They say that people who talk to themselves are more intelligent than those who don’t. Let’s rephrase that a bit: people who talk to themselves are more emotionally intelligent and therefore more self-aware. There’s nothing like good ole self-awareness to make you a better person and a better Creator of stuff.

So, you guessed it; I have an exercise to help all of us talk to ourselves more. I’ve tried this with several writers, entrepreneurs and one engineer and of course, I use it (almost) every day. The results are amazing! Not only did you get REAL work done by chatting with yourself, you accidentally discover new things and work a hell of a lot faster.

Here’s how it goes:

Write yourself an email.
Literally.
Start with “Dear me…you’re awesome!”
Then, break up your email into these sections:

• My project is about these BIG THINGS
• It’s also about these LITTLE THINGS
• I’m gonna try and do it like this or maybe like this or even like THIS (gasp!)
• Here’s what I’m afraid of or any questions I have about it

Don’t agonize over this email because no one will ever see it except you. It’s a reference that you can always return to when you’re working on your project. Don’t forget to save, DO NOT erase anything and just keep babbling… who better to listen to you than you?

Just for fun… I’m gonna borrow from one of my favorite writers, #fadeinfamily Yasmine Mehio, to give you an example:

“So I should be writing this as though I am writing an email to myself, so technically talking to myself, right? Awesome, I love talking to myself because it’s not that often you find someone of similar interests, let alone at the same level of intellect. Ha! Ok, this movie thing that we’re dealing with, it’s funny that I am currently listening to muse and the song that is currently playing, no lies, is Song for Absolution. Awesome, right? Because one of the main themes of this here story is in fact Absolution. And the lyrics being sung right now are, ‘There’s nowhere left to hide, In no one to confide, The truth burns deep inside, And will never die’. How appropriate.”

Remember, when you don’t take yourself too seriously, you get some seriously good stuff. From the novels you are writing to the proposals you are creating for work, talk to yourself, you’ll know what to do.

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