By Dr. Regina McDuffie

Have you ever caught yourself talking to yourself? Raise your hand if you’ve ever done that! Me too! And guess what? It’s not weird—it’s actually super helpful. Talking to yourself helps you understand what you’re thinking, why you’re thinking it, and even how to improve your thinking.

This is called metacognition—a fancy word for thinking about your thinking. It’s like having a little coach inside your brain. Imagine that coach cheering you on, saying, “Hey, you’ve got this!” or “Wait a second, is this working? Should we try a different way?”

Here’s a trick: when you’re working on something, ask yourself, How is this going? or What do I need to change to get better? It’s okay to not get everything right the first time—what matters is knowing where you can grow. This is called a growth mindset. It means believing that we can always improve with practice.

So, why is this important? Being self-aware—knowing what you're good at and what you need to work on—makes a huge difference, not just in school, but in life! In school, it helps you solve problems, collaborate better with others, and manage your time more effectively. When you know what’s working and what’s not, you can make changes to do your best.

Self-awareness also helps you understand how your actions affect others. Have you ever noticed how what you’re doing can impact how someone else feels? When you’re aware of that, you can be a better friend, a better teammate, and just a kinder person in general.

But here’s something really important—you need to be kind to yourself while doing all this! I know many of you can be hard on yourselves because you want to do everything right. While it’s great to have high standards, remember: no one is perfect, and that’s okay! If you make a mistake or don’t get something right the first time, talk to yourself kindly, like you would to a friend. Being hard on yourself won’t help you grow, but being kind will. So keep talking to yourself, be your own biggest cheerleader, and always look for ways to grow.