Anxiety to Confidence - The Personal Development Unplugged Podcast

Personal Development Unplugged – Anxiety to Confidence A top 15 personal development podcast helping you let go of anxiety, low self-esteem, fears and limiting beliefs — so you can become the real you again. Hosted by Paul Clough, this podcast blends Hypnosis, NLP and simple practical processes to create real change in the way you feel, act and live. No interviews. No fluff. Just straightforward tools, mindset shifts and guided processes you can actually use. If you want to build confidence, take control of your emotions and create something meaningful in your life — you’re in the right place. 👉 It’s time to fly.

#485 How To Create A Life Without Becoming Lost 07/17/2026

#485 How To Create A Life Without Becoming Lost Finding Your Way: When You Feel Lost in Life Have you ever quietly said to yourself, "I've lost my way"? Not necessarily out loud. Just inside your own mind. That feeling that somehow you've become disconnected from where you're going, who you're becoming, or even who you really are. In this deeper dive episode, Paul explores a personal experience of feeling lost after making significant changes in life and identity. What emerged was a surprising realisation: perhaps we don't lose our way at all. Perhaps we simply lose connection with the part of ourselves that already knows the way. This episode explores the uncomfortable space between who you've been and who you're becoming, why that space can feel like grief, and how looking outside yourself for answers often keeps you stuck. Most importantly, you'll experience a guided hypnosis and visualisation process designed to help you reconnect with your future self, discover your inner direction, and uncover the next small step on your journey. Because maybe your path isn't something you find. Maybe it's something you feel. IN THIS EPISODE • Why feeling lost often follows personal growth and change • The hidden link between identity and feeling directionless • Why searching for answers outside yourself can make things worse • The difference between finding a thing and following a direction • How your future self may already know the next step • Using emotion to communicate with your unconscious mind • Why purpose is often discovered through feeling rather than logic • A guided hypnosis process to reconnect with your inner compass KEY TAKEAWAYS ✓ Feeling lost doesn't mean you've lost your way. ✓ Identity shifts can temporarily create uncertainty and confusion. ✓ Your future self can provide guidance when your conscious mind feels stuck. ✓ Direction often appears before the destination becomes clear. ✓ Purpose is experienced through alignment and feeling, not just thinking. ✓ Small steps create clarity far more effectively than endless searching. QUOTE FROM THE EPISODE "You don't have to have the whole plan. You don't need the perfect map. Your future self doesn't hand you the whole journey. It simply nudges you, one step at a time." REFLECTION QUESTIONS • Have I really lost my way, or have I simply lost connection with myself? • What parts of my identity am I currently letting go of? • What feeling am I truly seeking in my future? • If my future self could guide me today, what small step would it suggest? • Am I searching for answers outside myself that may already exist within? CALL TO ACTION If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who may be feeling uncertain about their direction in life. And if there is a subject you'd like explored in a future episode, email: Together we'll keep exploring, learning, and evolving. Until next time... Have more fun than you can stand. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Hey friend, hope you're doing well and welcome to this longer, deeper dive. And we had the FMQ, the seed of freedom versus structure, freedom or structure. But maybe that's the wrong question. Maybe I'm asking the wrong question. Maybe a better question might be, how do I create a life that feels free without becoming lost? Okay, something to think about here straight away. If I gave you complete freedom tomorrow, what would you do? There's no schedule, no obligations, no one telling you what to do. Sounds wonderful doesn't it? Maybe you can feel it, feel what that would feel like, complete freedom. Just imagine what you'd see, hear, feel. Yeah, but just think for a moment. What happens on day three? What happens when no one's asking anything from you? What happens when there's no deadlines, no structure, no bloody routine? Yeah, didn't think of that did we? I mean, me personally, I've been really wrestling with this. You know, this has been deep inside with my puzzle books and all that thing. Been struggling, wrestling, trying to get a grip of it. You see, for years, I really wanted freedom. In fact, every client of mine, when I ask them, what do you really want? They say, I just want to be free Paul, I want freedom. But the thing is, when I got closer to it, I found something surprising, and so did they. You see, I tell you what, let's do a little bit of exploration, the first part of our dive. So take a deep breath, and let's explore this myth. I'm going to call it a myth of freedom. You see the dream? We've all got it, we've all had it, haven't we? No alarm clocks. Oh dear. No obligations. You don't have to do anything. No one's telling you what to do, because there's no restrictions. You have a total choice in all of this now. Total choice, oh my. But then, what's the reality of that? What is the reality? Maybe too many choices? Hmm. Too many choices, oh wow. Because when you have too many choices, guess what? No direction, is there? There's no momentum. I feel disconnected. I feel stuck. Can you get that? Can you feel that? That's the way I was feeling. I was feeling stuck because of all these things I started to look at. Feel it with me. Now you see, I have been doing a lot of work lately on myself. You see, my roles have been changing. I've been deeply into a lot of work with therapy, and I'm starting to just ease that out a bit now. Not doing quite so much. There's a lot of activities I have been doing, and I've decided to say, well, no, actually, I'm going to push them away. I'm going to change. And so they dropped off. And because of that, I got space. It started to appear to me. And you see, here's the thing. I look forward to it. I did. Because space, to me, is precious. And it sounded so wonderful, until I found I was standing right in the middle of too much space. There's just too much of it. You see, what I found out was, freedom without direction can start to feel surprisingly like being lost. I'm going to repeat that, because that started to really get inside me. Freedom without direction can start to feel surprisingly like feeling lost. Let's go deeper. We've done that a little bit. Let's go even deeper now. You see, maybe it isn't freedom versus structure. This is where we started. This is where I started. It's a bit of a false choice, really. Because that's what I'm thinking. Maybe it isn't freedom versus structure. Maybe that was the wrong question I was asking myself. In fact, that's what I've been asking you. Maybe, instead, I ought to have been asking, what type of support allows me to be free? What type of support allows me to be free? Because that was a good question, wasn't it? You see, when you think of structure, and this is what I did, I began to think of restriction, rules, pressure, obligation. That was stuff I used to have sometimes, but it's too much now. When I think about it now, having structure, it's too much restriction, too many rules. The pressure was on, and there was an obligation. But here's the thing, not all structure is control. Because some structure allows you, gives you support. Here's a couple of weird examples. You know, riverbanks create flow. They're in a pond, they're in a lake that just sits there. Sitting there's good, but we want flow, creative flow. Music is made of scales, isn't it? Because without those scales and notes, and the structure of that, we wouldn't have music. Sometimes you need a frame around a painting to make it stand out. Because if you think about it now, and I started to think about it, it's as if everything has a structure, a strategy, and it has a strategy that it follows. And they're the things that started to make me think. You see, without that structure, the bloody thing disappears, isn't it? You see, freedom doesn't flourish in chaos. And I think that's what happens when we have freedom. Sometimes, you know, you can hear the chaos going on because things are too free. Freedom flourishes when it has something to grow through, feeling alive. Think about that again. Freedom flourishes when it has something to grow through. Yeah. Let's play. Let's play for a moment. Think about, and you want to close your eyes, you can, or you can just daydream it with me. Think about a time in your life when things felt really good. Maybe you can just bring to mind something of the past when things just felt really good. What was present regularly in those times when life was really good? What was present? What habits happen naturally? What are those natural triggers that just, you just did it. And again, what routines helped you without feeling restricted? You know, you had a routine, but you just loved it. Imagine which one or which of those, not just the one, which of those felt really supportive in creating this life and which felt creating. No, I didn't mean creating. Which felt controlling. Yeah. Because this is the first insight. Not all structures are equal, are they? Each time in your life when you felt really good, they were slightly different, but slightly the same, weren't they? So let's have a, let's have a little think. And if you didn't close your eyes, maybe you want to close your eyes this time. And if you did close your eyes, you may want to keep them closed, but make sure it's safe to do so. You know that. And this is just remembering a visualization. So it's not hypnosis, but it's great to be able to focus on you. Take the distractions away. Give yourself some time. Give yourself the present of time. So just for a moment, I want you to imagine tomorrow. Not even the most productive of days. Just a good day. Yeah, just a good day. What is a good day for you? What are the anchors that create a good day? Maybe it's that morning reflection. For me, that's journaling. Maybe it's just spending time in the open, walking. That freedom of just walking. Having time to maybe think or listen. Maybe it's time when you put aside to be creative. An old puzzle book comes to mind. Thoughts, dreams. What about exercise? Maybe exercise, the movement. What about, there's another one, reading or learning. What about when you record your ideas? Maybe you can identify even more. But maybe three just come to mind. As being, maybe more prevalent in this good day. I'll repeat them. Morning reflection, walking, creative time, exercise, reading. Maybe just recording your ideas. Just whatever comes to mind now. You see, these anchors are not a schedule, are they? They're not written down. They're not a rule. They're an anchor, a trigger. You see, a rule tells you off when you miss it. It's there to, you know, you have to, have to, have to. But an anchor helps you return. Takes you away from drifting. And that's a beautiful distinction, I think. See, I want those type of anchors in my life. And I want those type of anchors in your life that just create a wonderful good day. Because when we're having good days, I just get, and imagine that. Good days getting better and better. So just allow those anchors to be present in your life. And maybe when you do open your eyes, you'll make a note of them. Or maybe take some time to think about them even deeper. So open your eyes. Have a little look around. Take a deep breath. And we're back. We're back in the present. And I want to be real now. Let's be real. Real life. Let's explore where all this appears. You see, what happens to creativity when you have too much freedom? I think we never create when we've got too much freedom. And I don't. I find I waste time. Because there's no, there's no nothing. There's no pull. There's no desire. Because of too much. But then again, if I structure, I'm going to be creative right now. Well, to me, creative or creativity just dies. It disappears. It just evaporates. And then I get frustrated. What about your health? Think about this. Your health. When you've got too much freedom, what happens? I'll tell you what happens. You do bugger all. You let things slide. I know I do. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. Maybe I'm the only bloody one. Maybe it's just cluffy. But you can't fool yourself. But what happens with your health if if there's too much control? I've got to do this. I've got to do that. I've got to put this in. I've got to go to the gym. I've got to burn out, isn't it? Burnout. There's too much. Think about your relationships now. When you have too much freedom in a relationship, disconnection happens, doesn't it? That closeness just disappears. But if there's too much control, we have to do this, you have to do that. Nothing is spontaneous. Too much control is in suffocation. We feel like we're tied in, we're bonded. I can't move. I suffocate. I can't breathe in this relationship now. Take a moment, just for a moment, and be intuitive. This is a weird question I'll ask you. Maybe you need to reflect on it. Maybe you want to just write it down. But where in your life are you mistaking support for restriction? It's a weird question, isn't it? But it's an interesting one. Because support doesn't have to be restriction. Let's get realer. I love the term. Make it more better. Let's get more realer. You see, I want to get you from this thinking, it's either this or either that. Because it's not. You see, I don't think you need more discipline. I really don't. Sometimes you just need the right environment. Creating that right environment. Because so many people, maybe it's me again, just forcing ourselves to do things. Forcing creating the life that we want. I know on personal development we say one percent more, one percent more, one percent more. But sometimes we just need a little bit of freedom. Because forcing isn't freedom, is it? It's not. But the thing is, and this is what gets me, again a personal thing, a drift. And drifting isn't freedom either. Because I look back and I go, bugger. If only I should have, I could have, and all that stuff. We always have those things, don't we? Or is that just me? You see, real freedom, I believe anyway, comes from setting your intention. What's important to you and what you want to achieve. That's setting intention, isn't it? And setting your intention is a choice, isn't it? You choose what you want to achieve. And that to me gives me a support. It's a lovely support. It's a comforting support. It feels real. There's no pressure in it. Because I'm choosing. Choosing what would be good, what would be right, what would make my life better. And in that, there's no pressure. No pressure whatsoever. Don't know how that gets you. I mean, yeah, let's look at the bigger picture now. The bigger picture you could consider being your best life, the best version of you. Let's take it well beyond self-improvement. You see, when you find balance, and balance, as you know, is not just this, it's harmony. When you find harmony, that's better. Let's be real. When you find harmony in your life, you become calmer, don't you? More comfortable. And in that comfort, in that calmness, that peace, you can be more creative. You're open to intuition. Those are hard. You're just there for it. Because you're present. You're giving yourself the present of being present. That's what it's all about. And in this bigger picture, when you do that, people notice. We talk about the ripples, being the change you want to see in others. People notice. Your family notices it. They love being around you when you're like this. And you do become that example, the example of what is possible in this life. But you see, because you're living intentionally now, you're following the right path. I call it my North Star. I know a lot of people do, but I've been working on this, finding my direction. Remember, your North Star is not a thing, it's a direction, it's a path that creates wonderful opportunities. And you see, I found when I did this deeper dive myself with my puzzle book and all those things. My North Star isn't found with having complete freedom. It wasn't. But it was revealed to me through creating enough support to hear myself, give myself space to listen. And that's a lovely place to be in your continuing exploration to create your best self. So let's ask ourselves a few questions. And again, you might want to write these down, you might want to, you know, just set some time and just come back to this, because these are really important questions. They're easy, but they're important. And you remember, in simplicity, there's genius. And these are just wonderful, simple questions, but they dive so deep. So you've listened to me ramble on. But here's the question, what does freedom really mean to you? So the question, what does freedom really mean to me? Maybe where has freedom and too much freedom created confusion in your life, you know, all that stuff, the noise, the chaos. But the flip side, where has structure become too much controlling, as it were, and then open it up? What supports me without restricting me? What are the things I can do? The things I've learned that supports me without restricting me? You know, we talked about those anchors, those three anchors, what makes a great day or a good day? What are those gentle anchors that would make tomorrow just that little bit better? And if that was to be that 1%, what would it be to have that good day? What are the three gentle things that you do that just create a good day? And this is what really got me, the question that made me really think and in some ways, you know, give myself a little bit of a bollocking. What am I trying to force that might grow naturally with support? Because I was trying to force stuff. I really wanted it. And it didn't come until I gave myself support, the support was listening for me. It was just listening, being available to myself, because I didn't know that I knew. But I did know. I just had to get out of the way. And that's what happens. So here's what I want to ask you. I obviously want you to do all of that. But I want to ask you a couple of questions. But me, what are your... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/41548540

FMQ 536 Freedom or Structure - Which one? 07/10/2026

FMQ 536 Freedom or Structure - Which one? FMQ 536 – Freedom or Structure… Which One? Do you really want complete freedom? I thought I did. No rules. No schedule. Just the freedom to do whatever I wanted. But the more I explored it, the more I realised something didn't feel right. Total freedom can leave us drifting, while too much structure can feel like a prison. So maybe we're asking the wrong question. Perhaps it isn't freedom versus structure at all. Maybe it's about support versus control. In this Five Minute Quickie I'm sharing a real part of my own North Star exploration as I try to discover what allows creativity, purpose and meaningful progress without feeling trapped. This isn't the answer. It's the seed. In the next longer episode we'll explore how a few gentle anchors can create more freedom, not less. In this episode you'll discover: Why complete freedom isn't always as freeing as it sounds. How too much structure can quietly drain creativity. The surprising difference between support and control. Why gentle anchors may be more powerful than rigid routines. A simple question to begin exploring your own balance. If you've ever felt torn between wanting complete freedom and needing enough structure to actually move forward, this episode will give you something worth reflecting on. Please share the episode: Ready for the deeper dive? Follow the podcast so you don't miss the next episode, where we'll explore how to create a life that feels both free and grounded. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome to the personal development unplugged podcast with me Paul, Cloughie and at the five-minute quickie. And in this five-minute quickie, I just want to have a little conversation with you because I've been wondering about something In fact, it's been more than just wondering, it's something that I've been struggling with. You see, it's all about having freedom, complete freedom, or is it? Or do we need structure? Because sometimes, well, I don't know which one I want. Does that resonate? You see, loving freedom, we all want freedom, don't we? I know I did, and I do. I want total freedom. Well, I thought I did, you know, what does total freedom look like? To do anything you want, whenever you want, but there's a but there, isn't there? And that's what I've been, it's been like a battle for me, because I really want that freedom. But then, there's a feeling of being lost, lost, you know, because I need some order, because without order, what gets done? Let that roll around inside your mind for a moment. And then, I think, sometimes, we just want complete freedom, and we're just going to Total freedom or complete structure? But, here's the thing that I came up with, and I'm still not there yet, and that's what I want to share with you in the longer podcast. You see, I had this void, because I couldn't make up my mind. Because it didn't feel right. Total freedom didn't feel right. Total structure didn't feel right. And then the aha moment came along. Maybe, just maybe, it's not structure. It's not structure versus freedom. Maybe it's about support versus control. That's a weird difference isn't it? How much support do you need? How much control do you need? And the answers started to emerge and one of the answers came up was, in sort of an aha, intuitive, it came up and it said, I think I need some gentle anchors, not rules. And the thing is, that seems to make sense to me, but I'm still not fully there yet. I'm still working on this thing. I'm exploring it. I'm sharing it with a few people, but mainly myself. And I'm getting some answers. And that's where I'd like to go on this longer podcast, the one that follows this, because this is to sow the seed in your mind. Is it something that resonates with you? Maybe you have things that really need some structure, some control. There are other places where you need freedom and the support to be able to be free. Maybe you're changing your life circumstances, like me. Moving from different roles, and we've talked about roles before, but these things that I used to do, and now I no longer do it. And I have a path to follow, and I need to find that path. And in that path, is it constrained by freedom? And imagine that being constrained by freedom or structure. So what I want to dive deeply with you is, in the longer episode, I want to find the freedom that we're comfortable with. And I think the answers will surprise you. I hope that's of interest. And we can just have a meander down this path of exploration. And I think the things that I find will resonate with you too, as you wouldn't be here. So please have a little thing, let it roll around in your mind. Maybe you do some little bit of diving yourself before the longer episode comes along. What do you think of freedom? What do you think of structure? What do you think of support? What do you think of control? And then we can dive deeper together. And I believe we'll find the answers. So come with me. Make sure you don't miss it by clicking on that subscribe or the support support follow button. Don't know where we got that from. To make sure that you don't miss any episode whatsoever. Because we're going to have fun, but you've got to be there. You've got to come with me, you've got to do some work with me. And then that's when dreams become our reality. And you make wonderful, subtle changes. So it's only when you look back, you go, wow, that thing I did back then has created such wonders and richness in my life. Didn't seem so at the time, but wow, when I look back now, where I am now, it was so worthwhile. So if you'd like that type of feeling, come with me on that longer podcast. So until then, have a think and have a fly because it's time to fly. See you next time. But before you fly, so the 90 seconds of hypnosis tracks. Why have I put hypnosis tracks on a separate website? Well, it's so simple, really. I wanted you to have them all in one place. So you can look through them all, you can find the particular one you want. I've even made them downloadable. So you can put them on any of your playing devices that you prefer. You don't need Wi Fi, you don't need the iTunes or whatever, you can put them anywhere you like. You can even burn them onto disk if you want. Where'd you get them? Well, there you go. I told you it's paulcloughonline.com/podcast. If you're worried about your email address, please don't be because they stay totally safe with me. I only use them to send you out that email and give you access. Simple as that. I'll send you a link, a special link so you and only you can access those hypnosis tracks because I want them just for you. And the other thing about this is you've taken responsibility. I don't want to make these open to everyone, just random. You have taken responsibility to listen and be part of this community of personal development. And I want to help you. I want to help you personally to get your dreams, your goals, and therefore I'm giving you these tools, these protocols, these paradigms, whatever you want to call them, but in deep hypnosis. So just enjoy. Have more fun than you can stand with hypnosis. Warning. You are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly. Be brave, my friend. Personal development unplugged. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/41506065

