The Danger of Comparing Your Calling to Someone Else’s Assignment

I spent an hour last Thursday scrolling through Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok watching other people go live.

By the time I closed the apps, I had a thought that made my stomach drop: Maybe I’m too serious. Maybe I need to be funnier.

I’d just come back to the “going live” world after YEARS  of being away. I used to be active on Periscope, Blab, then Facebook Live. But life happened: relocations, finishing my bachelor’s degree, starting a new marketing career. Going live wasn’t even on my radar anymore.

Until May 2026, when I joined Andrea Harrison’s Shine Academy.

Andrea had been faithfully going live every single day for THREE YEARS. And I watched her impact people in real time. She’d read from devotionals and her own book, and her words would land exactly when I needed to hear them. Something stirred in me: that old urge to go live again.

But I felt so far removed from that world. And if I’m being honest, I knew I had a problem with consistency. What if I started and couldn’t keep it up?

Still, with the encouragement of Andrea and the Shine Crew community, I went live on Facebook on May 29th, 2026.

No one showed up. But I showed up. And that was the win.

I was so proud of myself for doing something I hadn’t done in YEARS.

The Comparison Spiral Began

I started going live twice a week, then realized that was too much for this critical transitional season I’m in. So I dropped it to Thursdays at 7PM EST.

And that’s when the comparison started creeping in.

Now that I was back in the “going live” world, I was engaging with other people’s content across all the platforms. And I started noticing how everyone else was showing up.

Some people were comedic. Others were fun and bubbly. Some took an open diary or journal approach to their lives.

And me? My style is “speak God’s truth raw and real with a little bit of honey to it.”

I started thinking: Maybe I should switch mine up a bit. Make it more fun. Add some comedy. Be less serious.

You know how it goes: you go down a rabbit hole of what kind of tweaks need to be made. What adjustments would make people engage more. What changes would make your content more appealing.

The Truth That Slapped Me in the Face

Then it hit me during my quiet time after going live one Thursday: What I was really doing was saying that me showing up as my authentic self wasn’t enough.

I couldn’t believe I was falling into a comparison trap the enemy had set for me.

I prayed. I repented. And I accepted the truth: I can’t show up any other way than the way God wants me to show up.

The topics I tackle are no laughing matter. I am on assignment to lead women out of hiding so they can fulfill their God-given assignment. I take this assignment very seriously.

My lives may not be everyone’s cup of tea, just like not all lives are my cup of tea. But that’s no reason for me not to pour from the teapot God ordained for me to pour from.

Those who are meant to drink the tea from my teapot will show up.

The Confirmation I Needed

On a recent live, a viewer told me that watching me on Facebook Live reminded them of when I was on the Blab streets going live years ago. They encouraged me to keep ministering.

That’s when it hit me: I wasn’t just going live. I was ministering to the hearts of the people God has called me to speak to.

How I flow in ministry is completely different than how I show up in my everyday life as a bubbly and whimsical person. When I’m ministering, I’m serious about speaking to the heart of the person who is hiding, self-silencing, and operating in fear.

Those are heavy battles people are dealing with. They need to hear the unadulterated word of God to fight through those battles.

So I made a commitment: I will show up as Sequoia, the minister, on my lives unapologetically.

What I Had to Learn About Comparison

Here’s what I realized: Comparison isn’t just the thief of joy. It’s the thief of your assignment.

When you’re constantly comparing yourself to other women, you start questioning the very thing God called you to do. You start thinking your approach isn’t good enough. You start trying to be someone you were never meant to be.

I was turning other women’s styles into evidence that mine was wrong.

But their calling isn’t my calling. Their assignment isn’t my assignment. Their teapot isn’t my teapot.

And the women God called ME to reach need what’s in MY teapot, not a watered-down version of someone else’s.

The Ongoing Battle

I’m not going to lie to you: the temptation to compare is always lurking. Every time I scroll. Every time I see someone else’s live getting hundreds of views while mine has three people watching.

But I refuse to accept comparison’s invitation to engage it.

Because here’s what I know now: The women you’re comparing yourself to aren’t your competition. They’re your community.

They’re not proof that you’re doing it wrong. They’re proof that there are many ways to fulfill the assignment.

They’re not ahead of you. They’re just on a different path with a different calling.

What Changes When You Stop Comparing

When I stopped trying to be funnier, bubblier, or more like everyone else, something shifted.

I started genuinely celebrating other women’s wins. I started engaging with their content without that knot in my stomach. I started seeing their success as inspiration instead of intimidation.

And you know what? Community started forming. Real connections started happening. Women started showing up to my lives who needed to hear exactly what I was pouring.

Because when you stop competing and start celebrating, everything changes.

Here’s What I Want You to Know

Your assignment is yours. Their assignment is theirs. And there’s room for all of us to fulfill what God called us to do.

Stop using other women’s approach as a measuring stick for your calling. Stop letting their style make you question your authenticity. Stop turning your assignment into a popularity contest you were never meant to enter.

Pour from the teapot God gave YOU. The right people will show up to drink from it.

So the next time you find yourself scrolling and spiraling, ask yourself: Am I using this to build community or to beat myself up?

Because comparison will keep you isolated and questioning your calling. But celebration will connect you to the exact women you need on this journey.

Your calling doesn’t require you to be like anyone else. It requires you to be unapologetically YOU.

Reflection Questions:

Who have you been comparing yourself to instead of celebrating? What would change if you stopped seeing their approach as proof that yours is wrong and started seeing it as confirmation that there are many ways to fulfill the assignment?