Warning: This is a philosophical thread....

There have been a few times I've been approached at shows and told "I used a lathe in high school and made stuff like this..."

I've read forums where people have pretty powerful opinions on how to do things but have never shown a photo of their own work.... That always makes me a little skeptical....

And I sometimes look at pictures of turnings and think "I wonder how they did that? ... Could I do something like that? Maybe I could do it better if I did this....."

And that's the thought that gets to me... what is "better" when it comes to wood turning? Do you compare your work to other people's? Do you look at some work and think "meh, I could do that... it's not that hard..."

It took me a long while to (mostly) get over comparing my stuff to other people's work. I did this a lot when I first started many years ago. But once I gave up "competing" with others in my own mind, my enjoyment actually increased. And I'm pretty sure my end results improved as well.

I wonder if anyone else has thought about this? Do others view this hobby/career as "competitive" and does it affect the way you work? Do the production turners in the forum feel pressure to "beat" the other guys? (Whatever that means). Are you ever driven to "one up" something you see from another turner?