips to conduct market research

Here are a few ways you can curb your Compare Despair Disorder so that you can conduct market research and move forward with your business.

1. Become aware of your ego

You will hear the word “ego” a lot in the world of business. It’s because business and personal development are much intertwined. In fact, some would argue that the health of a business depends on the mental and spiritual health of the owner. That’s why it’s so important to become aware of your ego and dismiss it when it comes up.

This is a lot easier said than done and it does take practice. Gabby Bernstein, who is someone I consider a teacher and a mentor, has an exercise to get us into the habit of becoming aware of our ego voice and disassociating from it.

Set a reminder on your phone that goes off every hour. When the alarm goes off do a mental scan of the thoughts you had within that hour. Which ones were positive? Which ones were negative? Simply take note of the stories you are telling yourself.

By getting in the habit of doing this we are more likely to catch your ego in the act. For example, “There’s too much competition” or “I’ll never be as good as they are” are ego stories we tell ourselves when we conduct market research. It’s only by becoming aware of these happenings that we can work toward overcoming them.

2. Practice self-compassion

There’s a common motivational quote that says:

Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle. ~ Anon (Tweet this)

Essentially what it means is that everyone is on a different path and sometimes you just need to put in a little more time to get the results you want.

Often times when we conduct market research we may fall victim to thinking we’ll never make it. Well, it’s easy to think that when you forget that the people you are researching probably put years’ worth of work to get to that level. By remembering that everyone is on a journey and that everything takes time, we can more easily keep Compare Despair Disorder at bay.

3. Use your research as motivation

One surefire way to avoid Compare Despair Disorder when you conduct market research is to use your research as motivation. Rather than getting bogged down by someone else’s success, celebrate it! More importantly, when you conduct market research, use that research to set your goals and standards. I’m going to call myself out here as proof that this happens to everyone.

I’ve been in online business for a while and many would consider me successful. On most days I consider myself successful on the grounds of having made enough money to quit my job, making enough to pay a team and changing people’s lives.

However, sometimes this just doesn’t seem like enough. I have a habit of reading blogs of people with similar business who share their income and expenses. My logical mind loves this stuff and usually I like learning from other people. But sometimes if I’m not careful when I conduct market research, and if I haven’t been aware of my ego, the Compare Despair Disorder will come in and try to take me down.

The ego voice in my head will say:

• “How are they making so much money?”
• “Why can’t I seem to do that?”or
• “Clearly you’re not THAT successful.”

The good news is I have enough practice noticing my ego so that I am able to catch it in the act. When I do, I simply shift my focus. Instead of complaining about how far I still have to go I say to myself “Look what is possible! This is available to you too. Now how can we make more money next month?”

I admit it’s not always easy, but with practice it does get better with time.

Final thoughts

If we’re not careful Compare Despair Disorder can really take us down when we conduct market research. By becoming aware of our egos, practicing self-compassion and using our research as motivation, we can more easily maneuver the negative thoughts that may arise and move forward.

The Ultimate Goal is to get better each day—to be better TODAY than you were YESTERDAY.

We can do this by setting goals that are in alignment with what we truly want. It’s okay and helpful to look at others for inspiration, so long as we always remember to check-in with ourselves and make sure it’s what we truly want. Otherwise you open the door for comparison and unclear objectives.