The chatterbox in our heads

Many of us would have used the early part of this year to look at what we wish to achieve for the year and some would have put goals in place and started working towards them. 

One of the biggest things that hold us back and slows us down from reaching these goals is the chatter-box we have inside our head. It talks incessantly picking on one thought after another – it continues non-stop whether we are working, reading, watching TV, walking, eating, or doing nothing. Besides causing a distraction, it can also paralyse us into inaction or make us crazy when it goes out of control. It is one of the biggest things that hold us back, that saps our enthusiasm, blocks our happiness and chokes our creative ability.

Some suggestions about how to deal with this chatter…

• Shut them off before they get a hold, that is, as soon as you realise you are thinking negatively, shut off the thought.

• Use the opposite – for example, you might find yourself thinking “I am nervous about what will happen next week”. So replace it with “I am confident about…”

• Float the balloon – imagine the negative thought inside a balloon getting higher and higher and smaller and smaller.

• Sink the stone – similarly, you can mentally attach the negative thought to a heavy stone and it is tossed into the sea.

• Observe – don’t react to the thought but just observe it. By just noticing it you can detach from it and perhaps say to yourself ‘Oh there is another thought about… So that is what is sapping my energy.”

• Exercise – and you can work off the negative. It may be a walk or whatever you enjoy doing.

• Write it and dump it – write down the details of what you are worried about then tear it up!

 

By Ron Trustin

Motivating baby boomers to see the world with fresh eyes.

Read more articles from Ron here.