be the one out there
"You didn't really come up with the idea, did you?"
"But someone's already done it better."
I know I'm not the only one with these thoughts. You may call it imposter syndrome, or Resistance, or whatever, but it's the thoughts that tend to surface when you're thinking of creating or publishing something — putting something out there. (To me it tends to be writing.)
These thoughts make a lot of sense because they are correct.
Yes.
But also irrelevant.
It might be easier to see in a slightly different context.
Imagine you're driving wherever and get really hungry. Suddenly, you come across a place that offers what you're looking for: food. And they're open! (I'm imagining burgers, by the way.)
Would you get disappointed and drive away because you've already had similar food before?
Or because there is another place somewhere else that offers a better version of it?
Should the owners feel bad for offering it?
Of course not.
Unless you're actually in a competition, it's not about being the best — or most original.
In real life, it's way more valuable to be the one out there, available. To offer what people want, when or where they want it.
That's only possible if you go ahead and create your thing in the first place — no matter how unoriginal, undeserving, or unqualified you might feel.
We're all better off by having more than just the original or best ones. We also enjoy the other ones.
So, you don't have to be the best, the first, or the only.
Be the one out there.