the constant monologue in my head
On May 21, 2005, David Foster Wallace addressed the graduates of Kenyon College: "As I'm sure you guys know by now, it is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive, instead of getting hypnotized by the constant monologue inside your own head (may be happening right now). Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed." Wallace is genius. Although a tad cynical, his words couldn't be more true. How often are we hypnotized by the constant monologue in our own head? Or better yet, how often are w...