Comparisonitis As An Independent Massage Therapist
Don’t let it steal your joy.
Welcome back to another Monday with the Mavens. We created the Massage Mavens blog to connect with and educate self-employed massage therapists working to grow as business owners.
It can be lonely working for yourself – and we’re here to remind you that while you’re in business for yourself, you don’t have to be in business by yourself.
While we cater our content to independent MTs, all massage therapists are welcome here; whether you run your own independent massage therapy studio, you contract in a clinic, work in spa, or you are still in school.
Comparisonitis happens to the best of us.
We are all human…but are you letting it steal your joy?
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
– Theodore Roosevelt, theoretically.
Lord knows I’m not the first person to say this. And I can guarantee I won’t be the last. But just in case no one has ever said it to you: Stop Comparing Your Life/Business/Body/Workouts/Treatment Room To Everyone Else’s.
How Comparison Thieved My Joy
Oh gosh where do I start?
With my childhood neighbor who had the pretty, straight, blonde hair?
I’m a brunette whose wavy, chaotic hair suggests I’m part werewolf…the jury is still out.
With the girl on my soccer team who drove the fun, red Civic?
It was 2008, and that was a very IN car.
With the massage therapist down the hall who specializes in lymphatic and had full books when I was just scraping by?
Never mind that she had been both licensed and in business longer than me.
The point is that I was happy – even proud – with what I had. Until I wasn’t. I love my birds nest of wavy, brown hair. I love the massage business I have built. And I loved loved LOVED my first car (a ‘97 Ford Ranger we called Tink because everything in the dash rattled when we got on the freeway).
Is Comparison thieving Your joy?
Maybe you built out an adorable office full of jewel tones and cute velvet accents. But you just saw someone else’s santa-fe toned space with live plants and natural light…so you get insecure that your treatment room isn’t *enough*
Maybe you are proud of having set the precedent that you don’t serve Deep Tissue clients at your studio because you don’t enjoy them. But you just heard someone else talk about how much their love John Smith, their loyal DT client that comes every week and is always sending referrals their way…so the little green monster on your back starts telling you you should reconsider offering deep tissue.
Maybe you have a social media presence of authenticity (ie, you’re an imperfect human who shows up as such) but you follow another massage therapist who always has a clean room and a full schedule, not to mention that long, straight blonde hair we already know I totally don’t envy… so you start to second guess whether you should be more meticulous with your own image.
See where I’m going, here?
The only person you have to be better than or prove anything to is you. Build the massage therapy business that YOU are proud of, that makes YOU happy, and that YOU want.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Thanks for stopping by!
As always, we’d love to hear how our content has helped you improve either your studio, your mindset, or your revenue as a self-employed massage therapist.
Rachel Martin, LMT, is an independent massage therapist living in Denver Colorado. Having built her solo massage studio to capacity, she now spends her free time helping other massage therapists do the same. Check out The Bodyworkers Business Collective, Queen Street Marketplace, and The Techy MT to learn more.
