This will come as no shock to anyone, but I talk to myself. Even less shocking, I answer. I realize this fits the proverbial "sanity check," but I'd like to make the argument that it's exactly the opposite. I think it helps keep me rational and open minded.

Maybe it would help if I pointed out that I'm not just talking about fervent, whispered conversations as I push a wobbly grocery cart down a sidewalk. I'm not having a debate with myself about whether or not to burn things or whether kittens taste better with catsup (ok, I'm Southern... I actually say "ketchup," but some jokes require you to work with them).

Actually, if anything, what I'm talking about may be even crazier than that. I'm talking about having a conversation with myself in the future.

I ask the usual questions you would think to ask your future self, of course. Do I lose my hair? Do I ever find the remote for the DVD player? What ARE the winning lotto numbers? And I get surprising answers like, "No, yes and the lottery is a mind control device used by the government to subvert your will." useful things like that.

Actually, the conversations I have with Future Kevin are quite poignant. We talk about where my life has taken me thus far, and where I would want it to go. And Future Kevin is full of advice for getting where I want to go. He says, "If you want to be a writer, then write every day." He gives good insight like, "If you miss a day of writing, feel guilty about it. Feel like something is missing, like you're uneasy, like you can't rest. Use that negative energy to do something positive."

Sure, Future Kevin sounds an awful lot like some of the advice you get from self-help books, but then I think he's read a lot of them and has come to a Zen-like place in his life.

All this conversation with Future Me has a point. It helps me focus on my goals and to envision a path to reach them. If I start to feel like things are a little out of control, I can automatically hear a clear voice saying, "It'll be ok. You get through this. Better things happen to you." It's a comforting sort of self-indulgence that helps me get my brain back to center.

You should try it. If it makes you uncomfortable to think of it as your "future self," maybe you should imagine that it's some wizened elder on a mountain top, or a being from a higher plane of existence who has taken a shine to you. Or maybe it's God. Not to put words in the Big Guy's mouth, but the idea here is to draw on insight that's bigger than you are. It's there. You'll be shockingly surprised when you see it. If you start having these conversations, letting your mind take on both sides of it, you'll find that you have insights you never thought possible. You have, within you, the ability to see beyond the problems at hand.

It was Future Kevin who prompted me to write this column today because he knew that I needed to shape the idea and give it some clarity. He knew that I have an interest in seeing people better themselves. And he knew that my goal is to be a better writer and grow in that field day by day. He knows all this stuff because he was me once. He's outside of me looking in, and that's the best vantage point for giving advice.

Introspective? Certainly. But useful. I'm sure there's a psychological term for this kind of thing, and I'm positive I'm not the first to come up with it. But I came to it on my own and I wish I had thought of it sooner.

Hey, maybe I'll tell it to my younger self.

J. Kevin Tumlinson is the Editor for ViewOnline Magazine and a Writer/Producer for Hat Digital Media. He can be reached via e-mail at kevin@viewonline.com. He is talking to you from the future.