Book Synopsis

Turn your inner critic into your inner coach! This accessible, interactive workbook from the bestselling author of Chatter offers tools for understanding and harnessing the voice in your head.

Rumination. Worry. Self-critique. We've all gotten stuck in loops of negative self-talk, or as acclaimed psychologist Dr. Ethan Kross calls it, chatter. I'm going to fail. They'll all laugh at me. What's the use? Whether it manifests as anxiety, imposter syndrome, or other detriments to our mental health, chatter has the power to derail both our professional and personal lives.

However, it's possible to change how our inner voice talks to us, making it work for us rather than against us. In his nationally bestselling book, Chatter, Dr. Kross describes how to utilize the hidden power of our inner voice. This workbook delves deeper, featuring writing prompts, checklists, visual guides, thought exercises, and more, teaching you how to harness your chatter. Dr. Kross offers practical tools for self-care, grouping techniques for combatting chatter into three categories:

- Internally focused tools: Activities to help you normalize, reframe, and redirect your thoughts.
- People tools: Techniques for seeking support and advice from other people.
- Environmental tools: Ideas for reducing chatter by creating order in your environment and understanding how to benefit from green spaces and awe-inspiring experiences.

Perfect for anyone who wants to break free from endless cycles of negative self-talk, rumination, and worry, this workbook will help you harness your inner voice and transcend the worst effects of chatter.

Review Quotes

"There's something deeply mysterious, even awesome, about our inner voice, the means by which we make ourselves aware of who we are and what we think. Kross has good ideas about how to manage and control this voice."--The New Yorker

"Are there right and wrong ways to communicate with yourself, and if so, are there techniques that might usefully be employed by those with inner voices that are just a little too loud? . . . Kross has found answers to some, if not all, of these questions. . . . [Chatter] could hardly be published at a more opportune moment."--The Guardian

"This compelling collection of stories examines the power that we have to harness our positive and negative thoughts through the conversations we have with ourselves in silent and the incredible that's already within us to embrace our highest self."--CNN

"You know that voice in your head, the one that cheers you on . . . or cuts you down? Psychologist Kross explains how to quiet your inner Debbie Downer and harness self-talk for success."--People

"Kross may be a scientist by trade, but with Chatter he proves himself a deft storyteller who, through levity and wit, creates an easily digestible work on the brain, how it works and how we can quiet our often relentless chatter."--USA Today

"[An] instructive guide to both normalizing anxiety and distancing ourselves from it."--Harvard Business Review

"Fresh and riveting, Chatter is a masterpiece--a landmark book that will change the way you think about human nature. Required reading for all."--Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit

"Ethan Kross isn't just a world-renowned scientist, he's an expert storyteller too. In Chatter, he shows why our inner voice is indispensable, and reveals how we can master it. Urgent, lucid, and compelling, Chatter is the groundbreaking and transformative book the world needs now."--Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet

"This book is going to fundamentally change some of the most important conversations in your life--the ones you have with yourself."--Adam Grant, bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

"I've demonstrated throughout my career how negative thoughts can spiral and undermine people's success. In Chatter, Ethan Kross weaves cutting-edge science with riveting stories to reveal the tools people can use to manage these experiences. Chatter is a truly compelling and valuable book."--Carol Dweck, author of Mindset

"Ethan is a deep and original thinker and a thorough, always thought-provoking researcher. He's one of the psychologists whose work I always read whenever I see his name."--Maria Konnikova, bestselling author of The Biggest Bluff

"Ethan Kross has written the definitive work on how to redirect our inner voices away from rumination and self-criticism and toward reflection and self-improvement. Chatter is a profound and practical book--one that will leave you with both a fresh understanding of yourself and new strategies to live a fuller life."--Daniel H. Pink, bestselling author of When and Drive

"Ethan Kross illuminates and solves the crucial issue of mastering self-talk in this modern classic. Compulsively readable and refreshingly original."--Dave Evans, bestselling author of Designing Your Life

"Stimulating . . . Kross, the director of the University of Michigan's Emotion & Self Control Laboratory, debuts with an eye-opening look at managing 'the silent conversations people have with themselves.'"--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About the Author

Ethan Kross, PhD, is one of the world's leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. An award-winning professor in the University of Michigan's top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he is the director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory. He has participated in policy discussion at the White House, and has been interviewed about his work on CBS Evening News, Good Morning America, and NPR's Morning Edition. His pioneering research has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New England Journal of Medicine and Science.