Voices in my head.....

Is it just me or does everyone have constant inner chatter going on in their minds?

I try and practice meditation when I know I am more likely to experience inner talk. For me it is when I am driving, doing housework and cleaning the dishes.

It might sound strange that I say over and over in my head the word “driving” as I am actually driving but it does work in quietening my mind. Dishwashing is a perfect time to practice mindful meditation – concentrating and focussing purely on what I am doing.

Until I started meditation classes earlier this year I had no idea just how much my mind was overworking! Rethinking conversations I had earlier in the day, thinking about what I need to talk to someone about, criticising myself for having the extra serving at lunch, mentally putting together meals for the week, organising to do lists......it is constant!

The worse kind of self chatter is negative self talk. I’ve recently read a lot about the impact negative self talk has on us, in particular on our behaviours. One article suggested recognising when the chat starts, acknowledging it and then focussing on something else or actively turning the negative self chat into a positive thought.

I have a lot of negative self talk going on in my mind and reducing this is my new challenge, and I am going to be positive about my ability to quieten the voices.