Half our day is spent not living in the moment. Here’s how to change that. Your inner voice isn't always very nice or helpful. When we turn our attention inward, we tend to focus on problems rather than solutions.This causes us to worry, ruminate, and catastrophize, which traps us in a negative thought cycle. The good news is that there is a science-based toolkit that can help you regain control of your inner voice.

Ethan Kross is an American experimental psychologist, neuroscientist and writer, who specializes in emotion regulation. He is a professor of psychology and management at the University of Michigan and director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory there.