A New Way of Being How to Manage the Voice in Your Head – Dr Ethan Kross
Sep 1, 2025
Ethan Kross, a world-leading expert on controlling the conscious mind and author of Chatter, dives into the turmoil of our inner voice. He shares how personal experiences sparked his research, revealing effective tools to tackle mental noise. Topics include the science behind third-person self-talk, the damaging effects of negative thoughts on performance, and the surprising power of awe in calming the mind. Kross emphasizes practical strategies to transform our internal dialogue into a constructive force for well-being.
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Early Lesson That Sparked A Research Puzzle
- Ethan Kross describes how his father's advice to "go inside, find the kernel" shaped his early approach to problems.
- That inward-focused strategy sometimes backfired and led him to study why introspection creates 'chatter'.
The Middle-Of-The-Night Threat Letter
- Ethan recounts receiving a threatening letter after media attention and becoming consumed by fear and vigilance.
- He paced with a baseball bat and searched "bodyguards for academics" before using a self-talk trick to calm down.
Use Your Name To Gain Distance
- Use your own name and second-person pronouns to talk to yourself when overwhelmed.
- This linguistic shift creates psychological distance and helps you think more objectively about the problem.
