Talking to yourself is actually a helpful quirk IF you approach it in this way

Talking to yourself: it’s often seen at best as an eccentric habit, at worst just plain weird. But it turns out that there’s more to this quirk than meets the eye. Researchers have determined that talking to yourself can actually be incredibly helpful if you go about it the right way.

In an article by The New York Times, it’s revealed that talking to yourself can have some surprising cognitive and motivational benefits. Admit it: you’ve had moments where you needed a little personal motivation to get inspired to do something. We all have, and talking yourself through it (out loud) can actually give you the incentive you need to get going.

But there’s a specific way you have to go about talking to yourself to get the full benefits. It’s not just enough to egg yourself on; you need to do it the right way. Scientists studied how people react when talking to themselves while facing a difficult task, and made a surprising discovery.

"They found that when their subjects talked about themselves in the second or third person — for example, 'You can do this' or 'Jane can do this' instead of 'I can do this' — not only did they feel less anxiety while performing, but their peers also rated their performances better."

Scientists believe that this is because it gives you a level of detachment from the task at hand. It’s almost like rooting on a friend or loved one (only in this case it’s yourself). So the next time you’re feeling lazy or unmotivated, try giving yourself an out-loud pep talk; you might surprise yourself with the results!