Is silence really golden?

I'm pretty sure I could talk to a wall. Wait, actually I HAVE talked to a wall. When no one was listening to me & I tried to prove a point. Rude! Anyways, I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something.

1. On Monday at my IGD (intergroup dialogue...I'll explain what that is next week) Meeting, one of the goals of the course is to enable us to embody silence. As soon as that goal was read aloud, EVERYONE turned to look at me.
   
2. I got Aprils Cosmo in the mail yesterday and there is an article titled "When a Friend Talks Waaay Too Much".
   
3. My friend Andrew tells me literally every time we hang out that I talk to much & tell way to many pointless stories. He even thinks that I couldn't go without talking even if someone paid me $$!
   

Hmmmmmmm. I honestly don't think my talking is a problem.

Okay, maybe I do talk a lot, but too much? I don't know if there is such a thing. Or at least that's what I thought until I read cosmo. According to the article, if one person does all the talking in a relationship/friendship and the other person does all the listening, things don't feel reciprocal...which can lead to resentment, frustration and annoyance. Maybe this is why people think I'm annoying hahaha. But why exactly DO I talk so much? I think some if it has to do with the fact that I like, actually love attention. I almost thrive on it. If I'm talking, there is almost no way for me to not be the center of attention. Sound self-obsessed? Yeah, it actually kinda is and I'm just now realizing it. Talking is also something I do when there is silence (shocker). I think that I need to talk in order to fill those awkward silences. Apparently this is not true and I am really going to have to work on not blurting out stupid/random comments when a conversation nulls or when there is silence. I also know another reason why I talk a lot, too fast or just to tell a pointless story. Nerves. Anytime I'm nervous I start talking a mile-a-minute about pointless & random things. True, sometimes the things I say are important, but a majority of them are not. It kinda goes back to my post about saying the word "like". I am just going to have to think before I speak & take the time to slow down.

So is silence really golden?

It's debatable. I think there is a time for silence & a time for talking. It really all depends on who you are interacting with and what types of situations you are in.

This week is really going to be a tough one. I have to work on not saying the word "like" (yes, still. I haven't broken the habit yet), not being overly chatty, & not feeling tempted to login to my Facebook account! Ahhhhhh!!! Hopefully making all these small changes gets me back on to the road towards happiness.




HAHAHA. I don't really feel like this, but I thought it was funny







Xoxo, Jess