How are you talking to yourself? How are you expressing yourself about yourself? Because, yes, you do express yourself about yourself, and it’s very important that you pay attention to how you’re doing it.
Our words—and our thoughts as well—have far greater consequences than we imagine. Not only do they allow us to express ourselves through words, but they also reveal who we are, how we see ourselves, how we see others, our hopes, and our fears.
So it’s worth taking a moment to pause and think about how you’re talking to yourself today. What words are you saying to yourself? What do you tell yourself when everything is quiet? It’s worth reflecting on this for a moment.
A single sentence can be loaded with several messages at the same time. Interesting, isn’t it? A sentence can contain information about yourself, information about something else, how we see others, and even a request. We could even add another message to the same sentence.
I think that in these times, one skill we should all learn is how to have a conversation with ourselves. Yes, that’s right! Talking to yourself is truly useful and important. It helps us clear our minds, sort through problems, and find smart solutions. But I think that with so much external noise, we’ve lost the ability to talk to ourselves—and when we do, we tend to speak harshly to ourselves.
The interesting thing is that sometimes inside our heads we have different “voices”—the fearful one, the cautious one, the fearless and brave one, and the one that worries about external and social matters. They’re all part of who we are, and when they mix, that’s when internal conflict arises. Which voice are you giving the most space to in your day-to-day life? I’d like to know.
And I know this might sound a little odd or strange, but having different inner voices doesn’t mean something is wrong; rather, it means we can view the same situation from various perspectives and, based on that, make a decision.
It’s not about listening to just one voice, or letting a single voice dominate our lives, but rather about knowing how to listen to each of them, integrating them into our decision-making, and letting this help us see problems more clearly.
Inner peace doesn’t come from silencing or ignoring our own contradictions; rather, it comes from integrating them, recognizing them as an integral part of ourselves, and learning to live with each one.
Which brings us to the art of listening. Knowing how to listen to ourselves and others is absolutely essential for building healthy relationships. Often, conflicts—both internal and external—arise because we don’t know how to listen.
We don’t always allow ourselves to truly listen to the other person; the better we listen, the better we can understand the messages being conveyed to us. Poor active listening can lead us to misinterpret a message. Was it an insult, a compliment, sarcasm, criticism, or simply feedback meant to help us improve?
Well, I’m wrapping up this post here. If you found it helpful and think it added something to your day, let me know in the comments.