Your Inner Voice is the Teapot Whistle

When a teapot whistles, it is not the whistle that is the problem; it is the boiling water.  The whistle just serves as a reminder to take the pot off the stove.

The chatter in your head serves the same purpose.  The chatter isn't the problem; it's just the brain's way of telling you there are things going on that you need to pay attention to.

Unfortunately, we start to believe that inner voice is real.  It sounds real, right?  And what is even more comical is when your inner voices start arguing with each other.  "You forgot to pack lunch! Well, maybe I should skip lunch?  No, skipping lunch is a bad idea!" Seriously? Now there's three of you in there.

All that inner voice talk is your brain taking reality and putting words to it, so you can start to categorize and deal with problems now that they have names.  That's it, that's all.  Just like you don't argue with the teapot whistle, you don't need to argue with the voices.  Instead, simply use them as indicators that you have a problem to work on.  Figure out what the problem actually is (boiling water), then get to work.

Another way to look at is to see your inner voice as a slightly crazy roommate you have to share your head with.  You don't have to believe everything he says, but you should look for patterns of conversation to enlighten you to what's going on outside.

One path to inner peace is to pay attention to what that inner voice is saying, but don't take it as truth.  Its more primal and functions like an alarmist, a product of life-or-death evolution.  Instead, use it to tell you where you ought to pay more attention, like a guide telling you where to shine your flashlight.  This helps you find what is causing the stormy waters so you can either eliminate them or sail around.