Talking to Myself...and hearing the answer

Talking to Yourself? 

It's O.K, you can admit it. No judgement here. It doesn't mean you're losing it, quite the contrary and when it comes to living a satisfying life and having a great career/business, it's a necessity. 

We all hear about INTERpersonal communication but how many of you think or really understand INTRApersonal communication?

I do BUT I haven't thought much about it since my Introduction to Communication Disorders class back in...well, no need to bore you with that little detail. 

These two words are often used inappropriately. They are not synonyms...(definitions courtesy of Wikipedia)

      Interpersonal communication~Interpersonal communication is the process that we use to communicate our ideas, thoughts, and feelings to another person. Our interpersonal communication skills are learned behaviors that can be improved through knowledge, practice, feedback, and reflection.


     Intrapersonal communication~ language use or thought internal to the communicator. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.


In recent weeks, I've come to realize just how important, and lacking, my intrapersonal communication has been. Obviously, I like to think of myself as a pretty good communicator but what I didn't realize, until recently, was that I really and truly needed to get back to communicating with myself (outside of talking to myself when I can't find things or am working through a difficult concept).  Let me explain...

How often do you ask yourself questions and actually LISTEN to the answer?  We should and NEED to be asking ourselves tough questions at each stage of our lives and careers if we want to continue to move forward in a positive and fulfilling way.

The answers to the questions will change and they should. The problem is that too many of us continue to operate based on a set of answers we asked ourselves eons ago or, sadly, never asked. 

Your intrapersonal communication is very closely tied to your emotional development, your environment, your life experiences, the role you are playing at any given time etc...if you never stop to consider the answers to questions like:

      ~What DO I value and what ARE my values?
      ~What DO I believe about ________?
      ~What are my personal policies and procedures? meaning, what are things I absolutely will NOT tolerate personally and professionally. 
      ~What would my ideal day look like? Ideal client? 

you will stumble, fall, feel unfulfilled, take on projects you regret, take on too much, take on too little, be dissatisfied with life/career, have regrets, make poor decisions etc...

Make a daily date with yourself or, at the very least, a quarterly date with yourself to ask these questions and review the answers.  A great way to strengthen your intrapersonal communication is through meditation, journaling (writing thoughts down is an ultimate intrapersonal exercise) and daydreaming. Yes, daydreaming. 

So, what will you do to strengthen your intrapersonal communication? I'd love to hear. If you'd like to learn more or feel you need a facilitator, let me know!

As always,thanks for reading and remember to... 

Say it with Style.

Jen