A lot of people talk to themselves, not only when they are at home, but also when on the streets, at work or shopping. This way they materialize what they are talking about and it helps them make sense of things. However, some think that talking out loud is something only crazy people do, because they are conversing with the voices inside their head.
However, recent studies have shown that when people talk to themselves, it is actually a sign they are geniuses. Even the smartest people in the world talked to themselves. Just read some of the monologues of the greatest thinkers or read one poem.
Even Einstein used to talk to himself. He was not that social being when he was growing up and he used to repeat his sentences to himself. So, if you are one of the people who talk to themselves, you should not be worried. This behavior actually helps your brain work more efficiently. According to one study by psychologists Daniel Swigley and Gary Lupya, talking to yourself is beneficial for you.
These two psychologists did an experiment with 20 people who were given a name of an object and they were supposed to find it in the supermarket. In the first stage of the experiment, the participants had to stay silent. In the second stage, they repeated the name of the object out loud while they were searching for it in the supermarket.
This experiment has shown that the people showed much better results and were able to complete the tasks faster and easier when they spoke to themselves. Talking out loud helps spark memory and it solidifies the result.
However, talking to yourself out loud is only helpful if you know what you need. Saying the name of the object out loud will help if you know what it looks like. Otherwise, you will just confuse yourself. Lupyan said:
“Speaking to yourself isn’t always helpful — if you don’t really know what an object looks like, saying its name can have no effect or actually slow you down. If, on the other hand, you know that bananas are yellow and have a particular shape, by saying banana, you’re activating these visual properties in the brain to help you find them.”
This means that you can’t make sense of something you are not familiar with. The chances of finding it improve only if you know what you need and you verbalize it.
Talking to yourself helps you learn during childhood
Babies learn how to speak by mimicking what others say. Talking is a skill that only requires practice. In order to learn how to use our voices, we need to hear them first. Scientists say that self-directed speech helps guide a child’s behavior and it works by reminding them to focus on what they are doing. Children often talk to themselves while playing with their toys. Toddlers can keep focus when talking through their problems. For example, a boy playing with his toy car might say:
“The small car can fit through this garage door, but the big truck is too big.” Then he will try to test which car can fit in the toy garage. Children learn by talking through their actions and this helps them remember how they solved the problem.
Talking to yourself helps you organize your thoughts, especially if you are too busy. Sometimes hearing our own voice helps calm our nerves as if we were our own therapist.
Psychologist Linda Sapadin says that by talking to yourself you clarify your thoughts and you can focus on validating important and difficult decisions. Talking out our problems is one of the best ways to solve them.
Talking to ourselves also helps us achieve our goals, because just making a list of them is difficult to keep us motivated. But, if you guide yourself through the journey, every step you take will be less difficult and more precise. Things will appear more possible and doable and you will stop focusing on the obstacles. Sapadin also said:
“Saying [your goals] out loud focuses your attention, reinforces the message, controls your runaway emotions and screens out distractions.”
This helps put things into perspective. Talking to yourself means you can rely on yourself. Albert Einstein was very gifted and learned how to use his talents early in his life, so people who talk to themselves are actually very proficient and only rely on themselves.
It puts things in perspective and grounds you.
Talking to yourself means that you are self-reliant. Like Albert Einstein, who “was highly gifted and acquired early in his life the ability to exploit his talents,” people who talk to themselves are highly proficient and count on only themselves to figure out what they need.