Yesterday I got a message from a friend telling me to check out a recent scope from Lewis Howes. It was called “The #1 Thing That Separates You Online from Your Competitors,” and it was all about how the best brands online have the best photography, a topic I had just posted about with the launch of my #CharmedDSLR Photography Challenge and Mini Course. As soon as she told me, I joked “I’m a trailblazer!” Then I proceeded to insinuate that perhaps Lewis Howes was one of my blog readers. Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t (hi Lewis, if you’re reading this!) but this was certainly not the first time that I had covered a topic on my blog or in a YouTube video and then began to notice other creators discussing the same topic. It’s synchronicity and it’s a concept that I believe every creator needs to be fully aware of and comfortable with as they learn to navigate the online space.
If you have never heard of this concept before, synchronicity is that sometimes eerie occurrence when things happen simultaneously, and although they may appear to be related, they really have no connection. Personally, I find that this happens to me all the time, I’m sure it has happened to you, or will happen to you, and I think it’s something you need to be mentally prepared for. Too often, I see online creators tear themselves apart with grief or anger over an innocent instance of synchronicity. You write a blog post on a topic and then another blogger you are familiar with covers the same topic. You make a YouTube video about a subject and another YouTuber you follow makes the same video at nearly the same time. Is this coincidence or are they copying you might ask yourself? More times than not, I find that this is a simple case of synchronicity and I’ll explain to you in very simple terms why I believe this happens and why you should use synchronicity to empower your brand instead of allow it to destroy you.
In my opinion, synchronicity happens because ideas are cyclical. Like fashion trends they rotate through the seasons and during certain periods of time, it’s natural that more than one person would have the same idea or concept. This is especially true if people have the same interests to begin with. Take the planner community for instance. I find that ideas rotate through the planner community constantly. A few years ago when I made my first planner video, I showed a Martha Stewart disc bound planner that I had purchased. At that time, I didn’t notice very many people using this notebook, and as time progressed I naturally began to rotate into new styles of planners. Now, a few years later, I am right back where I started using a disc bound planner yet again. Why? Because the planner world is small and there are only so many directions you can go before you end up right back where you started. Now, I see people talking about disc bound planners pretty often and its all part of that same cycle! Do I think people are copying me? Absolutely not! I would like to think that I have influenced people in the community, but I certainly can’t claim credit over their choice of planner because planners are a small world. And I think the same thing happens in other communities online as well. In the beauty community I will notice that a certain brand or product is getting a lot of attention from beauty bloggers or within the business community I will notice that everyone is launching a course on branding. Ideas come and go and there is bound to be overlap!
Now, personally, I love synchronicity and I think you should learn to love it as well. To me its validating to know that the topic I am currently passionate about is getting notoriety via other figures online. While some people might think of these other figures as competition, I take a more reasonable approach! The way I look at it, the more people that are talking about a certain topic, the better! More people talking about it means that more viewers are noticing the topic and searching for the topic because there is a buzz in the air. Now, this is my opportunity as a creator to really step my game up and make sure that when people are searching for this buzz worthy topic, they find me and that I put my best foot forward to get their attention so they engaged with my content, join my community and hopefully purchase one of my products! Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what someone else is doing, the only thing I have control over is how I manage my brand. That is how I am going to stand out and overcome any perceived competition.
What you really need to watch out for when it comes to synchronicity is that concept of competition and getting into a victim mentality. I have watched as other creators have torn themselves apart with anger and grief because they took a simple instance of synchronicity out of context and accused someone of copying them. This is such a dangerous mental state to be in. I can understand how frustrating it can be when you believe someone is copying your content, I have definitely been there, but it’s so important that you keep a calm head and a clear mind and really see the innocence in a situation of synchronicity. Not understanding synchronicity and allowing that victim mentality to overtake your mind will only cause you mental destruction and will put a serious block on your ability to create in the future.
So, I hope this has helped you to understand the concept of synchronicity a little better and that this helps you avoid any unnecessary anguish if you find yourself a party to content sync up! Let me know down below if you have ever found yourself in a situation like this and how you handled it. Did you take the synchronicity as a sign from the universe that you were on the right path, or did you have a negative experience that you had to learn from? I’d love to know your thoughts!
xoxo,
