I talk to myself. During any day or time, I’m maintaining an out-loud, running dialog with myself. Sure, it comes in different tones and with varying content, but it’s going on all the time.

A woman was stocking shelves at the grocery store, and must have heard me talking to myself, probably reading labels.

“Can I help you, sir?” she offered.

“No thanks,” I said a little sheepishly. “Just looking.”

She took a few slow, backward steps away down the aisle. She may have thought I was talking to the lima beans.

Then there was my co-worker who stuck his head in my office door one afternoon.

“You doing alright?” he asked in a friendly way.

“Ah, yeah, all good in here! Why?” I asked.

“You were talking to yourself, just now.”

“Very high-level meeting.”

“I talk to myself too. But I do it silently, in my head.” He was being kind.

“Pretty sure that’s called thinking,” I smiled. “You’re going to want to keep that up.”

Except for a few special moments like those, I never give talking to myself much thought. I’m good with the sound of my own voice. I like the company.

But then I consulted Google, my primary care authority. I was referred to a specialist, WebMD, and got a lot to think about my inner and outer voice. Experts say that talking to yourself is common and even a bit helpful to one’s well-being. Clinically it’s called “Self-Talk.” The online resources I studied made me feel supported and seen. And so, what if I was talking to myself, or to the lima beans?

Most of my self-talk happens in the car. Mostly I analyze situations from work, taking inventory of my thoughts and........

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