Avoid self doubt

A worried mind will slow you down and cause procrastination, perfectionism, and stress. Developing a healthy relationship with your self-doubt will allow you to achieve your full potential and help you feel secure when taking exciting creative risks to elevate your work.

Consider saving these tips for the next time you’re feeling overly critical about yourself or your creations.

How to deal with self-doubt as a handmade business owner

Reframe how you look at other people’s work.

In today’s connected world, we’re exposed to so many creative people from all levels, and it’s easy to begin comparing yourself to those around you – especially if you’re trying to build a career around your work.

It’s important to take a step back and analyse what goes on in your mind when you look at other people’s creations. Do you feel envy? Sadness? Frustration? Or do you feel inspired

These emotions often come in a mixed bag, and it can be helpful to separate them and hone in on the positives. For instance, you could take that inspiration and spend time deciphering what you love about their work and reproduce elements of it in your own style.

Challenge your negative beliefs

Sometimes, our criticisms are overstated or unfounded. Rather than passively allowing negative thoughts to swim around in your mind and accepting them as a part of yourself, begin to train your mind to notice and identify them as they appear.

It can be helpful to see these thoughts as separate from yourself. If, for example, the words ‘I’m no good at pottery’ arose when working with clay, you could recast this into “I’m having a thought that I’m not good at pottery”. Consider how you would respond to that thought if you knew a friend was feeling how you were in that moment.

What tools do you use to deal with your own inner critic?