#484 Resistance- The Fear That Is Stopping Your Success 07/03/2026

#484 Resistance- The Fear That Is Stopping Your Success Resistance- The Fear That Is Stopping Your Success Why do we resist doing the very things we know would move our lives forward? In this episode, I share a live training session exploring the hidden force behind procrastination, self-sabotage, overthinking, limiting beliefs, and the fear of change. Although these challenges appear different on the surface, I believe they often stem from the same place – fear-based resistance. We'll look at why your unconscious mind may be holding you back, how overthinking disguises itself as productivity, why perfectionism creates paralysis, and how small steps can dissolve fear far more effectively than giant leaps. I also share practical ways to work with resistance, including reflection, visualisation, questioning limiting beliefs, and reconnecting with the feeling of where you truly want to go. Because success isn't about forcing yourself forward. It's about understanding what's holding you back and learning how to move beyond it. In This Episode Why resistance often shows up as fear rather than laziness The hidden connection between procrastination, self-sabotage and overthinking How perfectionism keeps you stuck Why limiting beliefs create resistance to success The fear of change and stepping beyond your familiar zone Using reflection and journaling to uncover answers already inside you Why small steps beat giant leaps every time How to create momentum without overwhelming yourself The question that helps dissolve resistance and create movement Key Takeaway Resistance isn't the enemy. It's a signal. When you stop fighting it and start understanding what fear is underneath it, you can begin to move forward with confidence, clarity and purpose. Success often isn't about learning more. It's about removing the resistance that's already stopping you. Please share with a friend: Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism #484 Resistance- The Fear That Is Stopping Your Success . Hey, welcome to the Personal Development Unplugged podcast with me, Paul Clough. And a little while ago, I recorded a live call all about resistance. Resistance and what resistance is, where it comes from, that fear-based resistance, and how it affects our lives in all different areas. And then how to cognitively be able to deal with that resistance and that fear. And then also added a process that allows you to do it a different way with one very special question. And I think, well, I thought it was so interesting that I wanted to put that on to the Personal Development Unplugged podcast too. So here it is, have a lesson, have some fun and give me some feedback. It'd be great. Because we had a discussion about resistance. Resistance and what form resistance plays in our lives and where it shows up, how we can deal with it cognitively, because I think there's always a good space that there are things that we can do just ourselves. And then there was a question that I found that I thought would be absolutely brilliant to go with it. And we may just do a little process at the end. So resistance. Now, Stephen Pressfield, who's an author, wrote a lovely book. And most of his books are all about resistance. And he, I think he's one of those, The War of Art. That was the first one I read. And there's a few more. And it's all about being a creative. He talks about writing a lot. But it's that creative side where we want to do something, we have something, and we resist doing it. And that resistance, he is saying, is born out of fear. And I think he's right. Because if you think about anything that we do, or don't do, because we're resisting it, then there's some fear in there somewhere. What the cause is, what the positive intention is, may be different. But I think it's something that we could explore. So here's a few things that I came up with. One of it was cognitive dissidence, which is basically holding to conflicting beliefs. A typical example of that is a smoker. A smoker who smokes because they're a smoker. But also, they know, and they believe that smoking causes them bad health. And in the future, we'll do that. You know, we'll create not such a good ending, probably. Yet they continue to smoke. And they're probably smoking because they believe it does something for them. They've got two conflicting beliefs. It does good for me, it does bad for me. But the way I see it is, in the cognitive, I can't even say it all the time, cognitive dissidence is things like, it's an intuition. You know, when you want to do something, or you think you ought to be doing something. And what happens is, I think we've all had it, haven't we? We've all had that feeling where, I'm not sure, it's not a voice, it's not anything concrete. And sometimes we go with it, and sometimes we don't. But that feeling, I think, is like your unconscious mind connecting with you, and wait, do something, think about something. And I think sometimes when, if you're like me, and you've gone against that feeling, because if the other thing was the right thing to do, you know, either peer pressure, or social or whatever it is, you just think, I think this is the right thing to do because of everything out there. But yeah, I still got that feeling. Most times it doesn't quite go as good as you thought it would. Sometimes it doesn't go good at all. I can remember a time when I spent days thinking about a particular thing, an opportunity I had. And I knew peer pressure. Everyone said, no, do it, do it, do it. It's what we've been thinking about. This is the thing you've been thinking about. You're going to have such a great time when you do this thing. But all the while inside, there was this feeling of, I don't know what, but it wasn't a good feeling. It wasn't going, yes, Cluffy, go do it. It was, I don't know. And I went against it. And if you've had those similar examples, I went against it, and it didn't turn out right at all. Yeah, I made a similar decision a few years later. And it did feel, yes, this is the right thing. So, but there's that fear. But it's like an unconscious signal, I think. So have a think about that. Have a think about that. There's another area, another area I thought of, which was fear of change. Now everyone says, oh, everyone is, doesn't like change. Well, it maybe doesn't like change, but it's a bit like, well, I'm in my comfort zone. And you know, what we call our comfort zone, we call it a familiar zone. Because there's that imaginary line, although it doesn't feel imaginary, because we're in this pocket of familiarity. I can't say the word all the time. Familiarity, nearly got it, nearly got it. And stepping past that line is not sure. And we resist going past that line. You know, we think it's good for us, but not sure. I'm going to give you a little example. Everyone who has come to mind mastery, probably had that feeling. You know, I've got this issue, I really want to get rid of it. But you know, there's that thing about being unsure of maybe the result. But also, I've lived with this for a long time. I know what it is. Doesn't feel good all the time. But I know what it is. And I know of people who have completely resisted any stepping over that boundary. And it's imposed up here, isn't it? It's our boundary that we put on it. Because even how bad it is in the world, not knowing what's on the other side. Well, they don't, they don't go past it. But we've all had that experience when we just fear of change, we just go past that familiar zone and things have happened, which can be so brilliant. Especially if we do it in the right way. But there's that signal of fear. Signal of fear is a resistance. Where else do we notice it? Have a little think yourself. You see, what about self-sabotage? Now, if you've listened to me over the years, I really have trouble with self-sabotage. Not myself doing it, but listening to people. Because at one time, it was like a badge of honour. Instead of having this little thing emblem here, it was I self-sabotage and people were proud of it. Oh, yeah, I haven't been able to do that because I just keep self-sabotaging all the time. No, you don't. It just shows up, doesn't it? And there's reasons why, but it is, there's a resistance to doing the thing that you're doing. And, you know, when you do different things, alternative things that put you off it. And it's very close to procrastination, which we're going to deal with. And that was a question that Craig came up with in my previous Q&A, doing things that we don't want to do. Why can't we do them? There's a lot of it. There's that fear of change. These are all interlinked, by the way. You know, the cognitive dissonance. I know I need to do it. I know it'd be good for me. But yeah, but there's also all the stuff that might not happen. We've got different beliefs, fear of failure. And then we come to beliefs in a minute. But that self-sabotage is that we do things, but we follow different instincts. And why is that? And it's like the unconscious. It could be unconscious, conscious. Certainly the two are acting together because it doesn't feel good. Because we know, you know, as well as I do, when you do these things that not allow you to move on, you have this, it's like clash, isn't it? Things rubbing together. It's that, oh, I know I want to do this. It's that part's integration in some way. One part of me wants to do this, the other part. And it's all, I think, based underneath a fear. What else? What else comes from or shows up as resistance? Well, I think it's like limiting beliefs. That was the next thing I came up with. You know, things like, I'm not good enough. And we've all had that. We've all had that. And if you, again, if you've been around me a lot, you know that I have problems with I'm not good enough as a limiting belief, because I think it masks what the real limiting belief is, and then the real core issue and the real positive intention behind that. But when we have things like I'm not good enough, there's fear in that, isn't there? You know, because of what the effect may be, the result may be, success or failure. And again, NLP presupposition, there's no such thing as failure. It's only feedback. Well, that's yeah, that's about right. Unless you don't take the feedback and you do the same bloody stupid thing again, and again, that to me is a failure. Because you have the opportunity to learn, but the fear underneath. And you also get that thing. And this is what really sometimes bubbles in my head sometimes, because some people will also say I'm not worthy. Now, how many times do you use the term worthy in your normal daily life? You know, to me, it's like Knights of the Round Table. Ah, sire, you're not worthy. But we come up with it. As a limiting belief, which is resisting going forward to do things. Yeah, positive intention. Could be fear of failure. But you also get the other beliefs, things that when we go even deeper, I'm stupid. I just can't do it. Who am I? It's all a form of resistance pulling us back, I think, not letting us go forward. Always wonderful positive intentions. Never get away from that. Every behaviour we have has a positive intention for ourselves. But there are better ways, as we know, to keep the positive intention and find better behaviours. But we're looking at this resistance and the fear that's underneath it. What else do we get? And this is, I started to really just go to the edges of my mind, in a way, in my thinking. And then I thought, you're doing a lot of thinking here, Cluffy. Are you overthinking? You know, overthinking is, you know, I'm an options person. Told people before, I love options. But then sometimes I would have not just because people say one option is not an option. Two options. Well, they're not options really, because it's either this or that. Three options. Now we've got something to grab hold of and look at the different effects. But I wouldn't stop at three. I'd go four, five. I've had on a problem up to seven different options where I think I can do this. And then I get, well, I'm not going to make a move. Because I can't decide which option to take. There's a resistance. I've told you about my friend. Excuse me. My friend. Call him my friend, but he was my business partner. But he was my friend. We worked really closely for 15 years. And I would, we would have a problem. And he would send me away. So you, Paul, you go home. Have a sit down and have a think about, you know, the way you think. Get your mind maps going, get your options. And let's see where we're going to go. Come back tomorrow. And we'll, we'll, we'll have a look. And I used to come out with all these options. And I said, come on, Mike, we're going to have a chat with each one. He goes, no, no, no, no. Pick one. Can't. He said, pick one. Because you've done the work. Stop overthinking. Let's take action. Because that's what overthinking stops you doing. Stops you doing rather. Stops you taking action. Because there's always another thought. And you see, one of those thoughts might be, well, it's got to be perfect. And that was a little bit of problem. Because everybody, you know, when you have a, have a thought that things have got to be perfect, which is then linked to, I'm not good enough, isn't it? Because if I'm not good enough, I've got to be perfect. He said, I might be good enough. But guess what? As we know, nothing is perfect. So you're always going to fail on trying to achieve perfecticity. I think that's the word I used last time, because it isn't a word, but it's a great word. Perfecticity. But it's not going to get there. So there's that resistance with failure and with fear underneath, isn't there? Overthinking. Can you see these are all these different things that we do in our daily lives that I never, at the time, before I got into this little topic, I never really thought about too much as fear. Yeah, one or two obviously came up in the work that we do. But generally, some of these things, well, I didn't think overthinking was fear. But when I thought back as I was preparing here, yeah, I did have a sort of fear of making mistakes. Maybe I can't, I got to find the perfect answer. And as we know, there's no perfect answer. And if you take action, you can always take small steps of action, which means then if something isn't quite going right, you get back on course by taking a different small step. And what else is there? There's the other badge of honour. Procrastination. Oh, I always procrastinate. No, you don't. Don't always procrastinate. I'll tell you that now, because you'll see those people who always procrastinate will do things that they want to do. But we find, I think you can define procrastination as just putting things off. Just putting things off. And we can even put off, if you remember, coming here, coming to mind mastery. How long and hard did you overthink, maybe, put off the decision to come to mind mastery? You know, was that fear of changes there still? Was there those limiting beliefs really playing up? Coming to the fore? Did you sabotage it a little? You can see how this all interlinks and there isn't just one standalone area of resistance. They all have their own different steps interlinked with each other. You know, you can even procrastinate on growth. We're here in the mind mastery, not just to let go of your core issue. You think you do. You think that's what the aim is. But no, that's part of it. It's all about developing ourselves into the person we are meant to be. That best version of ourself. But it can be scary, can't it? Have a little, again, stepping out of that comfort zone, familiar zone, changing. And because that's scary, and what is scary? A little bit of fear. So there's a few areas. I'm sure there's more. Sure, there's more. Maybe you could have a think about different areas of your life, where you maybe come up with different parts of where you've resisted moving forward. Dreams, goals. And I think you'll find either they fall into those areas. Or if you find another area, you'll find how they link. They all have a limiting belief in it, maybe. Maybe there's a fear of change. Maybe it's, you know, part of overthinking, procrastination, fear of change, all those things. But then I thought, having gone through that, I wanted to come up with some solutions. Things that we could do to ease this resistance, to let it go, really. Because we shouldn't really base our decisions on fear. Because if you're in a negative emotion, that is not the right emotion to make choices, is it? Do we have to step out of that? And I wanted some cognitive ones, things that we could do with our conscious mind, and our unconscious, but it's led by our conscious mind thoughts, things that we can do. And we can do them now, we can actually create the behaviours. So going back over that list, let's go back to cognitive dissonance, where we hold different beliefs. And we've got that feeling, we don't quite know what, what can we do? Literally, what can we do? And as I thought about this, I thought, well, that's what we do in journaling, isn't it? Self-reflection. We write about areas of our life, that sometimes, and I tend to find, this is maybe just me in journaling, I tend to err on the negative, not the negative, but the problematic areas of my life, the things I need to deal with, as opposed to all the good things. Getting better at it now, recognising and being, you know, getting gratitude with that, but self-reflection. Now, also have, as you know, I think I've, sure I've said it before, call it a puzzle book. It's a really complicated book, it's a book of plain pages, basically, where as I open it up, if I've got an issue, I can, and I love mind maps, I can put the problem in the centre of that page. If I open it up, it's a nice big page. Plenty of room to think, not overthink, but to reflect. And I can then reflect and journal around that particular issue, self-reflection. And when you do that, and it doesn't always happen straight away,... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/41450100

FMQ535 What's Stopping You Reaching Success? 06/26/2026

FMQ535 What's Stopping You Reaching Success? What's Stopping You Reaching Success? You know there's something you need to do. A conversation. A decision. A project. A change. And yet... you don't do it. We often call it procrastination or self-sabotage, but what if that's not what's really happening? In this Five Minute Quickie, I explore what might actually be stopping us from moving forward, why change can feel uncomfortable even when we know it's right, and how unconscious resistance may be behind many of the fears, doubts and limiting beliefs that keep us stuck. This isn't about forcing yourself to do more. It's about understanding what's really going on underneath. In this episode: Why we resist change even when we want it The hidden cost of limiting beliefs How fear disguises itself as procrastination Why overthinking keeps us stuck The one emotion that may sit underneath it all A preview of the deeper dive to come Questions to consider: What are you currently avoiding? What would happen if you embraced the change instead? What would life feel like without that resistance? The deeper dive is coming next, where we'll explore what's really driving this unconscious resistance and how to move through it. Please share: Remember if you want to see the video, go here: Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Hey, welcome to the five minute quickie. The seed of something really interesting. And the thing is, question to you. A question. A question I've been thinking about. We've all got them. We've all got that thing. The thing that you have to do. But for one season, one reason, guess what? You don't. I mean, some people will call it bloody self-sabotage. Some will call it procrastination. And what gets me is some people wear those badges of honour. I hope you're not one of them. But would it be important, would it be important to you to learn what's causing that? And how to do the things you're not doing? Would that be important? You see, there's that feeling we get, isn't there? That feeling we get when change comes. And I know about this because I've had it so many times before and I've really resisted it. I've resisted that bloody change. Even, even, and this is, I don't know, this is hard for me to admit. Even when I know I shouldn't be resisting it. I know it's wrong, but I've resisted it all the same. That's really weird, isn't it? And it just feels weird, doesn't it? So what if, here's a question for you, what if we could choose to embrace the right change? Yeah. And have or be part of the success that would bring. Because there's a special way of doing it. You see, sometimes, sometimes I think it's those limiting beliefs that we have. You know the ones. I'm not good enough. Oh, I don't belong here. I'm not worthy. They'll find me out. All those ones. And with each one of those negative beliefs, even though they're trying to do something for us, I'll explain that. There's an anxiety around it, isn't there? There's a fear. There's a loss of confidence. Bloody self-esteem gets a whack around the ears, doesn't it? What would it be like? Here's a question. What would it be like if we didn't have those negative beliefs? We didn't have that anxiety. We didn't have that fear. We didn't have that loss of confidence or that lack of self-esteem. What would that be like? Do you want to know how? Because that's where I'll be going. I'll explain that in a minute. And there's another thing that we do is when we get this feeling that's sort of stopping us. I'm not going to call it self-sabotage or procrastination. It's just that feeling we have, that unknown feeling. We tend to overthink it, don't we? And it's that feeling of being stuck. What shall I do? It's that feeling. What's that about? That's what I want to know. That's what I've been thinking about. Now, everything, and I know that's a big generalisation because everything is a big generalisation, but I think it's pretty 99% bang on the money on this one. Everything I've just mentioned is, well, we could put it down to an unconscious resistance. You're not consciously stopping doing things. It's an unconscious resistance, your unconscious mind. And that unconscious resistance is linked to one emotion. That's all. One emotion. Now, final question. If you didn't have that resistance, you didn't have that stuck feeling, you didn't have those negative beliefs, you didn't have that old feeling, all that anxiety, lack of confidence, low self-esteem, all the stuff that's stopping you moving, moving on, doing the things that you just, well, to get success. And success could be in everything, to live a rich life in every different way. What would that be like? Just think about it now. What would it feel like? Well, that's where I'm going. That's where I'm going on the deeper dive. So in the next episode, we're going to explore this. And it's really fascinating. It's interesting. What really happens when you start changing yourself? Because personal development isn't just about changing you. It's about changing everything. It creates ripples in the whole of your life. Internally, externally. It affects you, the people around you, the little old planet Earth. And when we get it right, we're on the money. So if that's of interest to you, and it's important to be able to do the things you're not doing that you know you need to do, come with me on the deeper dive, the longer podcast. To do that, to make sure you don't miss it, press that bloody subscribe button, or that follow button. Because it's there somewhere on that listening device that you have. Press that so that the next time the longer podcast comes along, the deeper dive, you've got it all in one. And if you know somebody who is always self-sabotaging, procrastinating, always has this problem with change, tell them about it. Share this episode. Share the Personal Development Unplugged podcast. And then we can do some real good stuff together. Okay? I'll support you in every way I can. But I will see you on the longer podcast. Well, I'll be in your ears. Have fun. Time to fly. So before you leave this unplugged mind of mine, this hypnotic mind, if you enjoyed this podcast or any of the other podcasts, please do subscribe. It helps this podcast grow and affect so many more people. And we love to leave everyone in a better place than we found them. And this will help. Help the podcast. It will help you. And it will help, well, everyone that you know. So if you could just subscribe and share. Share this podcast to everyone you bloody well know. That's the only cost. Pay it forward to everyone. And when you do that, boom, we are all going to make a difference to this little old planet Earth of ours and the people in it. Let's make a good world, a nice world. Okay. Okay. You can now prepare to leave this unplugged mind. Warning. You are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly. Be brave, my friend. Personal development unplugged. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/41506040

#483 Intuition vs Overthinking 06/19/2026

#483 Intuition vs Overthinking Are You Thinking Too Much to Hear Yourself? Have you ever noticed that the harder you think about something, the less clear it becomes? In this episode, I explore the difference between overthinking and intuition. Not the mystical stuff, but that quiet inner knowing that often gets drowned out by endless analysing, making lists, asking everyone else's opinion and searching for certainty that never quite arrives. I share two personal stories. One where I ignored my intuition and paid the price, and another where I listened to a small inner nudge that completely changed the direction of my life. Together we'll explore why overthinking feels productive but often keeps us stuck, how intuition tends to whisper rather than shout, and why clarity comes more from listening than thinking harder. There's also a simple reflective process to help you quieten the noise, reconnect with your own inner guidance and discover the next small step that feels right for you. Because maybe the answer isn't something you need to figure out. Maybe it's something you already know. In This Episode Why overthinking often creates more confusion than clarity The hidden cost of needing certainty before taking action How intuition feels different from analysis My narrowboat lesson and what it taught me about ignoring inner guidance The small decision that led me into hypnosis over 26 years ago A simple process to help you listen beyond the mental noise Why the next right step is usually smaller than you think Learning to trust yourself a little more Questions to Reflect On Where am I overthinking instead of listening? What has my intuition already been trying to tell me? What does "quietly right" feel like? What's the next small step that feels right enough? What would change if I trusted myself more? Please share this episode (and the podcast itself) with a friend or many Share your thoughts or questions: Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Intuition versus overthinking. Are you thinking too much to hear yourself? It's a deep title, isn't it? Oh, by the way, welcome to the Personal Development Unplugged podcast with me, Paul. I'm going to support your dreams. And sometimes we think too much, don't we? See, have you ever noticed the more you think about something, the less clear it gets? You can go round and think about all the pros, think about all the cons, because there's so many of them. And you get even more pros. And then you can think of even more cons because of the more pros. And guess what? You end up exactly where you started. Yeah? Completely where you started. And then guess what? You tend to think, oh, I better think some more, because I haven't got enough. And that is the problem. Here's maybe something to think about. What if? What if you're not stuck because you don't know, but because you are thinking too much? But there's an add-on to that sentence. Because you're thinking too much to hear what you already know. That's weird, isn't it? You see, sometimes you don't know that you know. You just don't know it, but you do know, and we get in the way. You see, let's have a think. What do we do when we have this looping experience? We're going to make some lists, aren't we? When we're thinking, get all the lists out, get all our options. You probably even go and ask other people to find out what they want. And guess what? We feel really busy, don't we? We feel like we're doing something, but getting nowhere. And I think that's mistaking. Mistaking thinking as getting somewhere. Now, thinking is good. Don't get me wrong. You need a bit of thought. But how much if we're getting in the way? You see, even that thought, am I doing the right thing? Because I've been there. Does that resonate with you just a little bit? You know, it feels like we're doing something. I'm working on this thing, doesn't it? And it does feel productive. It does feel just a little bit clever. But in the end of the day, we're just spinning, aren't we? We're just spinning. You see, I think overthinking is just loud. Everything going on is urgent. It's a bit frantic. But intuition is quiet. It's simple. It's actually almost too simple. But as we say with old Mr. Einstein, in simplicity, there's genius. See, I can remember a long, long time ago when I had the opportunity to buy a narrowboat, a canal boat. It was something that I think I wanted, I thought. And I finally had an opportunity to get into the purchase of one. And what would normally have been that quick a decision, because everyone kept saying, Well, this is what you wanted, Paul. This is what you wanted, Cloughie. Go out and do it. But I couldn't make that decision. I really couldn't. And it took days and days, what should have been minutes, maybe hours, but certainly days and days. And I had this feeling, I had this really weird feeling about it, which I kept pushing aside. And do you know what? It was the worst bloody decision I ever made. Because initially it was okay, but then it just went worse and worse. And all I ended up with was bloody regret and all the things that came from it. I wasn't listening. I didn't listen to that feeling. I pushed it away. But then there's something else that I did. My journey, my hypnosis journey, way back 26 years ago. Going to learn hypnosis for reasons I didn't really know, because I didn't realise it was my path to NLP and everything else. But hypnosis was just a stepping stone. I didn't really want to be there, do it, didn't understand it. I just wanted to get on to NLP. But when I got there, something felt different. And I listened to it. It was like giving me a little nudge, saying, I know this isn't what you thought it was, but I think it's something that's really good. And what happened? Well, 26 years later, I'm here talking to you. And I've done hypnosis, NLP, masterpractice NLP, timeline therapy, trainer of NLP, trainer of hypnosis, hypnotherapy. What a bloody thing from that little nudge. And the thing is, same bloody person. Same brain up here. The difference? I listened. I listened with all my senses. I listened to me. And that's the difference. You see, here's the thing. Really, we're not trying to find an answer. We're trying to hear it. You see, you've got a multitude of experiences, learnings, wisdom. You've been here a long time. However long it is, it could seem a long time. But we want to hear it. We want to expand it. You see, the answers you're looking for are already formed. They're in your unconscious mind. They're processing right now. And when you start to overthink and impose this conscious bit, it's interference. It's mucking up the signal. There's no clarity. You know what? Sometimes I say to myself, get the fuck out of your way, Cloughie. Get out of the way. Let the real you do the work it's here for. You see, overthinking is an intelligence. It's just trying to, I don't know, control the uncertainty. And no one likes uncertainty, but you need a little bit of uncertainty. Because if you were certain about everything, it would be a flatline, boring, bloody life, wouldn't it? So we need a little bit of uncertainty. Because that's where life begins, I think. And here's the thing. Here's another thing, because I say here's the thing quite a lot. And it's the thing that no one tells you. The more you try to force the clarity, the further away it feels. Because it's your unconscious mind going, no, no. Listen to me. Get out of the way. Let intuition, let those aha moments come. Until it feels right. You see, clarity doesn't come from thinking harder. It comes from listening better. Because that's what you've got to do, listen better. You know, maybe we could think of quietening the noise so you can hear the signal. Let's take a moment. Let's just take a moment. If it's safe to do so. If it's okay. Maybe you could close your eyes, if it's okay. I just want your attention, your focus attention on you. Take away the distractions. And if you could do that. Again, providing it's safe to do so. Just bring to mind something you've been overthinking. Something you've been trying to solve. And then just notice all the noise around it. Yeah, just all that noise. You see, if you were to label that. That's called analyzing. That's called doubt, doubting. And you know, it's that what if voice. Because a what if voice will take you on and on. So let's just imagine for a moment. Turning that volume. Turn the noise down. And as the noise softens. Notice. What's left? What feels right? Not logically. But quietly right. Because that's the signal. So listen with all your senses. Here. Now. With that feeling. Just tune into that feeling. You don't have to plan the whole journey. One step at a time. Just ask yourself inside. Knowing that nothing has to be perfect. Nothing's guaranteed. Everything is just right enough. What is? The first small step that feels right. That's your question. Just ask yourself. What's the first step that feels right? Remember again. Not perfect. Not guaranteed. Just right enough. And notice. Notice that that step usually feels too simple. It's almost too obvious. That's right. And you're not committing to this forever. Because it's just one small step. In the direction of the answer. You see, because intuition doesn't shout out the whole plan. It nudges you to the next step. There. And open your eyes. Open your eyes. If you did, close them by the way. And just ask yourself. Take a breath. Just have a look around. So where's overthinking right now in your life? Let's have some examples. Is it a career decision? Is it creative ideas? Relationships? Starting something new? Because, you know, where have you already had a feeling maybe? But you've ignored it. Yeah? You've ignored it. What are you waiting for? Certainty? Certainty never comes, does it? Not at all. It doesn't. You see, maybe you're not confused at all. You're not really. Because it's just that you're not listening. You see, I'm an options person. And when I get an issue, I love to get as many options as I can. But that just brings worries. And then I try to mitigate those worries. And then I go back and back until I stop. I've learned to listen now. Listen with those feelings and look for that one small step. And you say, here's the empowering bit. I believe you already know more than you think you do. Well, I know you know more than you think you do. Because you don't know what you know. Because you don't know it, but you know it. Weird bit of conversation there. You see, sometimes you just don't need any more information. You actually need less interference. So instead of pushing, you can choose pause. Choose to pause for a moment. Instead of trying to force it with that pause, choose to listen. And listen with all your senses. Go inside and listen. Because sometimes you might get a memory. Sometimes you might get a word on the tip of your tongue. You might get a feeling. All the words and the memories create that feeling. And all of a sudden, yeah. And when you do that, things just start to feel easier, don't they? They feel clearer. They really do. You see, when you start, and now I think this is one of the keys, trusting yourself. When you trust yourself, life begins to change. But it changes in a very quiet, subtle way. But that quiet, subtle way is one of the most powerful ways. You see, because when you do that, second-guessing disappears. You get more aligned with those decisions. Because why? Because it feels right. You're not just going to go directly on your feelings. You've got to have the information, but not too much. Enough. And that creates a confidence in your competence without effort. And you see, when you do that, here's the big win for everybody. Everyone around you, every other person around you, gets to feel it through you. You become clearer. You become calmer because of that clarity, as it were. And then you can start to model the trust you have over the noise around you. And it's a little bit like the ripples. You never know how far the ripples of change will go, because they're subtle. It's only when you look back, you notice how far you've come. You know, creating that wind of change, because you become that butterfly, flapping your wings gently with these wonderful steps and things you're creating in life, and creating a wind of change. So what I'd like you to think about, just reflect on these, maybe. Maybe you get a notebook and just ask yourself, where am I overthinking instead of listening? Maybe you've already missed it. So what has, here's another question, what has my intuition already told me? Maybe you pushed it away a little bit. Let it come back. Don't push, pause. There's another question, what does quietly right feel like to you? Maybe you can think back of times in the past when you did follow your intuition, and it was the most wonderful thing to do because you did it in small steps. The ones that go wrong, where we just feel it and do the big step. Now these are small, gentle steps because you're really feeling that. That wonderful question, what is the one small step I can take today? And you can enjoy the process. And if you did really trust yourself, what would change in your life even more? Yeah. So here we go. Did that resonate with you? Did it? I'd love to know what came up for you. I really would. And maybe the quiet information you got, the steps. Please let me know at feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. That's my email address. I'm the only bugger here. Personal replies, all that stuff. And I think so many people need this reminder that we can be confident in ourselves. So maybe if you could just share this episode with others, because you probably don't know, but every other person is probably got their issue stuck in their head, in the loop. And let's see if we can stop that and start making these wonderful decisions. And I go back to mine, the one 26 years and still cracking it out, still enjoying every moment of it. Getting that buzz working with a client that changes right in front of my eyes. They do the work. I do the steering, as it were, to guide them. That buzz has never left me. Seeing how wonderful and how quickly people can change from the most darkest, deepest things that they think will never, ever go. And they can do it that quickly. And there's so much more I want to share with you. So if you would just press that subscribe button, wherever it is on your listening device of choice, or the follow button. You know the one. Just so you get all of these through. Some will resonate you more than others, I know. Some you might think, that's that old BS bug. But there's always a golden nugget in these things if we look for them, listen for them. Set your intention to learn as you listen. And remember, you drive your own bus. So set your sat-nav in the right direction, where you want to go. Set your intention. Just listen to your internal sat-nav. Yeah? Because you don't need to think harder. You just need to listen better. That's all it is. And maybe, maybe, just think of this. Give that overthinking brain of yours a bloody holiday. Let it have a little rest. Yeah? Because that way you can have more fun than you can stand. Yay! Anyway, I'm going to see you next time. Have more fun than you can stand. And it's time to fly. I'll see you now. Warning, you are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly on your own. Be brave, my friend. Personal Development Unplugged. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/41449985

