Our Inner Communicator

Have you ever just left a meeting or encounter with someone feeling frustrated with yourself because you either did not say all the things you really wanted to say or you are unhappy with what you actually did say? I have. Sometimes I will even replay these episodes in my head except I will alter the dialogue - mine mostly - to where I emerge feeling triumphant, validated, vindicated, better understood, better appreciated, etc. While those little trips down fantasy lane do feel good, they do not erase the reality that I did not - and do not- always communicate as well as I would like. Why not?

There are, of course, many reasons why any of us do not think as quickly or articulately on our fee as we would like. Some are more forgivable than others. For instance, we all get flustered, nervous, surprised, emotional, etc. at times to the point where we are not given enough time to adequately digest information that is being shared with us. There are times, however, when even though we are not caught off guard, we still get flustered or "tongue-tied," speak clumsily, or fail to express everything we need or want to say. Again, why?

My contention is that all of have an inner-communicator that we do not listen to as much as we should. Much like our body communicates with us when something is physically wrong, so, too, our inner communicator provides us with guidance on how we should be respond in various situations. Our challenge is to listen when that voice speaks and give its guidance serious thought. This is not always as easy as we might think because doing this takes discipline. Are any of us as disciplined as much as we might like? I am not. But I am working on it so those little fantasy trips I take from time to time can be replaced with replays of what really happened.