SHHH! Quiet the Chatter

Chatter The Voice In Our Head, Why It Matters, and How To Harness It, by Ethan Kross, offers ways to quiet, unhealthful chatter. 

Our internal narrative runs at a rate of four thousand words per minute! This internal narrative is valuable and allows us to:

• form memories

• reflect on decisions,

• control emotions,

• simulate alternative futures,

• keep track of goals,

• define ourselves

• reminisce

But when the inner voice runs amok, the internal chatter can negatively impacts our behavior. Kross offers us tools to tame unhelpful chatter.

Here are some of my favorite chatter management tools:

1. Practice distance self-talk. Distance gives us much-needed emotional space and can be done by referring to yourself in the second or third person. This is a great technique when you're working through a challenging experience.

2. You can imagine advising a friend. What would you tell your best friend if she came to you with this same problem?

3. Frame the experience as a challenge, not a threat. Chatter is triggered when we're threatened. Remind yourself that you've made it through things like this before. See the new experience as a challenge to handle it differently.

4. See your body's chatter response as information, not a signal to hide under your desk. Your nervous stomach or hunched shoulders is information to be alert, not necessarily an accurate warning.

5. Change the view. Direct yourself in a movie capturing the negative situation. If you're the film star, how should you show up? This is much like distancing, and it's fun.

6. Journal-Focusing on the experience as a narrative offers you distance and may offer alternative perspectives.

7. Order your environment. Chatter often occurs when we feel we're losing control. You can boost your sense of control by ordering your domain.

8. Get into nature. Green space replenishes our ability to focus attention, which helps combat chatter.

The voice in our head won't be silenced and shouldn't be. Try these tools when the chatter negatively impacts how you show up. They are simple, easy, and effective.