Fighting the Inner Pessimist

One of my first posts to my blog was about my inner critic and what a poisonous influence she is. I've been working hard on silencing her, and I'm glad to say that I've made some positive headway. Some of my neatest designs have happened because I've given myself freedome to experiment and create, regardless of whether I know

But even more dangerous than my inner critic is my inner pessimist. The inner critic just tells me my stuff is crap. The inner pessimist tells me that my stuff is good, but that other people won't like it, it will never sell, there's just no point.

My inner pessimist has been calling a lot of attention to herself lately. I've been struggling the last few days to keep my Etsy momentum going. I feel as if I'm making stuff and sending out into some black hole. The rational side of my brain knows that is not true, that even if there are no sales my items are getting viewed. And hearted. And I've had some really positive feedback from customers. My low sales are in direct proportion to the frequency (or lack thereof) of listing and promoting.

Kept within reasonable bounds, the inner pessimist has her role. She's the one who keeps me from spending $350 on wholesale this or that, or going off half-cocked in some bizarre direction. But left unchecked, she starts to suck my desire to make art. She ignores any positive momentum and focuses only on the items that get listed and get no views. Or, worse yet, looks at other people's shops and sees how many items THEY have sold, and then makes a point of noticing when THEY signed up on Etsy. "See, ShopSuzyQ has sold 35 items since January 9. At your rate, it will take you a year to reach the same number. Why bother?"

I know the first thing I need to do is to lay off from cruising Etsy shops. I need to list my items and promote, promote, promote but I need to be sure that I stay focused on my own goals and my own inspiration. I'm also going to work on a positive project. Denise has been telling me about an item she is making for a charity auction. I think I'll work on making a small item to donate as well. Positive begets positive, right?

I have a feeling that I'm not the only one with an inner critic or an inner pessimist. If you have one of these ugly cousins hanging around in your subconscience, do you have any advice or keeping them within check?