Be very careful of the voices you allow in your head.
Most of us keep a constant dialogue going in our heads. Sure, there are times when my wife asks me “what are you thinking?” and I don’t have a ready answer. I’m in my “nothing box.” But generally I’m having conversations with myself.
Those conversations though are generally informed by other conversations I’ve listened to. People whose worldviews and ideas shape me, whether I intend them to or not.
I read somewhere that after reading an author for a while, your brainwaves begin to align with his. Read a depressed person, and you’ll be depressed. Read a crazy person, and your thinking gets confused.
I have a few voices in my head that won’t go away. Erwin MacManus inspires me, Andy Stanley helps me simplify things, Tim Keller makes me smarter. TED talks allow me to see the world in a different way. Seth Godin keeps me from giving in to fear and Malcolm Gladwell forces me outside my box.
Who’s part of your dialogue team?