Conversations with Ourselves

Changing the Internal Dialogue with Philosophy and Psychology

The dialogue we have with ourselves shapes our landscape, extending to the broader world. Thus, refining your inner script, fine-tuning it to strategically apply enhanced approaches in your life, transforms every word you think and communicate toward becoming a more eloquent and articulate version of yourself. 

Philosophers like Epictetus, who followed Stoicism and psychoanalysts like Carl Jung, who championed Shadow Work, can significantly affect the quality of our internal discourse.

1. Stoic Philosophy:

Focus on what’s controllable while maintaining equanimity toward the uncontrollable aspects of life. Applying a Stoic principle, within the context of narrating your internal dialogue, allows you to use self-talk in an adaptable format, instead of a reactive approach.

2. Jungian Shadow:

The “shadow” represents the hidden or lesser-known aspects of ourselves, including thoughts or feelings we might not be comfortable acknowledging. Fully immersing in shadow work involves asking uncomfortable questions, separating fact from fiction, and the narrative from reality.

3. Kantian Ethics:

Acting according to principles rooted in reason is one foolproof way of becoming a rational navigator of your life. Start by asking yourself if any underlying estimations are influencing the way you respond. No human is free of contradiction, but contradiction can be a tool when we’re self-aware and honest. This impacts how well your self-talk aligns with the scales of honesty, fairness, and self-respect.

4. Unconditional Positive Regard:

The humanist psychologist, Carl Rogers, emphasized the importance of accepting oneself without judgement. Now, let’s bring this concept into the daily script of our internal dialogue. Perhaps our first instinct is to criticize, magnify or silence a thought based on how agreeable or disagreeable we are. Instead do this: acknowledge and empathize. Trace a thought back to its origin and you’ll start to notice microscopic shifts in your mindset.

5. Neuroplasticity

Rooted in neuroscience and the study of brain adaptation, neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Anything new we say and do contributes to a rewiring like never before. You’re reshaping the neural pathways associated with your inner narrative!

In conclusion…

Our self-talk is perhaps the least valued and talked about aspect of our life’s narrative. But philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience can steer us back to acknowledging the nuances of the human experience, those that shape not only our outer lives but those wavelengths that lurk within.