Why Self-Rivalry Makes Substack Unique and has Improved My *Libido.

⏱️ 45 second read 🚴‍♂️

Substack creators are surprisingly supportive despite competing for attention. The reason isn't that they're nicer people, it's because they compete mostly with themselves.

These writers set odd little challenges. Write daily for a month. Hit publish when the piece feels half-baked. Keep going when nobody subscribes. Find something to say when nothing comes to mind.

This creates a weird dynamic: writers battle their own momentum more than each other. Someone posts "Day 14 of my newsletter streak" and gets respect, not mockery. Comments fill with people supporting each other because they know the struggle.

When your main competitor is the slack version of yourself, other people's wins feel less threatening. Seeing someone else push through the hard parts creates solidarity.

Twitter/X rewards sneak attacks and sensationalism. Substack rewards showing up week after week. Different incentives create different modes of behavior.

The result on X is "let's fight about everything" and Substack is more what creator Forged & Rooted (@coreycallison) calls "breath over anger," writers focused on their voice, message, discipline, encouraging others doing the same hard work.

Substack's positivity isn't magic design. It just demonstrates the power of self-critique when people compete against their own resistance to doing the work.

*Disclaimer: The libido claim is unverified and included purely for attention-grabbing purposes, though consistent creative discipline does tend to improve one's general vitality.

=Mr. A // Attention Maps 🫆