FMQ 534 Intuition vs Overthinking 06/12/2026

FMQ 534 Intuition vs Overthinking Intuition vs Overthinking When thinking harder isn’t the answer — listening better is Have you ever thought about something so much… that you ended up more confused than when you started? You make lists. You weigh up the pros and cons. You ask other people what they think. You go round and round in circles. And still… You don’t know what to do. In this Five Minute Quickie, we explore a powerful possibility: Maybe you’re not stuck because you don’t know… Maybe you’re stuck because you’re thinking too much. Because beneath all that mental noise, there’s often something quieter — a whisper, a nudge, a feeling that already knows. That’s intuition. And the trouble is… Overthinking drowns it out. In this episode, I share: why overthinking feels productive — but often keeps you stuck what intuition really feels like (hint: it rarely shouts) how clarity comes not from more thinking, but from listening two personal stories where I ignored intuition… and where I trusted it why your unconscious mind may already know your next step And perhaps the biggest takeaway: You don’t need more information. You need less interference. This FMQ is the seed for a deeper dive where we’ll explore how to recognise intuition, trust it, and act on it without slipping back into overthinking. Because maybe… The next step isn’t something to figure out — it’s something to feel. Please share : Have more fun than you can stand. Go fly. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Hiya. Paul here again on the 5-Minute Quickie, Personal Development Unplugged podcast. Trusting your intuition or overthinking. Question for you. Have you ever noticed how the more you think about something, the less clear it becomes? What if the reason that you feel stuck isn't because you don't know, but because you might be thinking too much? Have you ever had that gut feeling, and then bloody talked yourself out of it? I know I have. You see, you do know. You do know. You do know, but, I don't know, maybe you don't trust it. Thinking might equal trying to control something too much. Intuition is, you know, maybe allowing direction. The thing is, overthinking drowns out what's already there. And what happens? What happens? You go round in bloody circles, don't you? Round and round. You get the pros and the cons list. And I'm still not sure. I'm an options person. I write options and options, and I think I'm getting clarity, but I'm not. You can ask everyone. Ask as many people as you like. Still don't know. I'm still not sure, am I? Have you had that? And the thing is, all of this, you delay taking some action. Moving on. Because, you know, it's, I don't know. We're just waiting for certainty, I guess. And the more you think, the more you think, think and think, the further away the bloody answer feels, doesn't it? But, you know, there's a thing about overthinking. There is a thing that we think about when we're overthinking. It feels that we're being busy, doesn't it? It feels a bit noisy sometimes. We get urgent, and then we start looping in our bloody mind, don't we? But what does it, you know, what does intuition feel like? What does it feel like? Sometimes, for me, anyway, this is me. See if it resonates with you. Intuition feels, I don't know, maybe it's quiet. Certainly very simple, isn't it? Calm. I think sometimes it's certain, but it's not very loud. It whispers. And then sometimes it's like a nudge. A nudge. It's nudging you in the right direction. As I said, it whispers, it doesn't shout at you. And the thing is, here's the thing, here's the thing. You're not trying to find the answer. That's where it all goes wrong when we're overthinking. You're not trying to find the answer. You're trying to hear it, to feel it, to make sense of it. And thinking too much just blocks out that bloody signal. You see, you don't need any more information. You've got all the information you need. You need less interference. Because clarity doesn't come from thinking harder. No, it doesn't. It comes from listening better. Listening to yourself. Because it's all in there. You just have to be quiet and listen. Because you've done the work. You see, I don't know, here's a question. Take a moment, just take a moment for a minute. What happens if you just pause? Just pause and notice what feels right. Just if you stop analysing just for a moment or two. What would you do next? That's different, isn't it? And on that feeling, what's the first small step that feels just right? That feeling that feels just right. Yeah, you see, we've talked about this before. We've talked about feeling lost. Now, this might be one of those reasons why we just feel lost. But the thing is, question, maybe you're not lost. I don't think you're lost. Maybe you're just not listening. It's a thought. So, deeper dive coming up. How do you tell the difference between intuition and overthinking? How do you tell the difference? How do you learn, or how do you first of all trust that quiet voice? Learn to trust that voice, the voice inside. And then how do you act upon it? Without second guessing yourself and going back to the overthinking. You see, that's where we're going. That's where we're going on the deeper dive. We're going to get some clarity, get some understanding, and learn to trust. You see, you and your intuition, your unconscious mind, already knows. You've done the work, you see. And now all you have to do is get out of the bloody way. So, maybe the next step isn't something to figure out anymore. But something to feel, learning how to feel. Less thinking, less thinking, more trusting. You see, I can remember just very quickly, if you bear with me just for a moment. I can remember a long time ago, somehow I wanted to have a narrowboat, one of those boats that go on a canal. And I got the opportunity, out of the blue, to own, or part-own, one of those narrowboats. And it had been a goal of mine for ages and ages. But, you know, something inside me kept saying, I don't think this is right. I should have, if it was right for me, or it was my goal that I really wanted, I should have been able to say yes straight away, and I didn't. It took me about three or four days going backwards and forwards, overthinking. And I didn't listen. And I didn't feel. I didn't follow that feeling. And to be honest, bought the boat, it was a disaster. Everything, it started okay, but then it just went completely wrong. Didn't listen. Then, there's the opposite of what happened to me. And this is years and years and years ago. When I learnt hypnosis. And I thought to myself, I am not a people person. I'm not interested in people. Well, I'm not interested, I was in it for business. But something inside kept feeling, there's something here. There's something to carry on, to learn more of. 25 years later, here I am, I'm still learning. It's absolutely wonderful, the things it's allowed me to do. The people I've seen, the people I've worked with, the changes I've been around. They've been magical. Not magic, but magical to be part of it. And I listened. And whilst it felt, this is, logically, it didn't, it didn't, this is not you, Paul. But inside, there was that little feeling saying, this is the real Cloughie. Take a step. And I did, and I say, it's actually 26 years now. 26 years later, I'm still taking steps, learning, enjoying, sharing with you. So come with me. Come with me on this deeper dive. So we can all learn to think. But most of all, step aside and listen. And make good decisions, good choices. So come with me on the deeper dive. We're going to have fun. There'll be a process, at least one or maybe two processes, to really get you to, you know, be there with yourself. I'm looking forward to it. I really am. We're going to have some fun. In fact, we'll probably have more fun than we can stand. Have fun. Enjoy. Tell everybody, by the way, share it. Do whatever you can to just share what you know. And if this has interested you, other people will be interested too. Because they're like you, and they like you. And they'll like you even more for doing it. And subscribe. Press the subscribe button on that thing you listen to. So when the next deeper dive comes in, boom, it's there. You don't have to think about it. Okay? Have fun. Look forward to it. And by the way, if you want to just send me a little email, tell me how you're doing, or if there's an area of concern you have, and we want to do another deeper dive on a particular topic, please do. It's feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. But there you go. Have more fun than you can stand, as I said. And you go fly. Warning. You are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly now. Be brave, my friend. Personal Development Unplugged. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/41001580

#482 If You're Stuck - Lets Move On - Here's How 06/05/2026

#482 If You're Stuck - Lets Move On - Here's How If You're Stuck - Lets Move On - Here's How Episode Overview Ever had that quiet thought… “I’ve lost my way…” Not shouted out loud. Not dramatic. Just a whisper somewhere in the background. In this episode, I share something personal — a moment where I genuinely felt that. Like the direction had gone. Like something inside me had faded. But here’s what I discovered… You’re not lost. You haven’t lost your way. You’ve simply lost connection with the part of you that already knows. And when life changes — when you let go of old habits, old roles, even old identities — there’s a gap. A space. A kind of emotional “void.” And if you don’t understand it… it can feel like grief. In this deeper dive, we explore that space — and more importantly, how to reconnect with your inner direction using a simple but powerful process. What You’ll Discover This episode gently but powerfully shifts how you think about feeling lost: Why “feeling lost” is actually a sign of growth, not failure How identity is often tied to what you do — and what happens when that changes The hidden mistake: looking outside for direction instead of inside Why your future self already knows the way The key insight: Your path isn’t something you find… it’s something you feel And most importantly… How to reconnect to that feeling and take your next step with clarity The Big Insight Most people think: “I need a plan.” “I need to figure it out.” “I need the answer.” But what if that’s the problem? Because… You don’t find your path by thinking — you find it by feeling. Your unconscious mind doesn’t work in bullet points and spreadsheets. It works through: Sensation Emotion Intuition And when you reconnect with that… Direction replaces confusion Movement replaces stuckness Certainty replaces doubt The Process: Reconnecting With Your Inner Direction In this episode, I guide you through a gentle but powerful process to: Step away from overthinking Connect with your future self (the one already living your purpose) Feel what that life is like — without needing details Let that feeling become your compass Ask one simple question: “If this is who I am… what’s the next small step?” No pressure. No forcing. Just noticing. Because your answers don’t shout… They whisper. Key Takeaways Feeling lost doesn’t mean you’ve lost your way It often means your old identity is dissolving The “void” is not empty — it’s space for something new Looking externally keeps you stuck Your future self is already inside you Direction comes from feeling first, action second You don’t need the whole plan — just the next step A Simple Reflection Take a moment after listening and ask yourself: What am I trying to replace instead of reconnect with? Where am I looking outside… instead of inside? What does my “best life” feel like — not look like? What’s one small step that feeling is nudging me toward? How This Fits the Journey This episode builds directly from: FMQ 533 – Why Are You Stuck? Where we explored the fear of losing identity And leads into: The Missing Part of Success (#480) Where we bring in mind-body alignment and embodiment Because the full journey is: You’re not stuck — you’re protecting something You’re not lost — you’re disconnected You don’t need more thinking — you need alignment Final Thoughts You don’t need to rush this. You don’t need to “figure it all out.” Because… Your path isn’t a destination. It’s a direction. And it reveals itself… One step One feeling One moment of awareness at a time Call to Action If this resonated: Hit subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming next Share this with someone who might be feeling a little lost right now And most importantly… Take one small step today Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome back to the Personal Development Unplugged podcast, with me, Paul. And subject today, the deeper dive today, is I've lost my way. Or have I? You see, just saying those words, I've lost my way, have you ever said that to yourself? I did, not too long ago, and it was really weird, where, you know, because you don't necessarily say it out loud, but just quietly, in your own mind, yeah? And it's like, I don't know, I just don't know where I'm going anymore. And the thing, here's the thing, here's the thing, it's not that you've lost your way, because you haven't, you haven't lost your way. But I think sometimes it's like you've lost that connection with yourself, with that part of you, that already knows the way. Which is weird, it's like, you don't know that you know, but you do know, just that you don't know the word is yet. And you see, have you ever noticed, have you ever noticed this? When life changes, because it does, doesn't it? Everything changes, it evolves. When things you used to do seem to fade away, or you decide to change, there's suddenly a space, isn't there? There's a space, it's like a void, a void that needs to be filled. It's a little bit like grief, isn't it? There's just that void there. And it's, I don't know, it's a funny old thing, that void, because it's as if a part of you knows there's something new happening. And that can be a little bit frightening, can't it? But the other part goes, yeah, okay, but what is it? What is it? And you can look. I know I did, I looked and I looked. And the harder you look, and the more you look, nothing. It seems you can't grasp it, you can't get hold of it. It just disappears, this is void. And it's not a void inside here, it's now a void out there. Now I'm tempted to say, does that make sense? But apparently that's not the thing to say. But it made sense to me, because it actually happened to me. You see, it did feel like grief. It felt I'd lost something. Not just what I did, but who I was. And that's the thing. I'd made some changes, deliberate changes in my life. Let some things go. Decided I'm going to change, this is a time for a change, big changes. And the thing is, it was as if I was losing my identity. And that's a shift, you see. When your identity shifts, directions disappears. It really does. But here's the thing, it disappears for a while. That's all just for a while. But while you're waiting for that while, it is quite unnerving. Have you ever had that? It really happened to me a few months ago. And my life was changing, but it felt that I was really losing who I was. I was no longer the person I thought I was, because I'd put my identity into these behaviours, the things I did. And now not doing them, I felt I was no longer the real Paul anymore. And because when that direction disappears for a while, it's as if you don't know who you're becoming. Because you're not there yet, but you know you're not that anymore. How can you know though, where you're going, when you make those changes? Because the thing is, you look out there, that's the problem. You look out there for the things to fill it. I did, I looked everywhere. And the more I looked out there, the less I found, the more it seemed to fade away. But the thing is, what I learnt was, it isn't out there. It was as if I already knew it was inside. Inside. Because if you've ever been like that, I want to tell you it's in you. It's already in you. But you just haven't connected again, because that evolution is moving forward. Now the thing is, I got a little bit of insight. I call it my future self-insight. And I want you to play with me. Just play with me for a minute. I love this bit where we just keep playing. Imagine this. And yeah, you can close your eyes or you don't, because I just want you to imagine something now. Like a daydream. Give yourself permission just to be free to daydream in imagination. Use your imagineering. Imagine there's a version of you. Not perfect, because nobody's perfect. But they are aligned. They're living their purpose. That you is living your purpose. With purpose. Living a life with purpose. Feeling a wonderful sense of fulfilment. I say that again. Living with purpose and feeling that sense of fulfilment. Yeah? That's your best self, isn't it? Think about it now. Wouldn't that be your best self? When you could see yourself over there? They're not perfect, but aligned. They're congruent. Living with purpose. Feeling that sense of fulfilment. Now, the interesting thing about that, and the thing I found, is that version of you had to walk to get there. It had to walk a path to get there. It didn't just evolve. Well, it did evolve. But it wasn't just a poof. Magic. Just because we imagine it. It's out there. That future self is out there now. And the thing is, when you think about it, well, if they've walked that path now, it's that future you over there. They know the way. So, maybe, maybe, instead of asking, like I did, what should I do? Because that's what I did. What should I do? And I couldn't find it, because I wanted something. Maybe I could have asked. I did in the end. What would that version of me over there, living that life of fulfilment, a path, a passion, what would that version of me do next? The next step, as it were. Now, how are you going to find out? I've already told you that that future version of you is really inside, but we just haven't connected yet. Notice the word yet. So, here's the thing. I do say that a lot, don't I? Here's the thing. But I do. And do you know what? I'm going to say it even more. Because I like saying it. Here's the thing, because what I want you to do now is play even more. I want to, because I love doing these things, create a purpose and a process, a real process to help you, because I think it just works. So, if it's okay, because this is where I want you to find the answers, because you don't have to be like me, being totally lost, just a little bit. Even if you know where you're going, you can check up with this future self of yours to find even more. Because a lot of yours are very conscious, we want it unconscious, aligned. And the only way to do that, I think, is you have to feel it first. You might think you're intelligent enough to imagine and think about it consciously what you want, but you're not. Nor am I, by the way, nobody is. But once you start giving information to your unconscious mind with emotion, then your unconscious mind gets it. And now we can go backwards and forwards with that future self. So play, play with me. Find a wonderful place that you can just be undisturbed for a moment or two, or maybe a little bit longer, where you can just let yourself go into this little bit of hypnosis, maybe. It's a guided visualization. Maybe it's like a meditation. Whichever you want to call it, that'll be what it is. But find a place where you'll be undisturbed. Yeah? Because I want you to close your eyes, to take away all the distractions, and where you can truly focus inside, because that's where we said it was. You don't have to look on the outside, you're looking on the inside. So if that's okay, if it isn't, by the way, either just listen to this gently, not too much, to get an idea of the process, but ideally just bookmark this point, and then come back to it. Okay? So you can really devote focused awareness on yourself. Give yourself permission to spend time on you, because you're the only person who can give yourself that permission. Okay? And when you do that, finding that comfortable place where you'll be, as I say, undisturbed. Remember, this is hypnosis. I'm a therapist, but not your therapist. But we're only looking now to your future self and guidance. So just take a wonderful deep breath. Hold it for a second or two. And as you breathe out, just allow your eyes to close. Yeah? Just allow your eyes to close. There you go. And breathe gently in, making every in-breath more gentle than the one before. And then with every out-breath, allow yourself to be gently pulled inside to that wonderful place of comfort. And as you do that, that comfort can grow. You could even wonder to yourself right now, ask yourself the question, what would it be like to be three times more comfortable than you are right now? And feel that comfort now. Feel it going through every cell of your body as you breathe, easily and effortlessly, where you and your unconscious mind can get closer and closer. Now, just let go. Let go of trying to figure out anything at the moment. No thinking. No thinking whatsoever. Just enjoy the just feeling. That's right. We're just going to feel and imagine that you are already living your best life. Yeah? If you take that future self back into you right now, living your full, wonderful best life, not the details, just the feeling. Imagine how that would feel, living your best life. Just get that quiet sense of it. Yeah. Just notice that. Allow it to maybe grow a little bit more intense so you could really feel it. How does it feel in your body? Maybe just notice. Where do you feel it in your body? It might be all over. It might be in that special place where you just feel this living your best life. Maybe you could describe it to yourself. How does it feel? Is it warm? Does it have a sense of ease? Maybe. Because you're living this fulfilled life. There's a certainty now. What does that feel like? Maybe there's a curiosity. An excitement. They get together, don't they? Because this feeling is your direction. And that's a thing. That's a thing that I discovered. We're not looking for a thing. We're looking for a direction. A direction that will lead us into a wonderful adventure of purpose, of passion, of curiosity and excitement, and that certainty. And as you tune into that feeling, just the feeling, give it permission. Allow that feeling to grow just a little bit. That's right, just a little bit. Really allow your mind to get in tune. Your conscious mind and your unconscious mind to get in tune with this feeling. And as it grows, maybe you could just ask gently, if this is who I am, what's the next small step that I would take right now? And there's no need to force an answer. Just notice what comes up. Listen with all your senses. Because your answers come in many, many ways. They may be visual. They may be a word, a feeling. It might be tiny. Or it might be so obvious to you. It might even surprise you. As I say, it comes in many different ways. So just listen and notice. This is how the path begins. Not all at once. It's all about one step. Just taking one small step. One step from that feeling. Really allow that feeling to grow and get your unconscious mind, I'll ask your unconscious mind, to learn from this. To allow you to give you the intuition of the next small step and the next small step after that. To look for opportunities to create this wonderful filled life. The direction. As you learn, consciously and unconsciously. That's right. Because you can bring this awareness back into your reality. In a minute. But not just yet. Because just maybe, consider this. You don't need to have the whole plan. You don't need the five year vision, the ten year vision. Or even the perfect map. Because your future self doesn't hand you the whole journey. Just nudges you. Just a little bit. One step at a time. Remember this path is not a thing. It's a direction. And it's a direction to... That's right. It's an adventure. And it's yours. All from a feeling. Not a formula. And... As you think of that, there's something I want you to consider one more time. If you've ever been afraid of losing yourself, as I did, and unsure how to step into the new one, maybe this is the bridge. You don't have to jump. You just have to become. And just allow that to resonate within you, integrate within you. And allow your unconscious mind to find the resources to feed you those steps along the way. So you can enjoy every step. And as you do that, take a wonderful in-breath. And open your eyes and feel absolutely wonderful. There you go. That's how we do it. I hope you enjoyed that. Because it is a direction. And that's the bit that got me. Because as I say, I was looking for things to replace the things I'd stopped doing. And I thought my identity was about the doing. But they're just behaviours. It's the being. And then finding that path. Allow that path to come to you as you just follow that direction. And I'm going to be doing deeper work on this, because as I'm doing deeper work on myself on this. Because I think it's so important. And it's so, sometimes to me, it's ambiguous, it's vague. And sometimes we want something that we really firmly hold on to. But it's just not there to hold on to, because it's not a thing. But as you walk that path, bit by bit, step by step. I believe it all unfolds. The beauty of life unfolds for you. Because then you start to create it. This is creating your reality by having the feeling. It's a bit like having the feeling of the wish fulfilled. When you look at goals, try them on, feel it. You get that direction to the feeling, isn't it? Yeah. So, maybe if you just ask yourself the way I did. Have you really lost your way? Because I was thinking at the time, I've lost my way, I don't know. But then I thought, no I haven't. I've just been looking in the wrong direction for the wrong things. Because I say, I don't know, because your path isn't something you find. It's something you feel, it's something you tread. And then you follow it, pace by pace, step by step. You might even say, you might drive it, driving that bus. Because ultimately you do drive the bus. The metaphor keeps coming, you drive the bus. You're in charge, you're responsible. I'm here to give you a little guide, maybe I'll give you a little nudge down again. You know, searching, because for me, for the things I was giving away, stopped doing, looking for things to do. I suddenly found that actually, I just need to reconnect with what I called my North Star. I know other people call it North Stars as well, I think... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40933690

