Martha Graham on the Hidden Danger of Comparing Yourself to Others

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is... See more

We are often terrible judges of our own work. It is not your job to tell yourself, “No.”Instead, your responsibility is to create. Your job is share what you have to offer from where you are right now. To quote Pema Chodron, the Buddhist teacher, your job is to “come as you are.”

Your concern is to do the work, your work, not to judge it. Your concern is to fall in love with the process, your process, not to grade the outcome.

This is what Martha Graham, one of the most prolific choreographers of all time told Agnes de Mille, when she asked why she was not being perceived as great as she thought she was.