An ongoing joke of comics and parental advice columns is that when asked about their day, kids tend to respond with a grunt.
With no answer to the question, conversation stops, and a certain level of alienation begins.
I can truthfully say that we were all once kids (unless you still are), and if you try to remember what that period was like, start by figuring out why you might not have wanted to tell anyone about yourself.
As adults, many despair of feeling lonely and wish to find soul mates or friends "who really get you." One reason that might be hard to do is that, like a teen, you still don't tell anyone about yourself.
To correct that situation (and possibly find more satisfaction in life), start believing that if others only knew you, they'd ask about what you're doing. If they don't know, they won't ask, so start telling others what you're up to!
The first step is to remember what you're about. Yes, it's easy to forget what you did, even seconds after doing it. So start keeping a very brief written record of your key activities, thoughts, interests, and speculations. Just a few words on each subject should be enough to jog your memory.
Write this down in a notebook, or just email yourself daily the list you composed. Hate to write? Then record your thoughts. All cellphones today feature recording apps, so keeping a spoken journal is easy to do.
As you get into the habit of doing this, also review what you just wrote to keep in mind what you did. As you become more present in your own life, you'll have more to talk about. And as you begin to immerse yourself in conversation, you'll become more curious about others because you will be able to increasingly share common interests and experiences.
By introducing yourself to people, you open avenues of friendship, something that silence will not bring about.
My next post will discuss how to comfortably talk about yourself without hogging conversation.
Links:
My next article will be on how to talk about yourself, but if you'd like to jump-start this guidance, Google the phrase "how to talk about yourself to others." For this article, look up the subject, "how to create useful diaries."
These 8 Good Things Will Happen When You Start Writing Diaries, by Brett Bevell for LifeHack.org.
Keeping a Diary or Journal, an article from SkillsYouNeed.com
WikiHow.com has several articles on diary keeping, including "How to Write a Diary Every Day for a Year and Make It Interesting," and "How to Write a Diary," co-authored by Amber Crain.
Listen to this article:
by Sketch-Views with Karen Little