FMQ 533 Why Are you Stuck 05/29/2026

FMQ 533 Why Are you Stuck Why Are you Stuck? The Seed: You’ve done the work. You’ve read the books. Watched the videos. Made the plans. You know what to do. And yet… You’re not doing it. You’re not moving. Not really progressing. Maybe even plateauing. So the question is… Why are you stuck? Here’s the Truth You’re not stuck because you can’t grow. You can. Absolutely you can. So it must be something else. Something a little deeper… just under the surface. The Hidden Reason There’s a part of you asking questions you might not even notice: “What if I change too much?” “What will I lose if I succeed?” “Will I still be me?” And that last one? That’s the big one. Because so many people say: “I just want my old self back.” But here’s the thing… Your old self is part of what got you here The Real Shift It’s not about going back. It’s about letting the real you come forward. The part of you that already has: The resources The potential The direction You’re not losing yourself… You’re uncovering yourself Why This Keeps You Stuck Because a part of you is trying to: Hold onto the familiar Protect your identity Keep things “safe” Even if that safety is keeping you small What’s Next? So how do you: Let go of that old identity… safely? Allow the real you to come through? Move forward without fear of losing yourself? That’s what we’re diving into next. The Deeper Dive In the next episode, we’ll explore: The hidden fears of identity loss Why change can feel unsafe A simple process to align all parts of you How to finally step forward with confidence Pay It Forward If this hit home: Share it with someone who feels stuck or the video Help them see what’s really going on Final Thought Maybe you’re not stuck at all… Maybe a part of you is just waiting to feel safe enough to move. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome back to the next seed, the five minute quickie FMQ 532. Can you believe that? Why are you stuck? Or you could say, why aren't you doing it, crushing it? Why aren't you reaching your goals? You know, making it happen. Maybe you're plateauing. You know, you've done all the reading. You watched all the videos. You've done all your planning. You know what to do. You're ready to walk the walk, not just to talk. And just to move on to that next level of you, as it were, personal change. I wonder why you think you're stuck? Because you're not stuck, by the way. You're not stuck just because you can't grow. Because you can. Absolutely, you can. You see, there's a reason why I think you're stuck. And the thing about being stuck is, you can choose to unstick yourself. You can, because I believe there's a, the question is, just below the surface, inside you. It's like there's a little part of you, little part of you that's saying, what if I change too much? Frightening, maybe. Yeah. What will I lose? What will I lose if I start to succeed? Yeah. Also, and the big one is, will I still be me, my identity, who I think I really am, or my old me? You see, so many clients that I see always say to me, you know, ask them what they want. And they say the very same thing. Nearly always, nearly always. They say, I want to be my old self, my old me. I can remember my old me. And we used to, I used to do so much, we used to do so much stuff. And I just want my old me back. And what they don't realise is, the old me is part of this. What I want you to do is to be who you really are. Allow that real you to come to the surface. So you'll still be you. You'll be able to say, this is me. This is the real me, the real me that's going to start moving on. Because I'm looking to succeed. I know what I'm going to lose. I know what I'm going to gain. And I can't change too much. So that's where the answer is, I think. But it's how do you do that? How do you do that? How do you let that real you come to the surface and be who you really are? And that's where we're going to go on the deeper dive. We're going to go into something, I think, really exciting. Really exciting because we're going to dive deeply into maybe the hidden fears you have about loss, your identity. And we're going to do a process or two to really allow you to set yourself free. Have freedom to pursue the paths you were put on this bloody little planet earth to do. Create the life you were meant to create. And enjoy every heartbeat. And that's where I want to go. So if that is of interest to you, make sure you press subscribe because I want you to make sure that you don't miss the next deeper episode. And if you know of anybody who might want to really start flying too, support them by paying this forward by sharing it. Sharing the episode, sharing personal development unplugged because I'm going to be here to support your dreams, your goals and everything I can think of to make you, well not make you, to allow you to develop and evolve into the real you. That to me is really exciting. And it's really only down to your imagination and there's no limit to that. No limit to your imagination of how far you can dream of going, creating, doing, serving, making this world a lovely place to live in for everybody, especially you. So I say, if that's of interest, tune in to the next deeper dive and we're really going to set you free. Okay, time to fly. Hiya, it's me Paul from the Personal Development Unplugged podcast with a five-minute quickie. It might be a little bit longer than five minutes because nowadays I like to use these as a seed, a seed to plant into your mind, maybe a little deeper than that to get you thinking. And what I have here is a question. Why are you stuck? Because there's a reason you're stuck by the way. I think we all get stuck at some point in our lives. I've explained a little while ago that I had some real issues about where I was going and I felt I was really stuck. And I've talked about that but the thing is, the question I want to ask you is, if this is you, you know, you're not reaching your goals. You know, you've got your goals, you've got your goals for different contexts of your life, whether it's career, relationships, your health, fitness, all that stuff, family life. But you're just like on a platter, you feel stuck, you can't move. It's as if you're treading water, you've got your feet in mud, quicksand. And you can see it over there. But you can't quite get there. It's as if, you know, the momentum's gone. You're not really getting pulled back, but you're not moving forward. Does that make sense? And certainly I did. I thought I know a lot of this stuff. I do know a lot of stuff. I've done a lot of reading. I've watched a lot of videos. I've gone to trainings and all that stuff. And I want to walk the walk, but I just can't. Something is holding me back, as it were. And the thing is, and this is where the seed goes in, it's not that you're stuck because you can't grow. No, there's something else. Something interesting, fascinating, actually, that when you discover it, things just change straight away. And you see, I think part of the answer is just below the surface. We struggle with it up here consciously. But unconsciously, there's a little part of you. There's a little part of you that is just doing and saying something to you, which you didn't get, but you're acting and behaving that way. You see, it's a little thing. When I work with clients, there's so many of them. When we start talking deeply about how they want to be, where they want to go, their dreams and goals and desires, they tend to go, well, I really want my old me back. I want to be my old me. I can remember times when I was my old me and they were so good. And that's part of the problem. Because part of that problem is, your old me is part of this. And I really believe now, it's not the old me that you want. And I had this for years. I really wanted my old Cluffy back, the old Paul back, until I realised, I had an aha moment that said, you don't want the old me back, Paul. You want the real you, the real Cluffy. Because the real Cluffy has it all. The old me was part of some of the problems I had, some of the patterns that I needed to change. Because that part of me was like, what if I change too much? What if I change too much? Will I still be me? That was one of them. Will I still be me? Because I wanted my old me, but I don't know if I change too much, what's going to happen? What will I lose if I actually succeed in getting these goals? Will I lose that sense of identity of who I am? And there's an answer to those. Because it's not about letting go of the old you. It's not about letting go of the old you. It's about letting the real you out, the real you, with all your skills, your values, your beliefs, your dreams, your goals, your desires. That's what it's about. But we need to look at that, because allowing that part of you to let go. And sometimes we need help with that. And that's where I think it's going to be really interesting and fascinating. And all that stuff, when we go into the deeper dive in the next longer podcast, where we're going to explore this. We're going to find those questions that your unconscious mind or that part of you is scared of, the fear, the fear of losing your identity, maybe. So we're going to go into a longer, deeper dive, looking at that, and also coming up with a process or two that will allow you to be free and give that part of you all the safety it needs. So you can work as one, be absolutely aligned where you're going, and then start walking the walk. And then you will be start reading and doing, looking and doing, dreaming and becoming and getting those dreams into reality. Because that's what it's all about. And that's what we all want, isn't it? Create dreams, create our reality, make a life that's so wonderfully rich and rich in a way, in every shape, being everywhere. So inside and out, making a difference to you, making a difference to the people around you, and making a difference to the whole planet Earth, as we always say. Because that's when it's totally ecological. And that's when things start happening, because you're aligned, you've got that real buzz, you've got that real feeling, and that feeling will attract all that you want. And I'm here to support you in that. That's the reason for doing the Unplugged podcast. I want to support you in your dreams and goals, and allow you that real you to just evolve, maybe explode with excitement, curiosity, adventure, following your real true path, which we've talked about, treading the path that is here for you. And now you can. So if that excites you, press subscribe so you don't miss that longer, deeper dive. And also, if you know anybody who might want to come on that type of journey, that adventure of letting go, being able to walk the walk and create the dreams, create the reality you and they desire, then pass this on, please, just share it a little while. That's all. So I look forward to seeing you, hearing from you, no, you hearing from me, being in your ear, in your mind, with you, your conscious and your unconscious mind to create the changes that will just be so good. So that's good for you. I will see you, hear from you, be in your ear on the next longer, deeper dive. You go fly and have a think. Let it just germinate. So when you come back on the longer, deeper dive, we are going to move. We're going to create and we're going to be the real you. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40908820

#481 Finding Your Way: When You Feel Lost in Life 05/22/2026

#481 Finding Your Way: When You Feel Lost in Life Finding Your Way: When You Feel Lost in Life Why you’re not lost — just disconnected from your inner direction Feeling Lost? Or Just Disconnected? “I’ve lost my way…” Ever said that quietly to yourself? Not out loud… just in your own mind. That moment where things feel unclear. Where direction fades. Where who you were no longer fits… and who you’re becoming hasn’t quite arrived yet. It can feel like a void. A strange mix of uncertainty, frustration… even a little grief. But here’s the thing… You’re not lost. You’ve just lost connection with the part of you that already knows the way. The Truth About Feeling Lost This feeling often shows up when: You’ve made changes in your life Old patterns or roles no longer fit Your identity is shifting And in that space… You go looking “out there” for answers. But the harder you look… The further they seem to disappear. Because your direction isn’t out there. It’s inside you. Why This Feels So Uncomfortable When your identity changes, it creates a gap: You’re no longer the “old you” But you’re not fully the “new you” yet That space can feel like: Loss Confusion Uncertainty Almost like grief. But it’s not the end of something… It’s the beginning of something new. Your Inner Direction (Your “Future Self”) Instead of asking: “What should I do?” Try this… “What would the version of me who is already living that life do next?” Because that version of you: Exists Has walked the path Knows the direction And here’s the key… It doesn’t give you the whole plan. It gives you the next step. This Episode Includes a Guided Process In this deeper dive, you’ll be guided to: Connect with the feeling of your “best self” Tune into purpose, fulfilment, and alignment Ask for the next small step Begin trusting your internal guidance system This isn’t about forcing answers. It’s about feeling your way forward. From “Finding” to “Following” Your path isn’t something you find. It’s something you: Feel Step into Follow One step at a time. Not a fixed destination… A direction. Key Takeaways You’re not lost — you’re evolving The “void” is a transition, not a failure Your answers aren’t out there — they’re within You don’t need the whole plan — just the next step Alignment comes from feeling, not forcing Ready to Reconnect? Take a moment after listening: Sit quietly Reflect on what came up for you Notice any small nudges or insights And most importantly… Trust them Share the Journey If this episode resonated: Share it with someone who might feel “lost” right now Help them reconnect with their own direction Get In Touch Got thoughts, questions, or something that didn’t quite click? Email: Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome back to the personal development unplugged podcast with me Paul and subject today the deeper dive today is I've lost my way. What have I? You see just saying those words I've lost my way. Have you ever said that to yourself? I did not too long ago and it was really weird where do you know because you don't necessarily say it out loud but just quietly in your own mind yeah and it's like I don't know I just don't know where I'm going anymore and the thing here's the thing here's the thing it's not that you've lost your way because you haven't you haven't lost your way but I think sometimes it's like you've lost that connection with yourself with that part of you that already knows the way which is weird it's like you don't know that you know but you do know just that you don't know the word is yet and you see have you ever noticed have you ever noticed this when life changes because it does isn't it everything changes it evolves when things you used to do seem to fade away or you decide to change there's suddenly a space isn't there there's a space it's like a void a void of that needs to be filled it's a little bit like grief isn't it there's just that void there and it's I don't know it's a funny old thing that void because it's as if a part of you knows there's something new happening and that could be a little bit frightening can't it but the other part goes yeah okay but what is it what is it and you can look and I did I looked and I looked and the harder you look and the more you look nothing it seems you can't grasp it you can't get hold of it it just disappears as this is void and it's not void inside here is now void out there now I'm tempted to say does that make sense but apparently that's not the thing to say but it made sense to me because it actually happened to me you see it did feel like grief it felt I'd lost something not just what I did but who I was and that's the thing I'd made some changes just deliberate changes in my life let some things go decided I'm gonna change this is a time for a change big changes and the thing is it was if I was losing my identity and that's a shift you see when your identity shifts directions disappears it really does but here's the thing it disappears for a while that's all just for a while but it while you're waiting for that while it is quite unnerving you ever had that it really happened to me a few months ago and my life was changing but it felt that I was really losing who I was I was no longer the person I thought it was because I put my identity into these behaviors the things I did and now not doing them I felt I was no longer the real Paul anymore and because when my that direction disappears for a while it's as if you don't know who you'll be coming because you're not there yet but you know you're not that anymore how can you know though where you're going when you make those changes because the thing is you look out there that's the problem you look out there for the things to fill it I did I looked everywhere and the more I looked out there the less I found the more it seemed to fade away but the thing is what I learned was it isn't out there it was if I already do it was inside inside because if you've ever been like that I want to tell you it's in you it's already in you but you just haven't connected again because that evolution is moving forward now the thing is I got a little bit of insight as I called it my future self inside and I want you to play with me just play with me for a minute I love this bit where we just keep playing imagine this and yeah you can close your eyes or you don't because it's only I just want you to imagine something now like a daydream give yourself permission just to be free to daydream in imagination use your imagineering imagine there's a version of you not perfect because nobody's perfect but they are aligned they're living their purpose that you is living your purpose with purpose living a life with purpose feeling a wonderful sense of fulfilment I'll tell you that again living with purpose and feeling that sense of fulfillment yeah that's your best self isn't it think about it now wouldn't that be your best self when you could see yourself over there they're not perfect but aligned as a congruent living with purpose feeling that sense of fulfillment now the interesting thing about that and the thing I found is that version of you had to walk to get there it had to walk a path to get there it didn't just evolve but it did evolve but it wasn't just a poof magic just because we imagine it it's out there that future self is out there now and the things when you think about it well if they've walked that path now it's that future you over there they know the way so maybe maybe instead of asking like I did what should I do because that's what I did what should I do and I couldn't find it because I wanted something maybe I could have asked I did in the end what would that version of me over there living that life of fulfillment a path of passion what would that version of me do next the next foot the next step as it were now how you gonna find out I've already told you that future version of you is really inside but we just haven't connected yet notice the word yet so here's the thing I do say that a lot don't I here's the thing but I do and you know what I'm gonna say it even more because I'd like to say it here's the thing because I'm what I want you to do now is play even more I want to because I love doing these things create a purpose and a process a real process to help you because I think it just works so if it's okay because this is where I want you to find the answers because you don't have to be like me being totally lost just a little bit even even if you know where you're going you can check up with this future self of yours to find even more because a lot of yours is very conscious we want it unconscious aligned and the only way to do that I think is you have to feel it first you might think you're intelligent enough to imagine and think about it consciously what you want but you're not nor am I by the way nobody is but once you start giving information to your unconscious mind with emotion then your unconscious mind gets it and now we can go backwards and forwards with that future self so play play with me find a a wonderful place that you can just be undisturbed for a moment or two well maybe a little bit longer where you can just let yourself go into this little bit of hypnosis maybe there's a guided visualization maybe it's like a meditation whichever you want to call it that'll be what it is but find a place where you'll be undisturbed yeah because I want you to close your eyes to take away all the distractions and where you can truly focus inside that's where we said it was you don't have to look on the outside you're looking on the inside so if that's okay if it isn't by the way either just listen to this gently not too much to get an idea of the process but ideally just bookmark this point and then come back to it okay so you can really devote focused awareness on yourself give yourself permission to spend time on you because you're the only person who can give yourself that permission okay and when you do that finding that comfortable place where you'll be as I say undisturbed remember this is hypnosis I'm a therapist but not your therapist but we're only looking now to your future self and guidance so just take a wonderful deep breath hold it for a second or two and as you breathe out just allow your eyes to close yeah just allow your eyes to close there you go and breathe gently in making every in-breath more gentle than the one before and then with every out-breath allow yourself to be gently pulled inside to that wonderful place of comfort and as you do that that comfort can grow you could even wonder to yourself right now ask yourself the question what would it be like to be three times more comfortable than you are right now and feel that comfort now feel it going through every cell of your body as you breathe easily and effortlessly where you and your unconscious mind can get closer and closer now just let go let go of trying to figure out anything at the moment no thinking no thinking whatsoever just enjoy the just feeling that's right we're just gonna feel and imagine that you are already living your best life yeah if you take that future self back into you right now living your full wonderful best life not the details just feeling imagine how that would feel living your best life just get that quiet sense of it yeah just notice that allow it to maybe grow a little bit more intense so you could really feel it how does it feel in your body maybe just notice where do you feel it in your body it might be all over it might be in that special place where you just feel this living your best life maybe you could describe it to yourself how does it feel is it warm does it have a sense of ease maybe because you're living this fulfilled life there's a certainty now what does that feel like maybe there's a curiosity an excitement I get together don't they because this feeling is your direction and that's the thing that's the thing that I discovered we're not looking for a thing we're looking for a direction a direction that will lead us into a wonderful adventure of purpose a passion curiosity and excitement and that certainty and as you tune into that feeling just the feeling give it permission allow that feeling to grow just a little bit that's right just a little bit really allow your mind to get in tune your conscious mind and your unconscious mind to get in tune with this feeling and as it grows maybe you could just ask gently if this is who I am what's the next small step I would take right now and there's no need to force an answer just notice what comes up listen with all your senses because your answers come in many many ways they may be visual they may be a word it might be tiny or it might be so obvious to you it might even surprise you as I say it comes in many different ways so just listen and notice this is how the path begins not all at once it's all about one step just taking one small step one step from that feeling really allow that feeling to grow and get your unconscious mind I'll ask your unconscious mind to learn from this to allow you to give you the intuition of the next small step and the next small step after that to look for opportunities to create this wonderful filled life the direction and as you learn consciously and unconsciously because you could bring this awareness into your reality in a minute but not just yet because just maybe consider this you don't need to have the whole plan you don't need the five-year vision the ten-year vision or even the perfect map because your future self doesn't hand you the whole journey just nudges you just a little bit one step at a time remember this path is not a thing it's a direction and it's a direction to that's right it's an adventure and it's yours all from a feeling not a formula and as you think of that there's something I want you to consider one more time if you've ever been afraid of losing yourself as I did and unsure how to step into the new one maybe this is the bridge you don't have to jump and just allow that to resonate within you integrate within you and allow your unconscious mind to find the resources to feed you those steps along the way so you can enjoy every step and as you do that take a wonderful in breath and open your eyes and feel absolutely wonderful there you go that's how we do it I hope you enjoyed that because it is a direction and that's the bit that got me because as I say I was looking for things to replace the things I'd stopped doing and I thought my identity was about the doing but they're just behaviors it's the being and then finding that path allow that path to come to you as you just follow that direction and I'm gonna be doing deeper work on this because as I'm doing deeper work on myself on this because I think it's so important and it's so sometimes to me it's ambiguous it's vague and sometimes we want something that we really firmly hold on to but it's just not there to hold on to because it's not a thing but as you walk that path bit by bit step by step I believe it all unfolds the beauty of life unfolds for you because then you start to create it this creating your reality by having the feeling it's a bit like having the feeling of the wish fulfilled when you look at goals try them on feel it you get that direction to the feeling isn't it yeah so maybe if you just ask yourself the way I did have you really lost your way because I was thinking at the time I've lost my way I don't know but then I thought no I haven't I've just been looking in the wrong direction for the wrong things because I say because your path isn't something you find it's something you feel it's something you tread and then you follow it pace by pace step by step you might even say you might drive it driving that bus because ultimately you do drive the bus the metaphor keeps coming you drive the bus you're in charge you're responsible I'm here to give you a little guide and maybe I'll give you a little nudge down again you know searching because he for me it for the things I was giving away stop doing looking looking for things to do I suddenly found that actually I just need to reconnect with what I called my North Star I know other people call it North Stars as well I think everyone does do they I don't know but it's my North Star and I was searching for things to do and they're not there as I say it's a direction of being so you drive your bus I'll drive mine maybe we'll meet up on holiday if you could it would be wonderful I think as part of this path this direction you take to share this type of things with other people share your path verbally not all of it because it's a lot of it might be personal and you're working through but other people can help you as well but as you express it outside it allows you to be clearer or understand where you're not clear and you can do more personal work and if it's not clear you can always email me feedback at personal development unplug calm and we can work on this together just as I'm working with you sharing the things that I'm experiencing now and this is where I want to take the personal development unplug podcast to real to real stuff not just picking the clickbait stuff I know the title is a bit click baity but you have to have that I think but I just want you to yeah if you can share it subscribe and all that stuff but just live your path think about it take a few moments to sit quietly and you go what did I hear what did I learn you know we're not pushing stuff away we're just being open now so there you go I hope you enjoyed that please share as I say subscribe and all the stuff that everyone says you to tell to tell if you would it would be great but this is just me Paul your mate Cluffy to sharing some of my journey my adventure and trying to put it into processes the things that I learned and I know every episode is not going to be the one that this is it every time but I know there'll be some golden nuggets and hope just to give you that little nudge to think so if there's any subjects by the way anything that you would like me to explore I have to try them on first and see what we can find come up with processes or even the processes that I already know we can express them and do them together and we're going to keep changing we're going to become not only that future self quicker bigger better brighter but we're going to develop it even more so we can have more passion than we can stand more fun... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40884510

