There once was a strange storekeeper who talked to himself. He talked to himself while he rang up groceries. He talked to himself whenever he leaned into the candy case for the children who wanted to purchase a treat.
One day, a woman named Francie came in and watched the storekeeper talking to himself.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Francie.
"Ain't nothing wrong with me," answered the storekeeper.
"Well, then, why are you going around acting like a fool and talking to yourself?" probed Francie.
"I reckon I got two reasons," said the storekeeper. "First off, I like to talk to a sensible person. And second, I like to hear a sensible person talk."
Now I don't recommend going around talking out loud to yourself in public, but I do recommend talking to yourself. During most of my corporate speeches, I ask the audience, "How many people talk to themselves?" People are uneasy acknowledging this, but I do typically get about a third of the room to raise their hands. Then I say, "To the two-thirds of you who didn't raise your hands, I can just hear you say to yourself: 'Who me? I don't talk to myself.' " It always gets a good laugh.
But the point is, I want you to talk to yourself. Self-talk can have a great impact on your confidence. It can be positive or negative, and have a great effect on how you feel. Obviously, I want to focus on the positive self-talk.