My attention was drawn to self talk when I saw a  young  Shreya battle her opponent in an inter school Squash Tournament. Go Shreya ! Go! the little girl kept telling herself as she fearlessly attacked her opponent who was also her senior.

During public performances, one notices people often talking to themselves sometimes non verbally with a self assuring nod of the head or any other affirmative gesture.

I am also reminded of a former  colleague of mine,Neha Bhagat who talked to herself in French. When I quizzed her about this she told me that there no other way to keep improving her command over the language. After all finding another person to converse in French was not easy. .

As children all of us indulge in self talk. This primarily helped us to grapple with situations which our tiny brains could not comprehend. It was our way of assuring ourselves. As adults though,we look down on self talk. In fact ,we make fun of those so called’absent minded professors’ who keep talking to themselves.

I have recently discovered the benefits of self talk. Do I talk aloud too? Yes,sometimes. But it has been a great tool of self- healing for it not only  helped me understand  myself  but also to handle some very difficult situations. It keeps me company, keeping loneliness at bay and helps me take my decisions carefully after a long drawn out inner dialogue.

In fact, it has helped me be intact, string the pieces together and in general be a happy self. To me,self talk is a positive internal dialogue which is usually in silent mode. But,if you give yourself a little time to act out the dialogue between you and your soul, self talk can genuinely turn into soul talk, that will ensure your inner state of well being.

Go ahead,enjoy being with yourself 🙂