Years ago, when I was making my living mainly from freelance writing, I tried an experiment to help me cope with my brutal internal editor. (The one who was immobilizing me, oh, every third word or so.)

I opened a separate window on my computer screen, just for writing down what I was saying to myself every time I got stuck.

For the next few hours, I toggled back and forth between manuscript and self-talk. Turns out (no big surprise) that when I got stuck, it was usually not just because I was struggling to find the right words.

I was also saying to myself things like, “This is impossible.”  “I don’t have enough information.”  “It’s hopeless.”  “I can’t finish.”  “It will never work.”

Trapped in my mind, those thoughts typically drove me into the kitchen for a sugar fix, or pretty much anywhere other than the computer where I was mired in the apparent, and repeated, hopelessness of the situation…..

Read the full article at Mindful Time Management Blog