FMQ532 I've Lost My Way 05/15/2026

FMQ532 I've Lost My Way I’ve Lost My Way… … Or Have I? Have you ever felt that? Like something’s changed… And the things that used to light you up… just don’t anymore? And now there’s this space… A bit of a void… And if you’re honest… You’re not quite sure what fills it. Here’s the thing… I’ve been there too. And it feels a bit like losing something… Maybe even losing a part of yourself. So you start looking for a new direction… A new purpose… A new “North Star”… But the more you look… The less you seem to find. So what if we’re looking in the wrong way? What if the answer isn’t something you have to go out and find… But something you can begin to feel? In this episode, just for a moment… We start there. Not with answers… Not with plans… But with a feeling. Because maybe… just maybe… That feeling already knows the way. The Next Step In the longer episode, we’re going deeper… We’ll explore how to connect with that future version of you… And how it can begin to guide your next steps — naturally. There’ll be processes… Maybe a little hypnosis… And definitely a few “aha” moments. So if this sparked something… Stay with me. Share the Seed Know someone who feels a bit lost right now? Share this with them. This might be their starting point. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome to the five-minute quickie, which, as you know, isn't a five-minute quickie. It's going to last a little bit longer, not too long, but I want to sow another seed into your mind. Just another one. And from the title, I've lost my way. Now, have you ever wanted to change direction in your life? Have you ever felt boxed in? Maybe even helpless, I don't know. Helpless with which way to go, which way to find fulfilment? Have you been looking for fulfilment and can't get it? Me too. And personally, me too, because over the last few months, I did mention it slightly in the last episode, I've been looking for a new way. Call it my North Star. Well, I think everyone calls it a North, do they? Call it a North Star, but a new direction because things in my life have been changing. And when things change in a way that sometimes you let things go to move on to new things, but where the bloody hell are what are those new things? Because I couldn't find them. And when I got to this place where I couldn't find the things to fill that void, it was like grief. I'd lost something. I'd lost part of my old me, my identity, as it were. And have you ever had that? I think we've all experienced grief. But have you felt it personally, about a direction in life, maybe? Imagine it, that void. It's really weird, isn't it? Because you can talk to yourself about, yeah, I'm going to do this, do that. But it just doesn't feel the same, does it? It just doesn't feel that there's anything there. Like an emptiness. Or is that just me speaking? That might be a little bit too personal. No, it isn't too personal. I want to share my journey, my adventure, but also want to put it in a way that I think we've all felt that need of a direction change. Sometimes it's in your career. Sometimes it's in a relationship. Sometimes, like with me, it's just the way and the things I want to start doing in my life. Now, the thing is, would you like to know a way that fixes all of that? A way to find purpose? A way to, well, maybe just re-find purpose. If you're like myself, I had my purpose. I had my mission in life. I thought I knew the direction I was going, and I was living it, and now I've changed direction. Or I'm looking for that new direction. You could say looking for the continuation of life's path towards that best version of myself. Heavy stuff, eh? Heavy stuff. But it's not going to be heavy, because this is the seed to get you just thinking for the moment what it might be like. And then, on the longer episode to follow this, we're going to have some processes, more deeper thoughts to get your unconscious and conscious mind aligned to this, to find this new way. And there may even be a little bit of hypnosis in there. You never know. But I want you to just think, because this is a primer. I want you to just think for a moment, and if you want to, even in this short 5-10 minute quickie, if it's safe to do so, just close your eyes for a moment, and imagine if you were to let go of that feeling, of feeling boxed in maybe, or feeling helpless, or not knowing where to find fulfilment, your path, your passion. If you could let that all go, and you knew you were on the right path to fulfilment, following your purpose, living your best life, being your best self, without seeing any of that, what would it feel like? Just imagine it now, because you can. Imagine the feeling of what it would feel like to live your best life, following your purpose, the reason for being on little old planet earth, making a difference to you, personally, to your friends and family, the people around you. And again, the ripples of change go so far. Little old planet earth gets a little bit better. Just feel it for a moment, because I think you can, and in that longer episode to follow, this feeling will grow by the way. You might even find, if you did this for maybe a minute, just a minute, every day in between this episode and the longer deeper dive, that feeling starts to show you different things in life. Maybe you start to see the world just a little bit different before we dive deeper into it and make wonderful changes. You see, because in that next episode, we're going to go to somewhere pretty fascinating, I think. We're going to find new stuff. And the thing is, when we do look at the ways to change in this wonderful way, one thing I can assure you, that not only will your life forever be changed in a wonderful way, but the ripples of that change will go so far and wide. You will not know how far and wide they'll go, but they will. They'll affect the people in your life. Maybe the different people in your work, your career, your relationships, all those new people you're going to find along the way when you're on this path. If you haven't opened your eyes just yet, you can, because we're thinking now. Just imagine doing this for one minute every day. Just imagine what it would just feel like. I don't want you to see anything. Just feel it. The seeing comes in the deeper podcast, the deeper dive, where we really explore something, as I say, really fascinating, really interesting, and make changes. Changes at the conscious and changes at the unconscious level. So when you become aligned with your path, the reason for being on this world, life will be absolutely wonderful. And that feeling of fulfilment will just start to grow and grow. And you will make those changes yourself. As I say, you're driving the bus. I'm just, you know, maybe steering the wheel just a little bit. Just a little bit, but you're driving it. Okay. If that has excited you, just a little bit, just a little bit. Come with me on that deeper dive in the next longer podcast. And it won't be I've lost my way. Maybe the answer is this is the way to find the way. I don't know. I don't know what the title is going to be yet. We'll see what happens. But there'll be some processes, maybe a bit of hypnosis, as I say. Please join me. By the way, press subscribe on that little player of choice, because when you do that, you won't have to think when the next one's coming up. You go, oh, there it is. Let's find some time and find a little bit of space where maybe I can just listen to this and disappear somewhere and make some wonderful changes. And just in case, share it with a friend so they can find their path too. Because they might not tell you. You can say to them, hey, how you doing? They go, yeah, fine. But maybe they do feel boxed in. Maybe they do feel helpless. Maybe they want to grow and find fulfilment, but they haven't told you. And this could be their seed too. Anyway, my friend, it's time to fly. I'll see you on the next longer, deeper dive. So before you leave this unplugged mind of mine, this hypnotic mind, if you enjoyed this podcast or any of the other podcasts, please do subscribe. It helps this podcast grow and affect so many more people. And we love to leave everyone in a better place than we found them. And this will help, help the podcast. It will help you and it will help, well, everyone that you know. So if you could just subscribe and share, share this podcast to everyone you blooming well know. That's the only cost. Pay it forward to everyone. And when you do that, boom, we are all going to make a difference to this little old planet Earth of ours and the people in it. But let's make a a nice world. Okay. Okay. You can now prepare to leave this unplugged mind. Warning. You are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly. Be brave, my friend. Personal development unplugged. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40771435

#480 The Missing Part Of Success 05/08/2026

#480 The Missing Part Of Success The Missing Part Of Success Why Thinking Isn’t Enough (And What Actually Works) The Bit Everyone Misses You’ve done the work. You’ve read the books. You’ve said the affirmations. You’ve visualised success over and over again. “I’ve got this.” “I’m a winner.” And yet… nothing really changes. Sound familiar? That’s because mindset alone isn’t enough. In this episode, we uncover the missing part of success — the part that turns thinking into doing, and knowing into being. It’s Not Just Mindset Yes, mindset matters. But it’s only half the story. Because if your body isn’t aligned with what you’re thinking… Your results won’t align either. You can’t: Think confidence while your body shows doubt Say “I’m relaxed” while holding tension Speak powerfully while shrinking physically Your mind and body are always working together. Always. 💡 The Mind-Body Connection (Made Practical) This isn’t theory — it’s something you can feel. In this episode, you’ll: Discover how successful people embody success Learn to recognise the physiology of confidence and competence Experience how small physical shifts change your internal state instantly Because success isn’t just something you think… It’s something you become. The Key Shift: From Thinking → Being Forget “fake it till you make it”. That’s not alignment — that’s conflict. Instead, this episode guides you to: Step into the version of you who already has it Align your posture, breathing, and movement Create congruence between your thoughts and your body When that happens… Things don’t feel forced anymore. They click. The Process (Experiential) This isn’t just listening — it’s doing. You’ll be guided to: Identify a meaningful goal Visualise someone who already embodies it Notice their physiology (movement, breath, presence) Step into your own version of that state Allow your body to lead your mind into alignment Simple. Powerful. Effective. The Ripple Effect When you align like this: Confidence becomes natural Anxiety fades into the background You act from who you really are And more than that… You become an example. Not by trying — but by being. And that changes everything around you. A Deeper Reflection If you’re not stepping into this… What are you holding onto? What are you afraid of losing? Because sometimes the only thing in the way… is the old version of you. 🧭 Final Thought You already have everything you need. This isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about uncovering what’s already there and aligning it. Mind and body. Together. Calls to Action Subscribe and follow the podcast Share this episode with someone who needs it: There's even a bonky video of it all (I do my best) Email your thoughts: Explore more tools and hypnosis resources Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome to this longer podcast and the missing part, the missing part of success. Why thinking isn't enough. You see, you can say things like, I'm a winner. I'm a winner. I got this. I got this. I got this all day long. I can do this. And if you say it loud enough, and long enough, then maybe it'll come true. But the thing is, it's not just what you keep saying. They just don't fall into place. Because there's a reason for this. It really is. So maybe it'll come true. Maybe it won't. But here's the thing. What if I told you this? That's literally only half of the story. We call that part the winning mindset. And some people will just say, the winning mindset is all you need. So over and over again, long enough, loud enough, and you'll get there. No, that's not really the case, is it? It's only half the story. You see, have you ever noticed this? You know exactly what to do. You've read all the books, you've dived deep, you've read everything. You've seen all the blooming videos. You've got it all. You've got it all inside here. You say those affirmations, I got this, I'm a winner, everything else. And you visualize the goals. In fact, you can do this over and over again, because you've got the t-shirt, you've got the multi-vision t-shirt with all the visualizations and everything. But nothing really changes, does it? You had that experience? You know, you maybe sit there and go, well, what's happening? I really put everything in to learn this stuff. And it's just not going on. You know, could you remember what that feels like? What does it feel like in your body? Isn't it sometimes like a little bit of a void and there's a little bit of sadness, maybe a little bit of grief and sometimes guilt, because you've spent so much time on it and it's just not showing and giving the fruits, bearing fruit. Now, what tends to happen then is you drift back. You're drifting back into the old way. And you see, there's a really good reason, not an excuse, there is a reason for this. You know, and you might even say, come on, Cluffy, why is that? Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me. You see, because up here, that's where you've got the psychology of success, that winning mindset. But you see, something is missing. And you know what it is? It's down here, down here, down here in the body. That's the other side. It's all about mind-body connection. Think about it. The mind-body connection. And you can't really have one without the other. Think about it now. Everyone talks about mind-body connection, but you can't have a mind without the body. It comes together, don't they? You can't have a body that doesn't reflect what your mind is thinking. You know, you can say, I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy and happy. But your body, if you're not happy, your body doesn't reflect that and you're just walking around. You know, you can walk around in a slump, being depressed and you've got that physiology of depression or anxiety and you're all tight. And you can say, oh, I'm so relaxed, I'm so relaxed. That ain't happening, is it? Because the mind and the body work together. And that's always. Now, you don't normally get an always because people say, oh, it's too general. You can't have generalizations, but you can here because it's always the mind-body work together. You see, if you say, I've got this, but your body's not quite sure, guess which one wins? And it's the other way around too. If your body's there and your mind isn't there, you still won't get it because they're not separated. And that's where we want to go. See, most people, I have to say this, most people miss this. Play with me for a minute, play with me. This is what I want you to do. Now, you might want to just think about it, visualize it with open eyes because you can do that because that's what's called daydreaming, isn't it? But if you want to close your eyes and it's safe to do so, you might want to get a little bit more focused because it just takes away the distractions. So if it's safe to do so, you can close your eyes. It's not hypnosis, not yet, but this is what I want you to do. Let's just play for a minute. Think about somebody, someone who has what you want. Let's take a moment and keep it simple. Keep it simple. Just something that you want. Maybe they have, I don't know, confidence. Maybe they have the success in a particular area. Not general because we're going to be a bit more specific than that, but it's an area of your life that you would like to have, but they have it, what you want. So maybe they have that confidence, they maybe have the success. Maybe they're just at ease with what they're doing. It just seems that they just do it so naturally. Now, remember, you're seeing the result of probably years of practice. But it's because of that practice, it's become that easy for them. Now, just take a moment. See it in your mind's eye. See them in your mind's eye. As if they're over there, just below you. I love it. Just below you and in front of you, so you can look down upon them and at them. And just notice this, if you would. Notice how they move. How are they moving? Just notice everything about that. Do they have a strength about their walk or their movement or is it fluidity? How are they standing? How are they standing? Because in a mind-body, this is just, they're together, they're aligned, aren't they? Their non-verbal communication is there because they are aligned. You know there's no doubt in this. How do they stand? And when they're moving or just standing still, notice if you could just focus in now, if you could just focus in a little bit more, how do they breathe? Are they breathing at the top of their chest? Are they breathing in the middle or are they really got that slow breath? Because in different ways of being, sometimes we do have to breathe a little bit higher up in the chest. Sometimes we're visualizing stuff and we're thinking that way and it gets a little bit more excitable maybe. But maybe other times when they feel at ease, they've got that slow breath because they're not just thinking about success. No, they're not. They're not just thinking about how confident they are or how at ease they are. They're not at all. They're embodying it. 100% aligned, congruent. They are it. Mind, body, everything. And you see that what you see there, that's the physiology of success. And you've seen it before. You've seen how other confident people or people at ease just move. They are confident in their competence. We've talked about this before. They're not overconfident. They give an appearance that they're confident, but they're confident not outwardly but inwardly. They're confident about their competence. They just know. It's as if they just glide through life that way. And that's the physiology of success, as I said. And it's the whole system, by the way. It's not just one or the other. It is the movement, the breathing. Maybe there's a tone of voice. It's the energy that they're using and give out. It's all of that. Yeah. And it all lines up, doesn't it? It all lines up. It's one line. It's congruent. It's alignment in its best way, because that's what it is. And when it lines up, you're not faking it. You're being it. Because that's the thing. We've talked about fake it till you make it. I've said it so many times that I hate the bloody saying, because in the title it's got faking. And when you're faking something, this, the mind, and this, the body, is not lined up. And you can see it. You can see it in their nonverbal communications, the way they move their body. It's not, you know, the voice and the words don't match the physiology. That's faking it. But this isn't. It all lines up. It's being it. Being the person. So, if you open your eyes, by the way, or if you close your eyes, you can open again, because we're going to close them again. Because I want to do a little process with you. I want you to, let's call it, step into the physiology of success. Because we don't always do this. We always try to get our mind and the voice and everything else together. But I want you to step into the physiology of success. So, let's take a moment. And again, if it's safe to do so, I'd love you to close your eyes. If it isn't, I think sometimes it might be best just to pause and come back to this. Or just listen to it and make sure you want to come back to it. Because even just listening to it does give you an idea of what we're going to be doing. So, you're prepared. But I want to make sure that you don't just listen and then not do it. Because that'd be a waste of bloody time. Waste of time. So, if you want to listen to it, make sure you put a time when you're going to do it and make it like a timestamp on this, where you're going to come back to. But if it's okay, and it's safe to do so, this is a time where you're going to be undisturbed. Just for a few moments, just minutes. Undisturbed and it's safe to do so. I'd love you just to close your eyes. Is that okay? That you just close your eyes. And as you close your eyes, I'd love you to take a gentle in-breath. That's right. Just gently breathe in and then breathe out. Just notice you can feel so relaxed as you breathe out. It's as if you're being pulled inside. And you can just ask yourself, what would it be like if I was twice as comfortable as I feel right now? What would that be like to feel that now? And allow that to go through every cell of and fibre of your whole being. And I want you to begin to bring to mind, think of something that you want to succeed in. Now, I want to just point this out now. Make sure it's something that's going to be meaningful to you. This is not an experiment where you go, well, I'll do it on this first and then I'll do it on the meaningful stuff. Because if you do it on the stuff that isn't meaningful, what's the point? But make it a simple thing. Let's just go through the process easily and effortlessly. But pick something that is meaningful to you. A goal. A desire. Something that you want to succeed in. And as you bring that to mind, imagine this. You've already got it. You've done all the work. You've done all the work and you've got it. Not someday in the future. I don't know. You've got it right now. And as you do that, and you just imagine you've got it right now. Where are you? Look around. What's around you? What is this environment you're in? And as you notice this environment you're in, more importantly, notice you. You're here. How are you standing? How are you standing? Feel the muscles. Feel the balance. Feel how strong, strong, rooted, grounded you can feel now. Even if you're moving, you can feel that stability. There, feel it now. How are you breathing now? How are you breathing when you have this success right now? This thing that is meaningful to you, the thing that you really desire, this goal. You've got it now. How are you breathing? That's right. Just notice that. And what's the expression on your face? Is it a focus expression? Is it smiling? Or is it just a loose, relaxed way of being? Have you got it? If you could see it, a sparkle in your eye. This is an eyes. That's right. Can you feel the softness or tension in your cheeks? Yeah. And your shoulders. How are they? How are those shoulders? At ease, or are they a little tense? Sometimes we need to be, just have that little bit of tension, and sometimes we just have total comfort, relaxation. But this is your dream, your goal. You've got it now. So how is it for you? And how do you move your head? How do you move your head? You can be aware of things going on. So you might be focused, looking directly ahead of you. Or maybe you're taking different things in as you're looking at different people, being connected, if that's what's important to you. And as you do this, I want you to notice something different. I want you to notice this particular thing, because it's really important now. And this thing that's really important is, this is you, acting as if. Now. That's it, this is you. This is the way you would act, having achieved that goal, that desire, that thing that you want to succeed in, that's so meaningful to you. Very gently, now, allow your body to just begin to match this version of you. That's right, allow your body right now to match this version of you. Maybe your spine, your back just shifts a little bit. That's right. Maybe your breathing deepens just a little bit. Your face maybe softens or becomes more certain. Feel it now, allow it to happen now. Just tiny adjustments, we're not forcing it, we're allowing it. Just allow it to happen, as you just fit into this body. That's right. And notice, as you do this, what happens inside. Take a moment, there's no rush. Just notice what happens inside, right now. Because when your body changes, the mind follows. And when the mind and body align, that's where things just click into place. So just take that all in. All in, get your unconscious mind, I want your unconscious mind to take that all in too, at an even deeper level, a more specific level. Notice all the changes of what it's like to have this goal, this desire, the thing that's important to you, that you wish to succeed in. Have it all at the unconscious level, so you can bring that back when you're ready. And just wonder, as you can begin to take a in-breath, you can begin to wonder how this will affect all other areas of your life. Yeah, all other areas. And the thing is, this isn't about pretending. It's not fake it until you make it. Because you're not faking it. Because you know when you're faking it, don't you? And this feels so much different. So open your eyes and notice. This is all about becoming aligned, isn't it? Aligned with who you really are. And that's the thing. Who you really are. That's all you have to think of now, is who you really are. At your best. Succeeding at the things that are important to you. Because when they're important to you, you've got the motivation anyway. It's just putting the pieces of the puzzle, the mind and the body together. We call it becoming congruent. Your mind and body totally align to you at being your best. And you can do this for everything, can't you? Anything and everything. And it isn't a version of you you have to create. That's the thing. Because it's what you uncover. You've got all these resources inside you. You're just putting them together so you're uncovering it. And it's been here all the time. We forget it sometimes. Because we've got it all the time. And the real thing when you think about it now, and I want you just to think about this. When you were feeling it, and thinking of how it affects all other areas of your life, and specifically the goal itself, the desire, just notice how comfortable you are. How safe you are. How the confidence in your competence just lets any anxiety, fear, just evaporate, disappear. Because this is a much safer way of being. You're aware, you're acting to your true potential. And when you act to your true potential, this is it. And you're growing. Yeah. And if you think,... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40871435

