The audience only ever sees the final edit. Nobody watches the four hours of raw footage it came from.
REFLECTION
REFLECTION
Finished work hides the process that produced it. What you compare yourself to has been cut, corrected and chosen from a great many worse attempts, and none of that is visible by design. Measuring your rough version against somebody’s final one is comparing two different categories of thing.
When something makes you feel behind, remind yourself how much was thrown away to make it. Look for people willing to show the middle of their work, since those are the useful ones to learn from. Keep your own raw material too, so later you can see the distance you covered.
Whose highlight reel are you comparing your ordinary days to?
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.