Internal Chatter - can you hear it?

What do you say when you say it to yourself? And, what do you do when you hear it?

In seminars, I ask the question: "How many of you talk to yourselves?" Usually, about half the participants raise their hands. The other half, well…they're probably thinking, "I don't talk to myself, what does he think I am…crazy? I'm not crazy, no way, not me..."

I've grown comfortable keeping a piece of paper and pen/pencil handy wherever I am. Many times, no matter what I'm doing, something else (totally unrelated) comes in to distract me. And, the more I develop myself professionally, and engage with my life personally, I find that many of my ideas have nothing to do with I am DOING, instead, they are things to think about again at some other location, with some other tool.

I learned this lesson a couple of years ago. One time I was flying across the country. Sitting there, I had a thought of someone I hadn't talked to in a while. Now, I know I knew it was expensive, but I did it anyway...I used the airphone to make the call. Two weeks later, I got my VISA bill...

...that little phone call had actually cost me $212.00. That's when I realized I needed a better way to handle what I was telling myself to do, when I was trying to tell myself to do it! 

Just to test this out, consider keeping a note pad nearby. Now, every time a thought comes to mind, simply write it down. Chances are there are some "shoulds" "coulds" and "would haves" that will show up there. Over a period of hours or days, take stock of how your own internal chatter shows up on a consistent - and interrupting - basis.