When you’re stuck or facing inner conflict, an unexpectedly helpful method is to imagine a conversation between different sides of yourself.
While it might sound unconventional, externalizing your thoughts in this way allows you to step back from the emotional haze. This distance offers fresh perspectives, helping you untangle mental complexities and approach your situation with greater clarity. By stepping outside your own head, you can analyze your reasoning from various angles.
To try this, assign each voice a distinct personality—perhaps one as the “logical realist,” another as the “emotional self,” and a third as the “optimistic risk-taker.” This setup creates a framework for evaluating your thoughts objectively, making it easier to overcome anxiety or indecision. Here’s an example:
Optimistic You: “This new job sounds exciting! You should go for it.”
Cautious You: “But what if it’s a mistake? What if it turns out worse than my current situation?”
Optimistic You: “Even if there are challenges, you’ll grow and learn new skills.”
Cautious You: “That’s true… but what if I fail?”
Optimistic You: “Failure is part of progress—it teaches valuable lessons. Life’s uncertain, and waiting for perfect conditions often means waiting forever. Taking risks is how you move forward.”
Cautious You: “Maybe you’re right. The potential reward might justify the risk.”
Optimistic You: “Exactly! Let’s take the leap.”
This technique can be surprisingly effective at resolving inner conflicts and turns decision-making into an active, empowering process. It shifts you from passive worry to engaging in an imaginative exploration of your inner perspectives. In fact, this method is widely used in therapies like Internal Family Systems (IFS) or Gestalt therapy, where people explore various “parts” of their personality to better understand themselves.
Idea for Impact: Contrary to stereotypes, self-talk isn’t a sign of something being wrong. On the contrary, engaging with yourself—whether through dialogue or journaling—sharpens problem-solving skills, enhances emotional regulation, supports better decision-making, and fosters creativity. It’s a sign of genuine self-awareness and emotional depth.
Defining a problem with a specific solution already in mind can limit your perspective and obscure the real root causes. This narrow focus often results in quick, ineffective decisions that miss the mark.
When team members come to you with problems, resist the urge to jump straight into “fix-it” mode. It’s a common reflex, but it can 
Creativity is hardwired in us. Watch a four-year-old for an hour, and you’ll see a mind brimming with inventions—imaginary friends, wild stories, makeshift gadgets. Without fear or judgment, she’ll explore, question, and reimagine the world.
Earlier this week, I 
A350 Crew Distraction. While taxiing on an intersecting taxiway, the A350 flight crew .jpg "'Turnaround Time' by Oscar Munoz (ISBN 0063284286)")
Yet, one can’t help but ask: Why hadn’t Munoz engaged with employees during his decade on the board of United’s parent company (and another five years at the acquiring company, Continental Airlines)? Wise board members often gain an 
Whenever someone uses that insidious phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” I hear a message of 
Navigating disagreements becomes more effective with a neutral, problem-solving approach. The key is to depersonalize the conflict using phrases like “it seems.”