I’m deep in the middle of writing a book that delves deeply into the subject of self-talk: all the mental chatter that repeats over and over in our heads.
The challenge, of course, is that we only hear our own voice, and never that of other people. So we don’t fully understand that all the crazy stuff we hear is perfectly normal.
Here’s the favor I would like to ask of you: please share your self-talk with me.
To the greatest degree possible, please send me a long, unedited email that captures as best you can what you hear in your head. I don’t want a summary; I want a long sample.
There are many ways you might do this:
Start an email, save it as a draft, and add to it 10 or 20 or 30 times over the course of a few days.
Open a Google Doc, use voice recognition so that you can just talk about what you are hearing, then share the document with me.
Handwrite your thoughts on Post-It notes and then when you have 20 or 30, send me a picture of all of them posted together.
What Am I Going to Do With This?
My plan is to combine your contributions with those of others, to create 4 or 5 fictional but realistic characters.
I will never personally identify you. Never.
If I use your contribution, I will send you a signed copy of my copy as thanks.
Please Consider Doing This
It’s easy to encounter a crazy request like mine and just ignore it. But, in doing so you would be missing an opportunity to help others—and yourself—to understand better our human experiences.
If you choose to participate, and I hope you do, please don’t edit yourself. Don’t clean up your language or filter out what might be challenging to share. I know firsthand how crazy our self-talk can be. The more honest and open you are, the more we all can learn.
My email address is bruce@kasanoff.com. Please send your contributions there.
Thank you very much for considering this request.
You are wonderful, Terri. Thank you! And, yes, it's definitely hard, which is why I'm so grateful.
I am trying to do two days worth of self-talk for you. This is HARD! Ha! I'm using a google doc and will send later today/tomorrow.