“A friend is a person before whom I may think aloud.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, 19th Century American Essayist
Image from www.lesaviezvous.net
How many true friends do you have?
I recently had a coaching session with a new client. He expressed a sense of emptiness due to a lack of true friends in his life, the surface nature of many of his relationships, and the significant lack of depth in his professional and personal discussions.
He also noted the need for greater courage and vulnerability, should he choose to open himself up and chance the risk of being judged.
EXERCISE:
Examine your own risk/reward ratio of thinking aloud more often, to develop and expand the friendships that can enhance your life.
Thinking aloud is a common trait of people with ADHD or ADD. It is not that they intend to be rude or come up with stupid things to blurt out. Their brain chemistry is the problem.
Many people who have actively tried to overcome this problem through constant self evaluation and control do end up with anxiety and panic attacks due to the constant effort it require to keep them from doing this.
How do i know this. Oops! I tend to do this. We have to hear ourselves think so as to drain out all the other thoughts that occupy our mine. It does not mean we believe what we say but aloud we make sense of what goes on inside.