On any given day, the most meaningful conversation you’ll have is likely the conversation you have with yourself. It will shape that day, the next, and so on. So don’t half-ass it.
If you were to speak your thoughts aloud, what would they sound like? Would your inner voice(s) be coherent or overlap? Are the words shouted or whispered? Consoling or nagging? Kind or abusive?
Much of the time we wade through a soup of abstract half-thoughts. The mind flits from one fragment of an idea, memory, or emotion to another, especially when we’re tired, hungry, upset, or distracted. Unchecked, it can feel like trying to have conversations with people on passing trains. Good luck resolving anything in such a frenzied environment.
Forcing yourself to think in full sentences is daunting at first. But if you do it routinely, just once a day for a few minutes, you’ll feel a little more at ease. Once you begin, you may be surprised at the backlog that’s been waiting for an outlet.
Journaling is an excellent way to do this. So is simply talking. Perhaps that’s why older generations (especially before the smartphone age) so often talked aloud to themselves.
“Your mind is a dream where a thousand people talk at the same time, and nobody understands each other.”
~Don Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements (Book)