FMQ 531 The Missing Part Of Success 05/01/2026

FMQ 531 The Missing Part Of Success The Missing Part Of Success The Seed of Success Most People Miss We hear it all the time… “Think positive.” “Have the right mindset.” “Say your affirmations.” And yes… that’s part of it. But what if that’s only half the equation? In this Five Minute Quickie, we uncover the missing piece of success — the part hardly anyone talks about, yet it changes everything. > It’s Not Just Psychology… It’s Physiology You can have: The perfect plan The right words The strongest mindset …but if your body isn’t aligned? It won’t land. Success isn’t just in your thoughts — it’s in: The way you move The way you breathe Your tone of voice Your energy It’s how you show up Because the truth is… You can’t separate the mind and the body. They work together — always. Acting “As If” — The Real Way This isn’t about faking it till you make it. That’s… well… fake. This is about: Becoming aligned Being congruent Acting as the real you When your psychology + physiology match… That’s when things click. Same words. Different energy. Completely different results. Where This Shows Up in Your Life Career: People feel your certainty (or your doubt) Relationships: It’s not what you say — it’s how you say it Confidence: It’s embodied, not just thought about When it’s all aligned… You don’t try to be convincing You are convincing The Ripple Effect Here’s the bigger picture… When you step into this aligned way of being: You stop forcing things You become the example You inspire others — naturally No effort. No pretending. Just being. And that’s where real change spreads. What’s Next? In the Deeper Dive, we go beyond the “what”… Into the HOW How to align your psychology and physiology How to become the real you (not a fake version) Because that’s where everything changes. Ready to Go Deeper? If this sparked something in you… Subscribe so you don’t miss the deep dive Share this with someone who needs that missing piece Pay it forward — let’s create that ripple And if you want more… Visit the hypnosis tracks and resources Remember: Success isn’t just in your head It’s in your whole being Align it… and watch what happens. Please Share with a friend Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome, welcome to the FMQ, the seed, the seed of, in this case, the seed of success. We always have a longer podcast of diving deeper, but I want you to think of a few things. All you have to do is, well, listen for a little bit, watch for a little bit, get your mind going, and see what intuitively comes up as being the right thing to do. So, the physiology of success. I'm a winner. I'm a winner. I've got a winner's mindset. Do you know what? I say positive things over and over again. I have a positive mantra, and do you know what? It gets louder and louder and louder and louder. I've got this. I've got this. Oh, that's not the physiology of success, is it? That's the psychology of success. That's up in here, and you need it up here. Some people will say, you know, there's 10% of success is in the mind, but it's that special 10%, and they're not wrong. They're not wrong, but you can't have one without the other. You can't have a mind without the body. You can't have a body without the mind. You can't have all the things that make your mind fresh and alive without a body that's fresh and alive and acting in a particular way, and what I'm talking about is the physiology of success. If you think about it, or if you can remember the five keys to success, I talk about it loads of times. I've got it everywhere. The fifth key is acting, acting as if with a psychology and a physiology of success. The two together, you can't have one without the other. Now, knowing that you need up here, it would be silly if you didn't have everything else, wouldn't it? You see, and I'm not talking about being physically fit, but you might need it for certain things. If your goals, your dreams, and desires are one of being superbly fit, yeah, you're going to need your body. You're going to have to do all sorts of things. If you're mountain climbing or doing all that stuff, you're going to have to do that, but I'm not talking about the physically fit bit. You have to be that anyway, and if you're in personal development, you are going to want that part of your body or part of you to be as best it can be, just as you want your brain to be the best it can be, so you can be integrated, aligned, congruent, all that stuff. That's what we do, but without a physiology of success. It's the way you move, the way you breathe, where your muscles just seem to act as if you're doing what you should be doing. So, what I mean is, I guess what I mean is, if you could just think about doing something, you have it all up here, you've learnt what it's all about, but you've never actually done it, you'd have a bit of a problem, but if you can visualise it a little bit, visualise yourself and see yourself doing it, or watching somebody else do it and go, ah, I see how they move, how they balance, you're starting to get the physiology of success. You're beginning to act as if, and if you're going to succeed at anything in life, every goal, every dream, every desire, every different part of your life, when you've got it, you are acting as if you've got it, because you have, you're thinking you've got it, because you have, you're aligned, and you see, without it, without the two together, you're lost. So, you can do all the planning, you can do all the steps, but we need to get this physiology of success, acting as if, because as I say, this applies to everything. It applies to things like your career, you know, if you're trying to be a salesman, or you're giving ideas, and you're motivating people, if you act like you're depressed, and you're cunched over, and you've got nothing about you, it ain't going to happen, is it? You might have the right words, but without the right, call it, some people call it body language, but that's not it, is it? It's that, that just a communication, nonverbal communication, where your nonverbals, your body, your movement, the sound of your voice, the way you breathe, the way you look, the intensity, as well as what the words mean, that's when you get it. Relationships, you can say to somebody, I love you, I love you, oh, you mean the most to me, or you can say, yeah, I love you, yeah, you mean the most to me, don't you? Yeah, same words, same bloody words, but they're not together, you have to put them all together. So, relationships, going out with your friends, socializing, everything that you want is aligned, and this is where we're going to go, how do we get the psychology and the physiology of success? Are we going to talk about physiology, because I think, I believe not many people talk about it, they talk about how you've got to think, how, what type of words, you know, the tactics, but they don't tell you how to put it all together, because when you put it all together, and you do it properly, you're not faking it until you make it, we've talked about that so many other times, you're not faking it, it's in the bloody title, faking, and when you're the real you, and they call it the authentic you, but the real you, you're not faking it, are you? You know, because you can't fake yourself, you know you're telling little fibs if you're not fully aligned, so we've got to get that physiology of success, truly aligned, being yourself, and how are we going to do that? Well, that's in the next Deeper Dive, you see, in the next Deeper Dive, we're going to explore something I think is really fascinating, I think you'll find it fascinating, it'll be so interesting, because it's not just the what, it's how, the bit that people miss out, and what happens when you do, and when you start, you know, changing yourself back into yourself as it were, your goals, your dreams, everything you want to create in life, the good life, the brilliant life, will start to come to you naturally, and the thing is, this is what I found out after a while, it's not just about you, I used to think it was just about you, you've got to get it, but when you're in this wonderful way of being, then you create changes in other people too, because you show them what's available to them, look at him, look at her, oh man, if she can have it, if he can have it, I can do it too, you become the example of what can be done, and that's without trying, you don't try to be the example, you just are, and the ripples of change go further and wider, so if you want to come into this little Deeper Dive of knowing how to be the real you, come with me, I'll see you next time on Deeper Dive. So before you leave this unplugged mind of mine, this hypnotic mind, if you enjoyed this podcast or any of the other podcasts, please do subscribe, it helps this podcast grow and affect so many more people, and we love to leave everyone in a better place than we found them, and this will help, help the podcast, it will help you, and it will help well everyone that you know, so if you could just subscribe and share, share this podcast to everyone you blooming well know, that's the only cost, pay it forward to everyone, and when you do that, boom, we are all going to make a difference to this little old planet Earth of ours, and the people in it, but let's make a world, a good world, a nice world, okay, okay, you can now prepare to leave this unplugged mind. Warning, you are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough, it's time to fly and run Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40742715

#479 What Are You Afraid Of Losing 04/24/2026

#479 What Are You Afraid Of Losing What Are You Afraid Of Losing? Here’s a question for you… What are you afraid of losing? Not gaining… not achieving… But losing. Because here’s the thing… I’ve been doing a bit of deeper work on myself lately — you know, when life shifts a little and things you’ve always done… just don’t have that same spark anymore. And in that space… that little void… I found myself looking for something new. A new direction… a bit more passion… a bit more something. But the harder I looked… The more it seemed to disappear. Now that’s frustrating, isn’t it? And it got me thinking… What if it’s not about what I’m trying to find… But what I’m afraid of losing? Because we all do it, don’t we? We hold on to things — even emotional stuff, even old ways of being — And we don’t always know why. And maybe… just maybe… That’s what’s getting in the way of finding what we really want. So this is just a seed… A question to sit with. What are you afraid of losing? And how might that be holding you back? In the longer episode, we’re going to dive deeper into this… We’ll explore what’s really going on underneath… And more importantly… We’ll go through a process together — not just talking about it, but actually finding your answer. Because that’s where the change happens. The Next Step If this got you thinking… stay with me. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode — That’s where we do the real work. And maybe… just maybe… You’ll find something you didn’t expect. Please Share the Seed If you know someone who’s searching… Or maybe feeling a bit stuck… Share this with them. or the video Let’s get more people asking better questions. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism And just let that go, just let that go for a moment. You can open your eyes again if you did close your eyes. And maybe we can think of a real life, back in the real world as we are. And notice, where does this show up for you the most? Where does this holding on, this fear of losing, show up for you? And again, recall where and what have you been trying to move toward? It's moving towards now, moving towards and that thing is holding you back. And just think, you know, it could be as simple as, you know, you want to move away from the thing that you always feel, staying in that comfort zone as it were, that familiar zone. Maybe it's this projects that you want to do, but you're just not getting there. Or is that career move you want to do? Or that relationship you want to take another step further? Or you just want to, but do you recognise any of those? I think you might just do a little bit. But you're holding onto those roles that no longer fit, aren't they? And I'm going to dive into that on a lot longer episode or another longer episode, because there's so many different things that we can talk about that. But the thing is, I want to give you a little bit of a, little bit of a push, a bit of a challenge. I want you to consider this. It's not laziness. It's not lack of motivation. That's just an excuse, by the way. It is that protection thing, isn't it? Because once we accept that and acknowledge it, and that's the work we've just done, here's the empowering bit. If it's all about protection, you can choose what to do with it. Yeah, you get to choose what you do with that protection, because this is you. This is all about you. You can choose, as we've done before, do you want to hold on? Or do you want to loosen the grip? You see, here's the thing. You're not stuck. You're not stuck one bit. You might feel stuck, but you're not stuck. You're just being careful. And the thing is, when you're just being careful, you could become curious, because that's a safe way of being, isn't it? Being careful and curious to find out new things. And when you do that, curiosity can become courageous. And when you're courageous, guess what? You are perfectly safe. And what I want you to think of is, maybe you give permission to that part of you that's been protecting you for so, so long, holding you back from fear of losing things. Just stand down for a minute. Give it permission to take a rest. It'll always be there for you if you need it, but just to take a rest. It's like a centurion or a sentry guard. Give it permission to stand at ease, at ease, because this is all about just becoming careful and curious. Nothing to lose. That's what I did. And when I did this, I found so many different things that I could look towards. And some of them, yeah, I ignored. But some of them, oh, I ignored. Oh, this is different. This is gonna make my life richer. And as soon as that part of me, the one that was holding me back, as it were, afraid of losing stuff, suddenly said, oh, this is new stuff, this is good stuff. I hope it'd be better than the other stuff, but it fits me right now. So have a think. You see, think about rippling, the ripples. The ripples of change go far and wide. You'll never know how far they go. But when you let go of what no longer serves you, because it no longer serves you, you don't just change your life. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. And your life will change immeasurably. I said before, you begin to be the example of what can be done. You become the example to show other people what's possible. Look at them. They did this, they were so good. And then they changed and they did this. I see them doing new stuff. And they're so, well, it just builds. It's infectious. And you become that wonderful example of growth. And the thing is, it's not just the example of growth to others, I can't say others, but you become the example to yourself. You suddenly understand what is possible. And then you become confidence because of your competence. Because it's careful curiosity, that's competence. You give yourself permission now to go further and find a richer world. And then it's a bit like that butterfly I talk about being on the other side of the world where it's just flapping its wings gently. But now you become the wind of change. Yeah, because it isn't just about you. As I said, it isn't just about you. No, not at all. So let me just go back over something. Let me go back over it. Think of this. What are you afraid of losing? Imagine the one that interests you from these questions. What are you afraid of losing? And is that losing real? Or simply imagined? For me, it wasn't bloody real. In fact, it was holding me back from wonderful things. What is, and then you're going back into me again, what is that fear trying to protect you from? Ask the question, what is this fear trying to protect me from? And I say, for me, it was like losing my identity. And then I found that was bullshit. Because I'm me. And the richer things I find in life to fill that void, man, I build on all my experiences. I don't let go of the experience that I've had to find something new. I build upon them. What might prove possible when I loosen the grip? And that's exactly what I did. When I loosened that grip, things just became so much clearer. That candle inside me started to, it wouldn't roar because it's a wonderful candle, but it got brighter. And the brighter it got, the better I felt, the more curious I felt, and the richer my life became. And here's, as we talk about identity, who, who would you become if you allowed the change? Or say it this way, who would I become if I allowed change? Write that one down. Sit down quietly with your G and T, your cup of water, your whatever. Sit down quietly for five minutes and just go and repeat it. Who would I become if I allowed change? That's it. And I think, well, especially when you say, I give permission to that part of me to be at ease, to protect me when I need protecting, but just notice that's a role that I don't need quite so much anymore. Not in that way. Yeah. Hopefully, hopefully that has sparked something. It's resonated with you. That's my covert, because I've told you about it, that's how it's, not covert anymore. But that's my, that's the message I wanted to bring. Give you all these different ways of, of understanding that we think we're losing stuff and we're not. So I hope that sparked something in you. And I'd love to hear about it. You know how to do that? It's the email feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. I'd love to hear everything that is sparked about you. Let me know. Please share this with as many as you can, certainly interested people, because you might be able to give them a nudge to be free, to find freedom, free to be curious, courageous, creative, and just create a rich life for themselves. Never have it, but please press that imaginary button, or in my head, but it's on your player of choice to subscribe to this. That's the only two things, pay it forward. And if this means something to you, oh dear, I can't breathe. Please press subscribe. That's all I ask. And what I wanted to, to say was, from the metaphor of who's driving your bus, because maybe you weren't quite driving it fully. Now you drive the bus. You drive the bus of your life. And I'm just here to maybe help you steer a little bit smoother. And if we get a puncture, I can come with a repair kit. There's metaphors coming out all over the place, isn't there? And just remember, if it's okay just to remember, to be reminded and re-reminded, you don't have to let go of everything, because you're going to build up on everything. And sometimes, just to reinforce it again, it's just about losing your grip, loosening your grip. And you see, you don't have to spit your dummy, throw everything out the window, just a little bit, a little bit. Because when you start doing that, well then we'll start throwing loads of stuff you don't need out and finding new stuff. Have more fun than you can stand, because my friend, from Paul, Personal Development Unplugged, the podcast, anxiety to confidence and all that stuff. Hopefully, just lighten that candle a little brighter, because it's time to fly. Enjoy. Warning. You are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly now. Be brave, my friend. Personal Development Unplugged. Transcribed by . to remove this message. Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40742705

FMQ530 What Are You Afraid Of Losing? 04/17/2026

FMQ530 What Are You Afraid Of Losing? FMQ530 What Are You Afraid of Losing? (And How It’s Holding You Back) Here’s a question for you… What are you afraid of losing? Not gaining… not achieving… But losing. Because here’s the thing… I’ve been doing a bit of deeper work on myself lately — you know, when life shifts a little and things you’ve always done… just don’t have that same spark anymore. And in that space… that little void… I found myself looking for something new. A new direction… a bit more passion… a bit more something. But the harder I looked… The more it seemed to disappear. Now that’s frustrating, isn’t it? And it got me thinking… What if it’s not about what I’m trying to find… But what I’m afraid of losing? Because we all do it, don’t we? We hold on to things — even emotional stuff, even old ways of being — And we don’t always know why. And maybe… just maybe… That’s what’s getting in the way of finding what we really want. So this is just a seed… A question to sit with. What are you afraid of losing? And how might that be holding you back? In the longer episode, we’re going to dive deeper into this… We’ll explore what’s really going on underneath… And more importantly… We’ll go through a process together — not just talking about it, but actually finding your answer. Because that’s where the change happens. What's the Next Step? If this got you thinking… stay with me. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode —What's the next That’s where we do the real work. And maybe… just maybe… You’ll find something you didn’t expect. Share the Seed If you know someone who’s searching… Or maybe feeling a bit stuck… Share this with them. and have a look at the video too Let’s get more people asking better questions. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome to the Personal Development Unplugged podcast with me Paul. And this is a five minute quickie. A seed, where I sow a seed or some thoughts of mine, where I want to go with a longer podcast where we can dive deeper. But instead of just diving deep into subjects, I found that was sometimes too big a jump. And I needed to think along different lines and get my thoughts to germinate. And I want to do it with you too. So I wanted to share what I'm thinking about, so you can think about it too. And then on the longer podcast, we're together walking hand in hand, as it were, diving deeper into subjects. And the subject I've been working on is, as you can see from the title, what are you afraid of losing? What are you afraid of losing? Now, I've been doing something over the last couple of months, which is, for me, a little bit unusual. I've been doing even deeper work on myself. Yeah, deeper work on myself, because things have been changing in my life. And you see, those things, I've been losing some of the things I've been doing for years. And in that void that's been created, I felt lost a little bit. I felt I hadn't got things that I was passionate about anymore. Still get hypnosis and things like that. But there are other parts of my life that just seemed to, well, they didn't have that spark anymore. The little candle inside me just started to get dimmer. And I wanted to find new interest to spark passion. And I called it, this investigation, My North Star. Yeah, I have to keep looking that way, because I never know which blooming camera I'm on. But I'm back again. But My North Star is my direction, where I want my life to be filled with more passion, more interest, more creativity, and be more worthwhile. I feel my life has been pretty worthwhile up to now, but I want to be even more, especially with this, these voids I've created. I want them to be filled with good stuff, not just boring stuff. And I hope in my little adventure of creating this for myself, and I'm getting there, there'll be things of interest I can share with you too. So if you're having trouble with finding your direction, your passions, your mission, for being in the world, your best version of yourself and why you're here, stay with me. But the thing is, I discovered something quite weird. And what the weird thing was, is the harder I bloody looked, it was like the further it disappeared. It was really frustrating, because I looked and looked and looked, I kept thinking about that stuff. I just couldn't get it, as if I wanted something. I wanted something I could hold, to have, and it disappeared. And then something happened in my mind as I was thinking around this. What am I afraid of losing? Which is weird, isn't it? Put the two together, looking for something, looking for something that's really going to be really good, really, really, really, really good. But having this fear of losing something. And it got me thinking about emotional issues. We have emotional issues, but sometimes we hold on to them, don't we? Why is that? What are we afraid of losing? There's a theme there. Then I thought to myself, what about personal development? Which is a little bit like I'm doing myself. Sometimes when we're in this lovely bit of life of personal development, we're trying to progress ourselves, get that 1% better every day and all the stuff and all the good things, you know, creating that best version of ourselves or moving towards it. It's there, we've just got to move towards it. But sometimes we falter, don't we? We plateau. And there's reasons why we plateau. But sometimes we just don't move on from that plateau. Why is that? What are we afraid of losing? That's what keeps coming to my mind. Now I thought to myself, what about goals, our dreams, our desires? Sometimes we work on them and it just happens, doesn't it? But then there are other times. And to me, sometimes they're the big things, bit like this North Star of mine. My goal, my dream, my real passionate desire to find something new in my life, to create something which is a benefit to me, the people around me, a little old planet Earth, which makes it totally ecological and fun. Why don't we achieve them sometimes? And I put it again. I think sometimes we're afraid of losing something. And it's that fear of losing is stopping us creating marvellous, magical things in our life. What are we afraid of losing? And the thing is, these are just questions, aren't they? They're just questions. But the longer podcast, I think I've got a bit of the answer. I'm not going to say I've got the total answer because there's always more answers to find. But I think when you find the answer, as I did, boom. Once I understood what I was afraid of losing, things just got big. They became clear again. And the more I looked, the more I found. So on the longer podcast, if you come with me, this is of interest to you. We're going to go deeper into what we're afraid of losing, how we can let go of that fear, understand what's happening on the inside. Find that passion, find that purpose. And guess what? There'll be at least one process in that longer podcast. I don't know what it is yet. But we're going to have at least one or two processes because I love that is part of this passion that I'm finding now. I don't just want to do talk about stuff. I hear so many people talk and they don't back it up. They don't give you the how. They don't help you through that process. They just tell you, well, this is what you're going to look for. But no, don't tell you how to look for it. Well, I'm not going to tell you how to look for it. We're going to look for it together in a process. And those answers that you find through the process, and I hope through the thoughts that we have, the deeper dive, will allow you to succeed in your life. Because that's the whole basis, really, of personal development unplugged. It's using all the skills from NLP, hypnosis, everything I've ever got, into supporting you and me, by the way. You support me in finding our dreams, creating our dreams, succeeding in our dreams, and making little old planet Earth a better place to live. And there is an end. The end is finding that real you. The real you that's going to make this life so worthwhile. And I'll have a few questions along the way that'll make you think too. And the thing is, when we find that real you, and it's a simple little statement, it will create the ripples that will go so far and wide. It will change your life. It will change the lives around you, your friends, your family. And I think you'll make a difference to little old planet Earth. Which is, I know I repeat it so many times, but if we can make one little tiny difference, like that butterfly flapping on the other side of the world, we're going to make a hurricane of change. The wind of change. So please come with me. Please come with me on that longer podcast, which will be the one that follows this. And it'll be called something like, what are you afraid of losing? But it might be called, what are you afraid of? I don't know. I ain't got there yet. This is all in the making, and that's part of this. So come with me. Please share. So other people might be of interest, or it might be of interest to you. You're interested in this stuff. Maybe have a little listen to old Cluffy here. He might have something for you. The video is a bit bonky. They're not that professional, but hopefully the audio quality is pretty good. And he's got some real interesting things that help you change. If you do that, that'd be great. Just share it along and press that. I haven't got the old things that come up on the screen. Just press the bloody subscribe button. So you don't miss the longer podcasts. And they always pop on your playing device of choice. All that stuff. When you do that, we're going to make a change together. So come with me and sit down for a spell next time. Okay. Have more fun than you can stand. And guess what? It's time to fly. So before you leave this unplugged mind of mine, this hypnotic mind, if you enjoyed this podcast or any of the other podcasts, please do subscribe. It helps this podcast grow and affect so many more people. And we love to leave everyone in a better place than we found them. And this will help help the podcast. It will help you and it will help everyone that you know. So if you could just subscribe and share, share this podcast to everyone you know, that's the only cost, pay it forward to everyone. And when you do that, boom, we are all going to make a difference to this little old planet earth of ours and the people in it. Let's make a good world, a nice world. Okay. Okay. You can now prepare to leave this unplugged mind. Warning. You are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly. Be brave, my friend. Personal development unplugged. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40680090

