The more I look at other peoples work, the more critical I am of my own. I suppose that's human nature, but I'm not entirely sure how healthy that nature is. I know it pushes me to work harder at my own art, but it sure doesn't help my self esteem. I can definitely see an improvement when I look at my stuff, and the non-artistic people in my life feed my ego, but it's the really talented people I know or know of that cause me problems. I know I need to stop worrying about what other people are doing, I have my own style and I will get even better with time.