Are you talking to you?

Everyone talks to themselves. Sometimes you need to listen; other times just let it go.

I don’t know about you but I talk to myself all the time. Internally, externally in note form sometimes I even leave myself messages so I don’t forget something. I guess it comes in many forms but if you really think about it you are your biggest critic, cheerleader and hopefully inspiration.

Anger seems to be the most obvious case of self-reflection that leads to more action. Think about the times you have been the angriest in life, now think about how you stew on it and talk it up in your head until you are so irate you decide to do something about it. That can work for the positive just the same.

Maybe you are about to run a race, you say to yourself out loud, ‘you got this.’ This doesn’t make you crazy everyone does it. (If you get stuck on an island by yourself and talk to volleyballs, well you get a free pass.)

If you have children or have ever been a child you might recall imaginary friends, somebody that always has your back and gives you great ideas. It’s not a mental health condition just your brain using imagination as a tool for building relationships. I think we talk to ourselves for comfort.

Even if it is an inner monologue, you contemplate the outcome of situations by discussing with yourself the different possibilities. ‘If you do this you will get this, or this might happen.’

I recently watched a movie called Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell. This Q&A in Austin, TX is his third such movie. He said we should all live a “why not” lifestyle. If you surround yourself with people saying ‘why’, why would you try that, why would you do that, why?, you are less likely to take a chance and more likely to miss an opportunity. If you say ‘why not’ it opens up doors. I am going to write a blog, why not, I am going to video myself singing, why not, I am going to run the Warrior Dash, why not.

I think that you should be a why not person. Let that imaginary friend back into your life and the next time you find yourself talking to yourself encourage you and say why not.

I know I say more words in a day than the average male, but I hope most of them are positive and when I talk to myself it never fails I find myself hilarious and charming. I hope you are equally kind to you.