#478 The Big Why - The Ripple Effect Of Personal Development 04/10/2026

#478 The Big Why - The Ripple Effect Of Personal Development Your Growth Serves: Find Your Why, Build Confidence & Create Meaningful Impact What if personal development wasn’t just about fixing yourself… but fulfilling something bigger? In this deeper dive from the FMQ “The Big Why – Let’s Refresh”, we move beyond goals, habits and self-improvement — and into something far more powerful: Service through growth Because when your “why” is only about you, motivation fades. But when your growth begins to serve others, everything changes. In this episode, you’ll experience a powerful process to help you: Reconnect with your deeper purpose See the ripple effect your growth creates And step into a version of you that is aligned, motivated and meaningful This isn’t about pushing yourself anymore… It’s about being pulled by purpose. What You’ll Discover Why most people lose motivation in personal development The real power behind discovering your true “why” The shift from self-improvement → self-exploration → service How your growth creates a ripple effect in every area of life Why meaning and purpose fuel consistent motivation How to move from “I have to” → “I get to” Turning your life into a hero’s adventure, not a grind The Processes Inside This Episode 🔹 Process 1 – The Ripple Effect Visualisation Experience your future self growing into your ultimate vision …and notice how that growth: Transforms your confidence, relationships, and direction Creates a ripple effect into the lives of others Installs the belief: “My growth serves” Process 2 – Clarity Through Reflection Simple but powerful questions to anchor your growth: What do I need to let go of? What do I need to learn? Who am I becoming? How will this benefit others? This is where insight turns into real change Key Takeaway Personal development isn’t something you have to do. It’s something you get to experience. And when your growth becomes about more than just you… You stop pushing You start being pulled And life becomes an adventure full of meaning Core Message “My growth serves.” Say it. Feel it. Live it. Because when you grow: You change your life You change the people around you You contribute to something bigger than you And that’s where true motivation lives. Questions To Reflect On Don’t just listen — use this. What am I ready to let go of? What do I need to learn next? Who am I becoming? What impact will my growth have on others? And most importantly: What’s my real “why”… now? Topics Explored in This Episode finding your why personal development motivation purpose and meaning in life self growth and transformation confidence and identity change mindset and success psychology overcoming procrastination personal development tools and techniques creating purpose-driven success self improvement vs self exploration Final Thought What would it be like… To walk through today And suddenly feel happy… for no reason? Maybe your unconscious mind is already working on that. And Finally please share this episode Or the video of the whole thing Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism #478 The Big Why - The Ripple effect Of Personal Development So you're back for this deeper dive. And the big why, the big why the ripple effect of personal development is what people don't tell you. And when it works, and it does work, it affects all areas of your life. So that's why I love promoting and being part of personal development. And that's why I do personal development unplugged. You see, the question you need to ask yourself about being involved in trying to develop yourself being the best version of yourself, why are you bloody doing it? What is your why? And maybe you think, well, it's therapy. Because I've got an ism, or I've got like anxiety. I've got an inferiority complex, you know, I shouldn't be here. I got those limiting beliefs of I'm not good enough. I'm not worthy. I don't deserve this. I think I'm invisible. That's one that comes up a lot. I'm invisible, stay hidden. And they're all perfectly good reasons. And they're not excuses this time. They're reasons for you to develop yourself, to be able to let them go, find the tools within personal development, and change the way you feel. Because you're not entitled, you must have a life feeling the way you want to feel. You know, it's your choice. Your choice, nobody else's. So you can do that. I mean, if you were to get really curious, maybe you'd think, yeah, it's therapy, but I really just want to get really confident. And the thing is, no one can give you confidence because you have confidence inside you. Let's think about that for a moment. I've got the confidence inside me. Well, where the hell is it, Cluffy? Well, it comes from competence. And we're going to talk about that shortly. But you don't want to be overconfident, do you? Because that's where you create issues in your life. And sometimes overconfidence is a way of trying to get those negative beliefs reinforced. I knew I couldn't do it. I'm a failure, which is so, well, it's false. It really is. So let's just think for a little while, think of all the things you'd like to change. Because that's part of personal development. But there's other things. Let me tell you a little story. Because we like a story before we get into the deep stuff. And this is the thing about the ripples. Lovely young lady come to see me a few years ago now. And she said, well, I've got this phobia of loud noises. And I'm thinking, that's interesting. We live in a life, the neighborhood where we live is really quiet. So I said, where'd you get these loud noises? I want to know, because I don't hear them. And she said, well, they're all over the place. Where we live in the summer, there's a fireworks display every Saturday night for all the tourists. And they frighten the life out of me. Oh, I've heard those. But they're not that loud. But if they affect you, they do. And she says, if you think about it, most parties now have some type of firework display. They always have some bangers or things. And in fact, people will make and buy fireworks just to let them off in the street. Yeah, I've heard that too. And it's terrible. I can't go out. I can't go to a party just in case. I can't go out on a Saturday night because of that firework display. And it's really, really ruining, you know, what I should have. I'm a young girl, I should be able to enjoy myself. And you're dead right. She was dead right. So we did some work. And then she phoned me up because I said, you know, you got to test this stuff. There's no good doing the work and then not testing because we've got to see that it works. Maybe you have to tweak a little bit. And she phoned back and said, I went to a birthday party over the weekend. And there was lots of fireworks. They actually had a firework display. They brought one in and I was very nervous, Paul. But then there was nothing. In fact, I watched and I was really interested and curious. I hadn't seen it because they're always hidden, but they were beautiful. Yeah, the loud noises did give me a little bit. But that's what loud noises do to everybody, isn't it? But she said, here's the weird thing. And it wasn't weird to me, by the way. But when you get this, the ripples, she said at work, things have changed. I'm so confident in myself. I speak up. I share my opinions. I never used to do that. I always hid. But now when I go out socialising, I'm confident in myself. It made such a difference to my life. I didn't realise how this affected me, but I'm so pleased. And that's what it is. It's the ripples of change. You never know how far they go. And you never know in which direction. But when you do change one thing in your life, and you get a little bit more confident there, you get more confident over there. And it's proper confidence, confidence in your competence. And in this episode and episodes to follow, we're going to find your why, the real why. Because when you know the real why, you'll be pulled, you'll be motivated. And that's real. You can't stop yourself then. Because you just want to do these things. And then you will be striving to be the best version of yourself. Internal conflict gets resolved. We'll do a little bit today, we'll do it. And if you notice, we've been doing this on every longer podcast now, resolving conflicts. So go backwards and forwards through the catalogue. Come with me. And when you find that why, we'll be installing like a motivational alignment, you'll be aligned. So you won't have the negative beliefs trying to stop you doing things because it's safer doing the things you want to do when we do it in the right way. When we've got access to the right tools, resources, your unconscious mind comes with us and says, this is safer, I don't need all that negative stuff, we've learned from it. That's where the alignment comes in, conscious and unconscious alignment, learnings. And that's where you find growth. And then we'll just explore this ripple effect. Because when you start to notice where you find all the different things that are changing your life that you didn't realise, then you go, wow, do you know what, I can do whatever I like. As long as it's ecological, you know, good for me, good for the people around me and good for little old planet Earth. That's when I'm really going to be my best version. A little bit of selfless service in there, doing things for others, because that's the way, that's what happens when you really start to change with personal development. But let's have a little think, this confidence and competence. I'm very much into competence. Because when you're competent in an area of your life, you will be confident in yourself there, because you just know. It's when you're not competent, and you're just confident you can do something. You know, I could be confident, I could fly a plane, I would not come with me by the way, because I've never flown a plane. But I'm just confident. But if you're competent, and you learn things, you build upon them. Again, the ripple effect, you start learning things, because you see things in a different way. And you have curiosity. I love curiosity, because that feeds the learnings and the learning state within us. And when we learn, we grow, we strive to be the best version of ourselves. And when we do that, you know, just having confidence alone, by the way, is delusional, a delusion. Because it's nothing, it's not based on anything at all. So we don't want confidence, we want inner confidence. I have a programme called Supreme Inner Confidence, being confident in yourself. I'm not selling that. Well, I am selling it, but I'm not pushing it now. Have a look at paulcloughonline.com if you want to have a little look. There's a 30 day money back guarantee, and it only takes two weeks or 14 days, so you got plenty of time, send it back, I don't care. But it'll make a difference. But you see, when you have that confidence, it builds confidence inside you. And that allows you to stretch. And when you stretch, you grow. And when you stretch, you grow, and the ripples keep changing. They change you, they change different areas of your life. And they also change the people around you. And that growth, I guess, sometimes triggers resistance. It's a little scary, isn't it? But when we just push a little bit, just beyond our comfort zone, our familiar zone, we tend to find it wasn't that scary. We'd be putting up an invisible barrier. And now we don't need to. Because that resistance is purely an unconscious way of protecting you. Your unconscious mind saying, whoa, this might be scary. But if we can show each time that we stretch ourselves with safety, with resources, such as hypnosis, such as the processes of NLP that we do here, your unconscious mind can get the resources it needs to be able to use them to say, to keep you safe and grow. Yeah. And so if you think about it, if resistance isn't the enemy anymore, what is it protecting? Because there's no need to protect anything at all. Think of this for a moment. Think of this for a moment. If you were to identify a goal, something you want, you know, if you got that goal, what might you lose if you succeed? How can I lose something? You might say, how can I lose anything if I succeed? Well, think of this. You would leave, yeah, you'd leave it behind, but you'd lose that anxiety you had about it, that fear you had about it. You'd lose that, I don't deserve to be here belief. You'd lose, I'm not worthy. I'm not good enough belief. Because you're succeeding. And if the goal's an appropriate goal, and supported by your unconscious mind, and you do it in wonderful ways with the processes here at Personal Development Unplugged and the hypnosis here, you're just going to get better and better. And you can ask yourself, then what value is this protecting? Because if I lose things like anxiety and fear, because I'm more competent, I'm safer, because anxiety keeps you safe in a way, but it makes you feel so bloody terrible, you're not safe. So there's that clash, that complete clash, conflict, we need to find a better way. That's what we do here. So we find a higher value. What do you really want? And why is comebacks to the why? Why do you want it? Because we find a safer way, a safer value. And we can imagine it, visualise it, and then get comfortable with it. And when we're comfortable, we notice that we're working towards something, not coming away. And when you're working towards something which is really good, and is aligned with your values, aligned with your goals, aligned with your safety, it's a lovely gentle stretch. Yeah. So here's the thing, what we want to do is begin to align the future, the future with the way you want to be, with your self image, that self image that you have, the real you. So think of this for the moment. Maybe, I don't know if you want to close your eyes or not. But maybe you just begin to think, what would it be like if you brought a goal to mind? And notice that the feeling you would have getting it and got it would be that feeling of success. Not the overconfidence, because you'll have got there and feel how competent you feel. Because you've learned along the way, you've had to stretch yourself. But when your unconscious mind is protecting you, that goal becomes congruent with the ultimate vision of yourself, that real you. And when you're the real you, and you have access to all your learnings, all your experiences, that's when you can truly grow. And you can let go of emotions, negative emotions, limiting belief, but we do the work as well. We find processes to learn from those isms as they were. And when we learn from them, we can then use the learnings to achieve those goals, to stretch and get them. And when we can visualise that, see yourself successfully completing something that in the past you were a little bit hesitant. Notice when you get there, what new opportunities, feel like. Notice how it feels like you're being pulled towards a new goal, more opportunities to allow you to grow. What would that feel like? And maybe notice, just be aware of different areas of your life now changing too. Confidence is spreading, the learnings, the skill sets, your skills stacking, and being able to use different skills or skills in different areas of your life. Maybe you feel comfortable talking at work, and now you feel comfortable talking socially, expressing your ideas. Yeah. And that's just a small thing, a small thing. We can think about that. Because again, I want you to just realise the difference, the difference of having either overconfidence or maybe not really knowing your why, but knowing there's a why there, the why to develop yourself, personal development, and making it unplugged as it were. And we're slowly exploring this in a very light way. And we can do it, and I think I will, do this in a deeper hypnotic style. So we can align your why and resolving in a conflict. What would that be like? Yeah. Now, now think about it for the moment. Think. Let's think about the bigger picture. You see, most people think of personal development being a bit selfish, because all you're doing is working on yourself. But the thing is, if you've seen somebody who is anxious, nervous, you feel it, don't you? You feel it yourself. You feel anxious yourself. If someone's very negative all the time, maybe depressed, they bring you down, don't they? Whereas when you can, say, regulate your emotions, because negative emotions will always be there. But now we have the tools to deal with them or learn from them. And we're feeling, say, grounded. We're feeling our true self. It makes others feel safe too. You become the change you want to see in others. So it's the most unselfish thing to do, to work on yourself. And you see, when you get that inner competence and inner confidence, and you behave in that way, other people get confident with you. You bring them along. No longer is that tall poppy syndrome where they try to cut you down. You bring them along with you. And you see, when they see you stretch, striving to be a better version, giving selfless service, it's as if you're giving permission to the people around you to say, this is good, this is okay. And you're not doing it for ego now. No ego here. And where does that ripple effect go when you're that way? Let's think about it. When you're more confident in yourself, and you're feeling good about yourself, genuinely aligned with your goals, you have goals that you're striving for, you're achieving, what happens to your family dynamics? How you connect, how you share in your family. And these don't have to be just family members. These are people who act like family members too. Think of it at work, how your stature changes, your words change because of your inner confidence. Because you're growing, you're moving on, moving up. You're showing the world who you really are. You're not hiding,... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40295350

FMQ529 The Big Why - Let's Refresh 04/03/2026

FMQ529 The Big Why - Let's Refresh FMQ529 – The Big Why: Let’s Refresh Sometimes we just need to pause… and refresh. Not another technique. Not another goal. Not another productivity hack. Just a simple question: Why are you doing this personal development thing anyway? In this short FMQ episode I invite you to take a moment to review where you are on your personal development adventure. Whether you’re brand new to this work or you’ve been exploring it for years, a refresh is powerful. Looking at how far you’ve come, what you’ve learned, and where you truly want to go next. Because personal development isn’t just about fixing problems. Yes, we resolve anxiety, panic, limiting beliefs and all those other “isms”… but it’s also about learning new skills, developing competence, and becoming a better version of yourself. And here’s the difference many people miss: Confidence without competence can fall apart. But competence naturally creates confidence. The real key though is motivation. When your why is clear, you stop pushing yourself forward… and instead feel pulled toward the life you want. And that’s what this episode seeds for the longer podcast episode — discovering something most people overlook in personal development: The ripple effect. So before the next episode, take a moment to reflect: What do you want to let go of? What do you want to learn? What do you want to achieve? And most importantly… why? Bring that curiosity with you into the next episode and we’ll unlock something powerful together. Have more fun than you can stand. It’s time to fly and share But Before you do ➜ Continue the Journey In this short FMQ episode we’ve refreshed one important question: Why are you really doing personal development? But there’s something even more powerful most people never realise. When you begin changing yourself, something unexpected starts to happen… Your growth creates ripples. In the next full episode of Personal Development Unplugged we explore: • Why confidence without competence can sabotage progress • How hidden value clashes block motivation • A powerful process to align your “why” • And how your personal growth quietly influences everyone around you If you want motivation that pulls you forward instead of pushing you… Don’t miss the next episode. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism FMQ529 The Big why Let's Refresh Welcome to this shorter episode because I want to sow, as usual, a seed. But it's a refresh. A refresh because I think we can all do with refreshing what we know or what we think or our aims and goals. Because it doesn't really matter whether you're a master of personal development, or been doing it a long time anyway, or brand new. It really doesn't matter because every time, even just looking at what we've done and how far we've come along, we've achieved what we've achieved, what we've done. It's great to refresh, to review. To review what we've done, what we've achieved, or review where we're going. But also just to know why are we doing this bloody thing? What are we doing it for? And there's something really, really special about personal development when you really get into it. And it's something that not a lot of people tell you about. And if you knew about it, you'd do it even more. Are you going to tell me Cloughie? Yeah, I mean indeed, but not yet. Probably on the longer podcast. Well, I know I'm going to tell you on the longer podcast. You see, some people see it as therapy. Personal development as therapy. And the longer episodes here at Personal Development Unplugged are very therapeutic. I try to include at least one process within every longer podcast. So in some ways it is a therapy. But some of those processes are for a completely different aim, have a different aim. They're for creating new skills, using new skills. I'll talk about that shortly. And you see, even the subtitle of this podcast, the Personal Development Unplugged podcast, if I could say it right, is anxiety to confidence. Because that's where I want people to be able to go. And it's anyway how close you are to confidence and being the most confident person in the world. But that's not just confidence, it's competence. It's another difference that people don't tell you. If you can be competent, then you will be confident in you. But if you just get confident about things, you could be wrong. You were confident you could do that, and you crashed and burned. And that's not a good feeling. And it's only a sort of good-ish feeling if you learn from it. But sometimes when we crash and burn, it sets us back, because we don't learn from it. And then that sets another pattern of negativity, as it were, negative beliefs. So what else? You see, some see personal development as a resolution, resolving trauma. Yeah, and it is in some ways. Then you've got all those bloody isms. Yeah, isms. You've got anxiety, you've got depression, you've got panic attacks, you've got FOMO, that being just insecure. You've got other emotions such as grief, sadness, anger. Now personal development, here anyway, is a way of letting those go. They're here for a reason, by the way. And we learn from, because then we are developing ourselves. But there's the other side of it. It's about learning new tools. Learning tools that we can develop ourselves, so we can strive to be the best person, the best edition, as it were, of ourselves, and keep going for that little bit more, that 1% more. Can I? Constant and never ending improvement. But the thing is, when you do strive for more, and you push in that boundary, you're just going and stretching and stretching. Sometimes that can bring up emotions, negative beliefs. And that's where personal development unplug comes in again. Because the more we push, sometimes we come across something and we need to resolve that. Then we have to set goals. And sometimes when we're setting our goals, we find sometimes we procrastinate. Sometimes we get to a point, I just don't know what to do. Again, personal development brings in tools to allow you to let go of procrastination, get those positive beliefs, and start to find the patterns, the strategy for success, to become the ultimate vision of yourself, which you'll never actually be by the way, because it's ultimate. We're going to keep going for it. But what we're going to do is enjoy this adventure. That's the thing other people don't tell you. It's like, it's a thing I have to do and I have to troll through it and push through it. Now you get pulled through it. Pulled through it because there's a desire to be better. And the desire to enjoy this adventure, to have fun along the way. It's not just that target, that goal in mind. No, it's every step along the way. If we can have fun every step of the way, creating changes in ourselves, what a wonderful thing. But the thing is, it comes down to one thing. What's that one thing, Cluffy? I will tell you, I will tell you. It's your why. Why do you want to improve yourself? And this could be in any genre. This could be in any area of your life. Because you may be cracking at me, you know, really doing it really well in one area of your life, but the other area, not so much. But why do you want to do it? It's when we find our why. And sometimes there's some little bits of pulling us back in that why. There's a clash of values maybe. I want to do this so much, but it means I have to neglect this so much. And I don't want to neglect that, but I really want that. Well, there's that clash of values that we come up with a process to allow you to achieve your goals. But is that why? Once we find our why, we get total motivation. And that's why I say it's like being pulled towards the goal that you want for yourself. And the thing about all of this, and again, some people do hint at this. There's one or two guys I really respect, and they are really pushing it. But a lot forget it's all about service. Because when you become the best version of yourself, you're showing other people, your friends, your colleagues, people just around you, what is possible and how much is possible. Well, that's the limit of your imagination. And no one controls that. If you can imagine it, we can find a way to get it. Unconscious mind never knows what's real or imagined. So when we can start to imagine it, limiting beliefs disappear. It becomes something that we think we've already done. And that's part of the process we use here in Personal Development Unplugged. Getting your unconscious mind to go, yeah, I can do this. I can see the benefit of it. I can see it is safe to do so. It's comfortable. Because that's where all these issues come in, by the way. There's always a degree of your unconscious mind trying to keep you safe, but holding you back from things. There's a real clash when that happens. And when we can educate the unconscious mind that it's actually better for us to find these new ways. You just, well, you change in leaps and bounds. And that's where I want to go. Because it's that one thing that people don't talk about what happens when you do. And that's what we're going to talk about at the longer podcast. Okay, so be with me, come with me in the longer podcast, the next episode. And we're going to find about ripples. Yeah, ripples. You have a little hint there. But I just want you to think over the next few days. Where am I on this little adventure of personal development? What are the things I want to let go of? What are the things I want to learn? And what are the things I want to achieve? And then when you come with that in mind and curiosity, we'll be able to do stuff. And that'll really get you into that motivated state of mind, where then the longer podcasts and future will things will all just come together. Okay, so have fun, more fun than you can stand. And I'll see you on the next longer episode to really crack this personal development lock. Okay. See you then it's time to fly. Bye bye. So before you leave this unplugged mind of mine, this hypnotic mind. If you enjoyed this podcast, or any of the other podcasts, please do subscribe. It helps this podcast grow and affect so many more people. And we love to leave everyone in a better place that we found them. And this will help help the podcast, it will help you and it will help everyone that you know. So if you could just subscribe and share, share this podcast to everyone you know, that's the only cost, pay it forward to everyone. And when you do that, boom, we are all going to make a difference to this little old planet Earth of ours, and the people in it. Let's make a good world, a nice world. Okay. Okay, you can now prepare to leave this unplugged mind. Warning, you are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly. Be brave, my friend. Personal Development Unplugged Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40278925

