No Internal Monologue? No Problem.
Could lack of an inner voice mean there’s more room for thinking?
Earlier this year, Ryan Langdon published this article about discovering that not everyone has an internal monologue. It’s a great read with quotes from people who were just as shocked as I was to find out that there is such a thing as an internal monologue.
My sister had seen the article and brought it up. She kept giggling at my questions.
Me: “You mean you hear your own voice in your head? Like, talking to you? All the time?”
“Yes,” she said. “Why, what do you do? How do you tell yourself what you’re going to do that day? How do you make decisions?”
Me: “I think about it.”
“And when you decide what you’re going to do, do you tell yourself that?”
Me: “I mean, sometimes if it’s really important, I’ll say it out loud, like “Today is garbage day.” But it’s not like there’s an actual voice in my head saying, “Hmm, I’ll wear the blue sweater today.”
She asked other members of our family… my mom doesn’t have one (which doesn’t surprise me, she’s very practical and a great listener.) I had drinks with my brother and brought it up to him. His response: “Of course I have that. You mean you don’t?!”
