Negative Self Talk for Writers: Musterbation

July 31, 2008 by J.C. Hewitt · 4 Comments

Negative Musterbation (great word) occurs when you insist that an event or a project turn out exactly the way you want it to, otherwise you will either get very upset or give up. This type of self-talk involves both high standards and a low threshold for overcoming obstacles. With writers this can often rear its head during long projects such as novels or manuals in which there are many possible obstacles. The crux of the problem hits when you decide that you can’t move forward unless a certain criteria is met, even though there are probably other ways to keep making progress.

Here is an example of musterbation:

Poor self talk: I can’t believe the development team hasn’t decided where on the screen to put the new field yet. They have to get that done right away. My documentation depends on it. I can’t do a screenshot unless all the fields are in place and I can’t finish this manual if I don’t get a screenshot. This whole project is going to fall apart if they don’t get that field placed.

Realistic self talk: The development team still hasn’t decided where on the screen to put the new field. I really expected to have that issue settled today. This is an inconvenience, but I can still work on the field definitions because those aren’t going to change. I can also start editing what I do have so that everything is ready to go as soon as I can get a screenshot. I’ll prompt them again so that they understand I need this, but then I’ll get back to work.

Some ways to avoid musterbation

Don’t pin all of your hopes on a single event
When you start to panic about a problem, stop and ask yourself how serious the problem actually is.
Create contingency plans

Note: The terminology I am using from an excellent textbook called Stress Management for Wellness by Walt Schafer.