116. The Inner Voices

Ever feel like there's a nonstop chatterbox in your mind, commenting on every single thing that you do throughout the day?

Yeah, you're not alone.

Most of us are particularly "head-y," meaning we live in our minds and think think think incessantly. We have opinions and judgments and stories. We are constantly listening to a running commentary about what's happening around us. It's nonstop up there.

In order to gain some perspective, I've found it helpful to separate all that chatter into 3 separate inner voices:

• The critic - the one who constantly berates and ridicules you
• The council - the inner "board of directors"
• The culture - the borrowed thoughts that we layer onto our own thoughts, thanks to the society we live in

Personalizing these inner voices means we're not quite so entangled with them. We can see who's talking ("hey there, critic!") and recognize thoughts that are specifically UNTRUE ("thank you, culture"), all while taking certain beliefs or comments with a grain of salt ("I hear ya, council").

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, we're going to explore these inner voices and, in doing so, gain an important amount of perspective.