Through intention and new habits, it can be.
Most of us have an inner voice that’s a mix of the voices we heard growing up – from our parents, siblings, teachers, friends, schoolmates, and so on.
And for most of us, not all of these voices as kind. We learned to speak to ourselves in unkind ways, especially in some situations and areas of life.
WHAT UNKIND VOICES DO TO US
What do these unkind voices do to us?
Mainly, they create an atmosphere that feels uncomfortable and unsafe.
At any moment, our inner dialog can turn harsh and unkind.
And this distracts us from our natural kindness, wisdom, and engagement.
It also makes it easier for us to speak to others in unkind ways. The way we speak to ourselves tends to color how we speak to others. We pass on the ways others spoke to us early in life.
HOW DO WE CHANGE THIS?
The first step is to be aware of what’s happening.
What is my inner dialog?
In what situations do the unkind voices come in? In what areas of life?
Then we can learn to see through and replace these voices. We can find where they come from and who spoke to us in that way early in life. We can examine what they are saying and find what’s more true for us. We can intentionally speak to ourselves in a more kind and supportive way.
THE INNER DIALOG WE ARE NOT CONSCIOUS OF
This applies to our conscious inner dialog, and it also applies to the inner dialog that’s here and perhaps not so conscious.
The part of our inner dialog that’s conscious is just the tip of the iceberg and the rest colors our experience as much if not more.
How do we be more aware of this inner dialog? What can we do about it?
The most effective way to explore this may be through different forms of inquiry.
Here, we can identify this inner dialog and learn to see through it. Fortunately, we have a clear sign that unkind voices are operating in us: a sense of discomfort and stress. And structured forms of inquiry can help us with the rest.
If we keep at it over time, our unkind inner dialog will lose its power and be replaced with a more naturally kind, wise, and pragmatic voice.
And there is always more to explore. There are always voices we haven’t seen yet. There are often more essential underlying stressful stories, and more stories in the wider network of stories.
For this, I especially like The Work of Byron Katie for finding underlying stressful thoughts, and the Kiloby Inquiries can do the same, as do many other approaches including cognitive therapy.
AREN’T SOME UNKIND VOICES TRUE, NECESSARY, AND HELPFUL?
That’s what the unkind voices tell us, and when we explore this for ourselves we may find something different.
I find they are not as true as my mind sometimes tells me. There is often some validity to them, but they are definitely not the whole picture, and the fuller picture is typically far more kind.
They are not necessary. We don’t need unkindness or even stress to act.
And they are not that helpful, especially if compared with the alternative of clarity and kindness.
THE OTHER TYPE OF INNER VOICE
I use the term “inner voice” here since that’s what the quote calls it, and it does work.
The term “inner voice” can refer to two different things.
One is our inner dialog, which is what this article is about.
The other is our inner guidance which sometimes but not always takes the form of a voice. Our inner guidance is calm and clear and available for us to listen to and follow or not. It’s neither kind nor unkind, it just offers guidance.
Image: A meme from social media, source unknown (to me).