Healthy Habits for Bonsall and Fallbrook Folks

Everyone has conversations with themselves. In fact, when people talk to themselves, they are rationalizing, comforting and reflecting upon their lives. It is a healthy habit, and some people even find themselves doing it out loud. They aren't crazy and they aren't strange, people just don't often tell others about their inner chats, so they don't know that everyone else around them is doing it too. It's a little secret with their own mind.

My mom used to say that if she didn't talk to herself then no one would listen. There are a number of reasons why talking to yourself is beneficial.

1. Organizing your thoughts: You are making your game plan, your blueprint or your strategy for upcoming events. It helps you prioritize what needs to be done and to let go of the small things that shouldn't carry weight. We are better able to logically understand that we don't need to make a mountain out of a molehill.

2. Self-reliance: You are able to ask yourself how to solve the problem. Our inner voice helps us analyze a situation. We can come to conclusions independently.

3. Helps with stress: Your mind wanders and races as you worry and try to juggle life. Talking to yourself can be a pep talk or help you rehearse what you are going to do. It helps you face tough situations and increases confidence.

4. Eases loneliness: You don't feel so alone when you have debates with yourself or feel like someone is listening and even talking back to you.

5. Allows you to determine your goals: You start to visualize the situations playing themselves out and talking out the lines to the play. It helps you decide what you really want to go after and accomplish.

6. You gain insight about yourself: What you say to yourself can reveal a lot about your inner desires. Your perspective when alone can be different compared to face to face with someone else because you are your only influence.

7. Increases self-esteem: Giving yourself compliments and encouragement makes you feel good and proud. You reinforce to yourself that you can do something or that you should be proud of yourself.

8. Increases memory: We all talk to ourselves when we are trying to find something we have lost, like our car keys. We have to retrace our steps and talk ourselves through what lead to the moment when the keys disappeared.

9. You feel more in control: Sometimes we need reassurance or to hear someone else confirm that we are OK or doing something write. What better person than yourself.

10. You can increase your intelligence: When you rehearse, practice, organize your thoughts and plan ahead, you aren't scrambling in the moment when the situation arises. You self-talk a lot when taking a test, so all you have to do is recall that conversation you had with yourself when you were studying. You are reproducing the talk.

Go ahead and jabber away to yourself. The benefits "speak" for themselves. And hey, you aren't wasting your breath either.

Megan Johnson McCullough holds a master's degree in physical education and health science, is a candidate for her doctorate, is a professional natural bodybuilder and is a National Academy of Sports Medicine master trainer.