@sweetnightingale I appreciate your post so much!
It seems that it's very much the case that popularity can swing... and I really like what you point about regarding our responses as humans. Yeah, we're sort of wired to feel jealous when we see others getting attention, recognition, and praise--even when we agree with it and even when it's deserved! And we're also wired to feel sad, disappointed, or anxious when we see our ratings of our popularity (like youtube views or blog views) decline.
I often like to think of the sociobiology reasons for this--how it stems in to the evolution of the human brain, which has part of it that are designed to prompt us to seek social power, belonging, and status. There have been times when people have needed to belong and hold positions of popularity or status in order to survive. And so when we see this decline, something very primal in our brains gets triggered. It *feels* like it could threaten our sense of belonging... and even survival. Even when rationally we know that's not true, it still *feels* like that.
For me, it helps to feel the feeling, and then to think about it and understand that it's primal stuff that's been triggered. (I always try to hang out in that quiet calm spot in the center while I'm feeling uncomfortable feelings... it helps them dissipate for me...)
Another thing I've noticed is that these things shift! The other morning, I noticed my blog stats showed two visitors--two! I thought to myself, "OK! Tide's shifted!" I'd been wishing for the luxury and freedom of writing without thinking about readers' responses--looks like I got what I wished for!
Well, the next day, it changed again, and the number of visitors was closer to what it usually is.
Your work is on my reading list! I always love and look forward to your short stories. I guess what I'm saying is that things will likely shift again, and you'll have readers... sometimes, it even takes a year or two for readers to find our work. But what a blessing that it's there when the story we write is just what someone wanted to read! :)
