Here is a thought.

[+ purplekow]

I do not know if this is part of the aging process or just something I never considered in the past.  I find when I am planning something, I now think in complete sentences, almost as though I am talking with myself.  It seems that when I was younger, I skipped the middle man and went right from brain to action without stopping to think about the action in words in my brain.  

For example. I just finished a bit of cleaning up and I am planning on feeding my dogs.  As I recall, in the past, I would have just stopped cleaning and without any type of other thought, I would just move on the feeding the dogs.  Last night while baking chicken, I was watching TV and I smelled the chicken which triggered me to check on it.  Instead of standing up and going into the kitchen, I thought, hey the chicken is cooking, I should go check on it and then I arose from my chair and walked to the kitchen. For those interested, the chicken was not quite done.  

I suppose that thinking through what I am planning to do makes a great deal of sense, but for me, it just seems as though I am wasting time in thinking it through.  

Clearly, I do not condone just doing anything without a first or second thought to the action and its consequences, but this thinking about mundane tasks is new to me and has given me pause.  Perhaps my mental faculties are in decline and this is a compensatory mechanism.  Will I be writing myself notes next?  

So men of a certain age, has the way you think and act changed as you have aged? Not the thoughts and actions themselves, clearly those have changed, rather the process of moving from thought to action.   Do most people give this much thought to how they proceed in the routine matters of their life?  Am I just bored and so I now enjoy only the sound of my own voice in my head?  

[+ purplekow]

After thinking about this, I decided to google "thinking voice in my head" and it seems 30 to 50% of people think this way frequently or often.  Others think with vivid images and others with emotions.  Similarly, people also have different way of reading with about 50% of people reading by talking the words in their mind.    I never gave much thought to the thinking process other than the neurologic complexity of it all.  However, even as a physician, I do not recall ever being instructed or informed about this.  

Well to those of you who think this way, do not let me interrupt your conversation.  

[+ SundayZip]

For me it depends on the situation. If the smell of the chicken hints at burning or reminds me that it's time to take it from the oven, I act without deliberating. If I'm in a situation requiring a rational choice, I might think in sentences as I deliberate (e.g. should I order the meatloaf special or the pan-crusted cod?) This is how my brain has always been wired and don't think it's changed with age.  

[topunderachiever]

So you're thinking about thinking too much about thinking?  

[+ purplekow]

Well in actuality I am thinking if my change in thinking is a sign of future difficulty and if it is, perhaps I should make plans for that accordingly.  But, I see your point as well.  

[+ SirBillybob]

As you already know, it’s executive function, meta self-talk, quietly tapping yourself on the shoulder, mental flagging, motivation to haul your ass up. You checked on your food prep. Done and dusted. You didn’t utilize inner speech for every mouthful of your meal; that was auto-pilot. Well, unless, “I must rotate meat, rice, peas” … cyclically. 

It’s likely that this phenomenon is selective. For example, “I must write about this and see what others think.” You prolly didn’t self-reflect on it being, planfully, 5 well-written paragraphs. In fact, if you were blind-asked later to tally them you would not know the answer because it’s inconsequential. You might recall the boldface; you may have self-articulated that intention.

Edited 19 hours ago by SirBillybob

[+ Charlie]

I talk to myself in my head all the time. Yeah, I'm old.

[CuriousByNature]

I haven't talked in my head for quite a few months.  We had a falling out.  But I'm really enjoying the silence.

[+ sync]

On 1/26/2026 at 12:26 AM, purplekow said:

I do not know if this is part of the aging process or just something I never considered in the past.  I find when I am planning something, I now think in complete sentences, almost as though I am talking with myself.  It seems that when I was younger, I skipped the middle man and went right from brain to action without stopping to think about the action in words in my brain.  

For example. I just finished a bit of cleaning up and I am planning on feeding my dogs.  As I recall, in the past, I would have just stopped cleaning and without any type of other thought, I would just move on the feeding the dogs.  Last night while baking chicken, I was watching TV and I smelled the chicken which triggered me to check on it.  Instead of standing up and going into the kitchen, I thought, hey the chicken is cooking, I should go check on it and then I arose from my chair and walked to the kitchen. For those interested, the chicken was not quite done.  

I suppose that thinking through what I am planning to do makes a great deal of sense, but for me, it just seems as though I am wasting time in thinking it through.  

Clearly, I do not condone just doing anything without a first or second thought to the action and its consequences, but this thinking about mundane tasks is new to me and has given me pause.  Perhaps my mental faculties are in decline and this is a compensatory mechanism.  Will I be writing myself notes next?  

So men of a certain age, has the way you think and act changed as you have aged? Not the thoughts and actions themselves, clearly those have changed, rather the process of moving from thought to action.   Do most people give this much thought to how they proceed in the routine matters of their life?  Am I just bored and so I now enjoy only the sound of my own voice in my head?  

Unless you begin to experience relatable negative impacts, I don't believe you have any serious concerns.