#477 Don't Blame Your Parents Or Anyone Else 03/27/2026

#477 Don't Blame Your Parents Or Anyone Else Don't Blame Your Parents Or Anyone Else . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism #477 Don't Blame Your Parents Or Anyone Else . So we're back with the longer deeper dive from the FMQ. Who or what is to blame for your failure? Do you remember that one? Remember those excuses? The excuses? Oh, it was the weather. Look, I can't do it because the weather's not right. I have to wait for the summer. I have to wait for the winter. The economics, well, you know, it's not quite right at the moment. You know? Or, well, if it wasn't for them, because they didn't accept me, they didn't support me, you know, and then we get that belief, which is, I'm not good enough. I don't belong here. It's just all excuses, isn't it? Well, we think they're reasons, don't we? We think they're reasons, bloody good reasons why we haven't succeeded. This is blame, isn't it? We're blaming somebody else or something else. Maybe we're, we're blaming, well, that trauma I experienced when I was younger. That's given me all these other isms. Because you get isms, don't you? Everyone has an ism these days. And they, I'm sure they were about a long time ago, but it didn't seem to be an excuse then. People got on. They dealt with things. They took responsibility. We'll go there later. We even blame our parents, don't we? They didn't support me. They didn't guide me. They weren't there for me. I've even got a thing that I used to blame. It was an ex-boss of mine. And he was a mentor. He was a superb guy when I was a fledgling in my first career. And he supported me. He did everything for me. Until one day. Until one day, he didn't. And he did it quite publicly. And to the point where I had to leave that company. And he didn't bat an eyelid. So I thought, anyway, so I thought, in my mind, God, why did you do that? I needed your help. I could have stayed. I could have done something if you'd have been there. So it's your fault. And I harboured that resentment. Because I lost a bit of confidence. I lost a lot of confidence. And I thought, you're to blame. I never used to be like that. Now I am. That's gone, by the way. Because I did some work. We did one of the processes, and I did promise you two. Two processes, and that's what you're going to get today, in this episode. And one of the processes is to let go of that connection with somebody. Somebody who you're blaming, or you feel is to blame. Or you use an excuse to blame. I did for a little while. And then I did this particular process we're going to do. And if I met him now, it would be cool. I'd be okay. And he'd be okay. And you see, it's all about, are we living at the effect side of life? Because it's cause and effect. And each one I've told you is an effect. We're giving what we think are reasons, and in fact, they're excuses. Now we have a real issue here. You see, one of the questions just below the conscious level is maybe the question that you don't like to answer. And what is it? Well, if I stop blaming dot dot dot dot dot, what happens to my story? You know, what happens? Because it's a story I've been telling myself for so long. And if that goes, I'll tell you. We're going to go through the answers, but I'll tell you, you're going to feel absolutely brilliant when it goes. Your story will be your true story. The real you, the empowered you, because that's where we're going. Empowerment, which seems really grand, but it is when it feels that good. So at the moment, if you feel like this, it's like it happened to me. This happened to me. It's a story I'm telling again. They did this. Another story we're telling. Because of X, I can't do that. Cause and effect. They're all causes, aren't they? And effect. But the real thing is, you're not a victim. You're not. And that's victimhood, if that's a word. We're just sitting in that victim little mentality and blaming the past, blaming the people, blaming everything. It's all because, because, because, because. And we're going to change that. There will be a shift. Now this is a covert bit, but I'm going to tell you it because it's now overt. This is a shift I want to make. I want you to be able to say, this happened to me. It did happen. Past tense. But I learnt. And I've learnt this. And this is how I'm using it. I want you to be able to say, that shaped me to the person I am now. It doesn't define me. I define me. I do that. I've got my dreams, my goals, my values. I have my positive, supportive beliefs. I define me. But I learn from the past. I learn from my experiences. I create me. I build me. And at the bottom of that is, I choose. I choose how I want to be. I choose the steps I make. I choose my opportunities. I create them. Massive shift there. But all it takes is a little, little bit of refinement. That's it. Now, we said two processes. I'm just letting that sink in just a little bit. Because consciously, you might be thinking about it. But unconsciously, that's going in. Unconsciously, it's being seen as, oh, that's so much more powerful. Oh, that's so much more safer than living on the effect, the victim side. When we take control. When we access all the resources we've got. All the learnings we've got. We become safe. Because if you think about it, every excuse you give doesn't feel safe, does it? Because just one little thing. If you're blaming other people for where you are now, you're accepting that you have to wait for them to change before you can change. That's bollocks. We acknowledge it. We acknowledge it happened. We're learning from it. It shaped me. But now I get to do this, because I've learned. So what did I do with that old boss of mine? A little process. And it worked so wonderfully well. And you can do it too. You can do it too. And you can do it with me now, because we're going to do it now. So you don't have to do this eyes closed. When I did it with him, and I also did it with a, I did this, I do it a number of times, but two examples. One, I did it with him because he was dragging me down. And I did it with a real good friend of mine. And we were in business together. And I was going to change my direction in the business. And I didn't think we could let go of each other. So we allowed, or I allowed this process to let go of him and send him on his way, safe and sound. So it can be done for, call it for the good, and letting go of the heaviness and the stuff that you want to let go. So it's a wonderful process. It's not just for the negativity or negative side of your life. It can be done for positive. It's a great process. And what I did was, now, I'll explain it first, and then we'll do it together, if it's okay. So you might want to find a place where you can be, or will be undisturbed. So you can close your eyes, you don't have to on this one, because it's just, it's like a visualisation and imagining somebody in front of you. And as you imagine them in front of you, you'll notice how you're connected. Some people see it as a beam of light. Some people see it as a little thread. Some people see it as like an umbilical cord. I see it differently for both of those. For the guy I was letting go to do his own thing and me to do my own thing, I saw quite a few different connections, like little beam of lights coming from my body to his in different places. For the other one, the one, the ex-boss, I wanted to let go of that resentment, that hurt, that blame. I just saw a little thread. I've been dragging him around. So here's what I want you to do. Find that safe place. Find that safe place where you'll be undisturbed for only about three or four minutes. If you have to wait, pause, pause this and then get into that place. But just anywhere will do. If you want to close your eyes, you can. You can do it sitting down or standing up. I didn't mind standing up because I just, for me, that's the way I like to do it. But anywhere is perfect for you. And then I want you to imagine that person standing in front of you, maybe a couple of meters away, just in front of you. And there they are. If you want, you can pass on a thanks for the good things, things that you respected. For the boss, there were things he did for me when he was my mentor and I thanked him. I had so much gratitude for the opportunity he gave me and how he taught. Similarly to my colleague, of the way we worked, the way he supported me, gave me opportunity. And I thank them both. But we're doing one person at a time. And as you do that, just imagine or bring to mind, how you see that connection with them. Is it little beams of light coming from your body to theirs? Is it a very thin, like gossamer steel thread? Maybe it's a rope, maybe it's an umbilical cord. Whatever it is, it's fine. Just imagine seeing yourself connected to you, to them and giving that thanks. You can maybe just begin to feel. If it's a negative emotion beginning to disappear, dissolve. You know, we're neutralizing that resentment and reclaiming our personal power. If it's with somebody that you're just letting go in your life and think of like a past partner, you can just thank them and then feel that personal power coming back. Just notice everything and you maybe just ask yourself, for your unconscious mind to ask itself, what did I, what can I learn from this connection to make me stronger? And one thing we could just realize, that everyone is doing the best they can with the resources they can access right now. They're not their behaviors, that's not the person. Because behind every positive, every behavior is a positive intention. They're doing the best they can for themselves with the resources that they're being able to access at the moment. Maybe they were suffering from anxiety, depression, you don't know. Maybe there was problems elsewhere that you didn't know about. They were doing the best they can, they're not their behaviors. So maybe as that slips into your unconscious mind as another resource, you can just thank them for the lessons learned. And as you do that, imagine in your hand is like a metaphorical knife, some people think of it as a sword or maybe just a pair of scissors and just cut that cord or dim those lights and turn them off and allow them to disappear into the past where they belong. That's right. Dissolving all the emotional residue. Letting it go. Knowing that in the future if you met them again you would meet them clean with this inner power, this inner strength and all the learnings. Because you'd be in charge of you. And when you've done that, take a wonderful deep breath and open your eyes and come back to me and notice how you feel. Notice how you feel. For me it was really weird. I seemed with my boss to understand what he was going through even though I didn't really know consciously. But I could imagine things I'd forgotten because that blame, that resentment was in the forefront of my mind and as soon as that peeled away, disappeared like a fog just blowing away, I could see clearly. I felt I could see clearly and that was so good. With my colleague who I was letting go to continue his business while I did a different business, this type of stuff, I felt a lightness. A lightness that it was okay. It was like giving myself permission to do the things that I wanted to do. I wasn't being held back and it was okay. It was okay. I was on another step of my adventure, my journey. I don't like the word journey but it was my adventure to a new life, a new part of my life, another step in another part, another chapter of my book as it were, my own personal book of my life. So just let that sink in and sometimes you can maybe let it go for a day or two and then just notice how you feel the next day. Just check in. When you bring that person to mind, just bring them to mind and picture in your mind and go, how do I feel now? Ah okay and then you can just let it go. So there's that one. It's a lovely little process and you can, because it's so simple and in simplicity, there's genius. If you wanted to you could spend a little longer doing it but quite honestly you don't need to. It's really just recognising, acknowledging, thanking, getting your unconscious mind to learn and then letting go. But you can replay that whenever you want and what I'll probably be doing is I'll be doing this as a separate track for my hypnosis page. So it'll be complimentary hypnosis where you can spend a bit longer and go into a deeper state if that's what you feel like. If you feel you need that deeper state and you get that deeper unconscious knowing, then I'll be doing that I think. But I'll let you know. But you don't need it if you don't need it but if you do, I think it'll be available. So there you go, that was process number one. So what's process number two Cloughie, you might say? Well, it's our parents isn't it? Sometimes we blame our parents and we blame them for the expectations we had as a child I think. That was for me. I had what I thought was the dream that I wanted to do and I didn't feel supported. I didn't feel that I was given the right advice. In fact I feel, I feel, I can't remember specifically but I felt I was told you'll never make it. It's too difficult. Don't do that. Go for the safe and the steady. Now I can understand that now. I can understand why that advice was particular to them because I've given that type of advice to my children and I'm thinking oh really Cloughie? Can I add to it now? And that's what I do. I give them two sides of the of this of what I think might be the story they they need to take and then they can develop it and they do. But sometimes you know we think of our family members that are not supporting us you know maybe we've inherited their narratives. their beliefs, their unmet expectations, because sometimes parents like to live through their children, don't they? And sometimes we take all of that on as an identity. And when you think about it, that was your parents doing the best they could with the resources they could access. They were doing the best they could with their connections to their parents, your grandparents, and even their going back and back. Where did those beliefs come from? Generations ago, they've all been just evolved a little bit, but sometimes those were different circumstances in the world. That belief supported them back then, but now it's not yours. But you took it on as a sponge. So you're responsible in some ways, even though you were a tiny little child. You took it on as a sponge because you just loved your parents. They were the only people that you would take that information from uncritically, because that's what we were when we were that young. But even as we grew older a little bit, they were doing the best they can. That was not their behaviour. Who they were as an identity level was not their behaviour. That's the bit you saw. They were always doing the best they can with a wonderful positive intention, but sometimes it wasn't right for you. So how are we going to let go of that? How are we going to let go of that? Now, you might need a tissue. I've done this a couple of times and we needed tissues, but you don't necessarily need them. It's not bad tissues. It's just tears of joy normally. Tears of joy. All we're going to do is visualise parents individually. Again, maybe there's a certain parent that you attribute a little bit more blame, unsupportiveness, wasn't there for you maybe, and you hold that at the unconscious level maybe, or you wish it was different. So pick that one. And here's what we're going to do. I want you to again, find a safe space, a place where you'll be undisturbed. And it's adding on again. Take three, four, five minutes. And again, you can do it standing, sitting, lying, you can do this one in any position you like. So all I want you to do is take a deep breath. And as you let it go, maybe allow your eyes to close because this one you can really focus in on now. Because this isn't about letting go. It's about noticing, noticing something special. So as you breathe gently and easily, you can feel yourself getting more and more comfortable. And as you become more and more comfortable with every breath, just imagine in front of you and below you, just over there, a stage, a little stage in front of you and below you. And on that stage, in a moment, we're going to have that parent come onto that stage. But not as they are now, not as they are in your mind, your memories maybe. But I want you to see them in a moment as a two year old, maybe even younger, no more than two year old, maybe a one year old, maybe as a little baby. So imagine now inviting them to come onto that stage over there below you and in front of you. As a child, an innocent child, that's who they are. Innocent, waiting to learn from the world just as you were. Waiting with all those wonderful expectations that they weren't really aware of, the whole life ahead of them, full of just love. Accepting love, giving love, pure innocence. And see that for, or see them for what they were then. Just an innocent little child, waiting to go on their adventure, to go through their experiences, to form their own beliefs, whatever they are there. They're just waiting for it to happen now. And just notice that how you feel for them now, at that age. Pure love, pure innocence. No expectations now. No blame. How can you blame an innocent child? And allow that to go deep into your unconscious mind. Because that's a memory. It isn't yours. It's theirs. But we all started this way. And in some ways, we, well, we chose our own path. Doing the best we can, with the resources available to us. Sometimes experiences were not dumped on, but had to be gone through. Because that was their past and their future. Doing the best they can, learning as best they can. Maybe they didn't have the opportunities as they grew up, as you have now, to be able to learn through processes like this. And maybe you can now feel this connection with them. The innocence, the love. And maybe just ask yourself, I wonder what I can learn from this. And how can I use that learnings in the future? To grow. To be me. To choose my life. Knowing this. Because they had their... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40268245

FMQ528 Who or What Is To Blame For Your Failure 03/20/2026

FMQ528 Who or What Is To Blame For Your Failure Who or What Is To Blame For Your Failure What are you blaming right now? The weather? The economy? Your lack of time? Your past? Your boss? Your parents? In this Five Minute Quickie (that’s never quite five minutes 😄), I’m planting a seed that might feel a little uncomfortable… Because blame feels justified. It feels intelligent. It feels protective. It even feels responsible sometimes. But what if it’s actually costing you your power? In this episode I begin to unpack: The hidden cost of living at the effect side of life Why excuses can feel like safety How trauma (big T or little t) can become an identity Why dragging the past forward drains your energy And how learning — not reliving — is the real shift This isn’t about dismissing your experience. It’s about transforming it. In the longer episode, we’ll go deep into: Letting go of blame (without diving back into trauma) Releasing anger, guilt, disappointment and resentment Healing the “parent story” Clearing unresolved emotional ties Moving fully to the cause side of life Because when you stop blaming… You start choosing. And when you start choosing? Everything changes. The Seed Question If nothing outside you was to blame… What would you do next? If this hits home, share it with someone who might be quietly carrying resentment or excuses around like heavy luggage. And make sure you join me for the deeper dive — because we’re not analysing the past… We’re releasing it. Subscribe, follow, and visit the free hypnosis page at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. More fun than you can stand. Wallow in pleasure. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Welcome to the seed of a longer podcast, the FMQ, the five minute quickie that lasts even longer now, and gives you hopefully something to think about, something to ponder, digest, let it germinate and do whatever it does, so when you come to the longer podcast, boom, we can go even deeper and make some wonderful changes in our life. And this one's called, and I'm not quite sure what it's called actually, it's either Who Do You Blame? or Who or What's to Blame? You see, some people like to blame the weather for the things they can't do. Some people like to blame the economic environment. Some people like to blame, well, time, I haven't got enough time. And that's just a fact, isn't it? Living at the effect side of life. And they're all wonderful reasons, aren't they? Are they balls? They're not reasons. They're not reasons at all. They're bloody excuses. And we're going to dive deeply into that on the longer podcast. But we're also going to dive into something I think is even more important. Because everyone talks about cause and effect, living at the cause side, or living at the effect, living at the effect with all those excuses, or coming back to cause and becoming empowered. And we do that here. Because I believe in that 100%. Once you start living at the cause side of life, you take control. Everything is your responsibility. And with that comes all the glory. And the glory is just living the life you want to choose because you chose it, and you did it. But then again, what else can you blame? Well, we've all suffered trauma, haven't we? Some with a capital T, and some with a little t. I think I've maybe had a little t when I was younger, a big T in the middle. And now I don't know what the bloody hell I've got. And maybe you think you haven't had any trauma. Maybe you think you know that you've got trauma in your life, and you're still blaming it for what's happening into your life right now. And if I hadn't suffered it back then, and if those people hadn't been there back then, well, that's something we can really dive into to let go. Because it's draining. Drains all your energy dragging that crap around. But if you might think, well, actually, I don't think I've got any trauma in my life. Well, I think if that's the case, you created strategies to cope and also have the learnings from it. You've learned from it. So that trauma no longer exists in your life. It might be a distant memory. It was bad back then. But because you've learned it, it's in the past, past tense. And if you have, if I had a hat, which I haven't, I'd take it off you. And I'll go, awesome. I'd doff my cap to you. Because this is still going to apply to you, it is. You see, you might not have or can remember trauma, but you might have people that you blame. Blame for the things that didn't happen in your life. And now you're here. I mean, we're going to dive into in the longer podcast, who we blame. And why, what it costs us and what it wasn't and what it is. See, I have an example in my life when an ex-boss of mine, he let me down more than 100%. If you can get more than 100%, that's what he did. And he did it in front of other people. And he was my mentor. He did such good things for me. And then he did something which was terrible to me. But now, I can, I know if I met him, he might be dead by now. But if I did meet him, or if I knew when I did the work on myself, if I were going to meet him, I'd have been fine. I'd have been fine. I'd have started again. Because I'd have understood something. And it's understanding and learning, which then allows you to take responsibility for what you're doing now, and allows you to let go of that and be freer. No more reasons, which are bloody excuses. You see, that's where I want to go. And there's the other thing. Now these all might hit a bell, but the other one is, it's my bloody parents, my mum, my dad, or mother and father. I don't know, I call them my mum and my dad. You know, back then when we were little, little boys and girls, did they protect us from that thing? Did they encourage us? Or did they discourage us? Way back then. Now, did they do the things they should have done? They could have done? Well, maybe they didn't. What else didn't they do? Come on, fill in the blank. It's your experience, your thoughts, your limiting belief. It's a belief anyway. I don't think it's that supportive. But hey, they're the things we're going to be letting go in the longer podcast. We'll be diving to all of that and developing and creating a lovely process. In fact, I think there might be two, I'm not sure. I like to do two, but there's definitely going to be one. Well, there is, I know now. There's going to be two wonderful processes. One about our parent thing and one about letting go of other people. And you see, in that way, we let go of blame, anger, sadness, guilt, everything, emotion, disappointment, anything, because we can be at peace. And once we're at peace with it, and we've learnt from it, and we've had that experience in our life, we can grow from it. If you think of every person who's a thought lead and all that, they've all had shit lives right at the very beginning. I think some of them might have made it up though. But we do grow from the traumas, big T, little T, once we've learnt from, and they give us opportunities. And maybe we'll just sit and learn how to then create the life we want, because we won't have excuses, we won't have reasons, but we'll have empowerment. We'll have responsibility. But with that responsibility, we'll have the resources, because that effect, the emotions, limiting beliefs caused by our blame, has been holding us, holding us back, giving us all sorts of visions, visualisations, chatting in our head, why we can't do it, and all this stuff. Once we get that out of the way, the positive self-talk comes in, I got this, good day, I get to do this. And we start to plan because we can, we think we're, and we know, we have that opportunity, and we can grasp it. We're not going to be dragging around that old crap. It's there to let go now. So if you're ready for that, I think you are. You wouldn't be listening if you weren't. And if you know of somebody who you know is blaming other things, blaming everything, blaming themselves, then share this with them, please. Because on this deeper dive to come, the longer podcast, the hashtag podcast, I think it's very simple, by the way, and it's not traumatic. Don't worry about that. We're not going to delve into the trauma and all that rubbish, because we're going to let it go and let it go. You don't have to dive into it, let your unconscious mind learn. Just let go of all the things we're dragging around with us that we've been blaming, the people, the things, the trauma, maybe our parents. But please share that with someone you think might be secretly, sometimes they're secretly keeping it inside. But we know, we know by watching their non-verbals, their body language, as it were, the tone of voice, when something, oh, you can just see that little trigger, or maybe they're, you know, they're putting off things. And behind that is generally that thing that we're holding on to that we don't need to. And blame is a, is a crazy thing. Sometimes it makes us feel bad, doesn't it, in the short term. But hey, I would rather be encouraging myself, celebrating myself, of what's possible and the things I am doing and I'm going to do. So if that enthused you, like it's enthusing me, I'll see you on the longer podcast, and we're going to have fun letting go and creating the life we deserve. Okay, I'll see you then. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40225975

#476 Empathy - A Way That Works Without The Pain 03/13/2026

#476 Empathy - A Way That Works Without The Pain Empathy - A Way That Works Without The Pain In the FMQ527 I said something that probably made you blink. Empathy sucks. And I meant it. Not because caring is wrong. Not because helping people is wrong. Not because being sensitive is wrong. But because absorbing other people’s pain is not helping them — and it’s definitely not helping you. In this deeper dive, I show you: Why emotional dumping drains you Why empathy often becomes a hiding strategy The crucial difference between empathy and compassion How to stay grounded when people offload on you And how to become truly empathetic… with yourself Because here’s the truth: If you feel everyone else’s pain, you’ll drown. If you stay grounded and compassionate, you can actually help. And the real work? It starts with self-empathy. What We Explore 1️⃣ Why Empathy Can Be Harmful Emotional dumping and energy drain Why taking on others’ pain doesn’t serve them How empathy can become a badge of honour How it can also become unconscious avoidance of your own emotions 2️⃣ The Shift: Empathy ➜ Compassion Empathy = I feel your pain. Compassion = I recognise your pain — and I can support you without absorbing it. Compassion allows you to: Stay grounded Sustain your energy Think clearly Offer real support Stay emotionally stable It’s the difference between drowning with someone… or throwing them a rope. 3️⃣ Process One – Sitting With Your Emotion Instead of pushing emotions away: Sit with the feeling Acknowledge it Ask: What are you trying to do for me? What are you protecting me from? What are you trying to teach me? Every emotion has a positive intention. When you learn the lesson — the emotion doesn’t need to shout anymore. 4️⃣ Process Two – Compassion Without Merging (Visualisation) I guide you through: Grounding yourself Breathing deliberately Creating a subtle protective boundary Supporting someone without absorbing their pain You remain: Present Steady Caring Strong And when you walk away? You’re still yourself. 5️⃣ Process Three – Deep Self-Empathy Installation This is the powerful one. You: Place the emotion in front of you Speak to it with curiosity Thank it Discover its intention Ask what it needs Create a better strategy for that intention Future pace the change You keep the intention. You release the pain. That’s self-empathy. The Core Takeaway Before you help anyone else… Check in with yourself. Am I grounded? Am I breathing? Am I compassionate? Or am I merging and hiding? One emotion. One learning. Then it can let go. That’s how you help yourself. That’s how you genuinely help others. And that’s how empathy finally works. Key Quotes From This Episode “Empathy absorbs. Compassion supports.” “Every emotion has a positive intention.” “Learn the lesson — and the emotion doesn’t need to stay.” “Help yourself first. Then you’re truly available to others.” If This Resonated… Subscribe so you don’t miss the next FMQ seed and deeper dive. Share this with someone who: Is emotionally drained Always takes on other people’s pain Or thinks empathy is the only way to care and don't forget the video Let’s move from drowning together… to lifting each other properly. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism #476 empathy - a way that works without the pain So, you're back for the longer, deeper dive. And following on from the previous FMQ, it's all about empathy. Empathy and to be empathetic without feeling the pain. Because if you remember from that FMQ, I said empathy sucks. I did. You did listen, didn't you? You did listen. Empathy sucks. And it does. Everyone pushes empathy as being the biggest thing since sliced bread and empathy. Because, you know, it what it is. There's such a better way to help people. And more importantly, help yourself. Being empathetic with yourself. That's where it should start. Number one. With number one. You see, let me just re-explain something. Oh, by the way, just jumping in before I do that. If you didn't know, I do this also on video at YouTube. They're a bit bonky, I know. Got two cameras. There we go. And a bit of light in the background. And apart from that, that's as professional as we get. But if you wanted to see me doing this, you can. But anyway, let's get back to the real stuff. When I said empathy sucks. Think about this. I talked about emotional dumping. That's what people do when they think, oh, I want to be so vulnerable. I'm going to dump on somebody. They just dump everything out they've got. And it's embarrassing. And because you want to be empathetic, you let them dump on you. You take on their pain. And they walk away going, oh, I feel so much lighter, so much lighter. And you're going, oh, I got to think about things. I worry about people do this. And you see, that's totally inappropriate. Totally inappropriate. It's just too much. You got to get out of that. You really do. You see, I know a couple examples of when people just absorb pain. My mother was one. People used to come round, offload everything. And she would worry, have sleepless nights, thinking about them, what she could do. And she couldn't do anything about it. But it affected her. There's a great, she's dead now, unfortunately. She's left this planet. But Victoria, is it? Virginia Satir was a great family therapist. And she had in her mind a belief that if I can't feel the pain, the pain of the people I'm working with, and really feel it as deeply as them, then I can't help. And she felt that pain so much, whether it was linked to the illnesses she got before she died, because she did, she suffered. And she was doing it for a wonderful reason. So was mum. But I think there's a better way. And you see, I think some ways, people who just do that dump on you, and you become the empath. Well, it's easier for them to do that than listening to themselves. It's like a shield, isn't it? A protective shield. I'm going to just put it all out there. Because in some ways, I can walk away and leave it where I put it with somebody else. That's not right, is it? Not right. And I think we have these things where we have to repress, suppress. That's no good either, by the way. And I think having empathy is in some ways, unconscious hiding. What do you mean, Cloughie? What do you mean? I'll tell you what I mean. There's a song there somewhere. I'll tell you what I want. Anyway, but it's like, if I can throw all my stuff to somebody else, means I don't have to deal with it myself. So we're hiding, we're giving ourselves safety by hiding away from the emotions that we feel. The emotions that are present. And it's up to us. We have responsibility to ourselves to deal with that ourselves. Because we're the only bugger who can. Everyone can talk. Yes, you can go to a therapist, you know, one to one, you know, one to one, go to a great hypnotist, an NLP practitioner, timeline practitioner, they will really help. But at the end of the day, you have to do it. You have to come up, have the will to do whatever it takes and do the work. They're working with you. They're not working on you. That's what a lot of people think. I do hypnosis on that person. I want NLP done on me. No, they work with you. You have to put the effort in. They're just a guide. They don't have great processes. And you see, being that empathetic, it hurts, doesn't it? It hurts taking on other people's pain. We've got enough of it our own sometimes. We don't need it. So what are we going to do? What are we going to do? Well, I want to shift it. Shift it in a way that taking away the belief about how good being an empathetic or empathy person is, and take away that belief. I'm empathetic and that's who I am. Because we think that's a little badge of honour sometimes. Two, I'm responsible for my state first. And I'll show you how to do that in a couple of processes, two or three processes I want to go through. But I'm responsible for my emotional state first. Does that make sense? A little bit like the metaphor everyone uses from an aeroplane, put your own air supply on first before you help other people. You have to be okay yourself. You see, if you're an empathetic, you're getting drained. It's bringing you down. And that's so negative. It creates a heaviness in your mental ability, your emotional ability and affects your physical abilities. And that's not dealing with things about yourself first, is it now? And if you try to suppress that, what happens? Fights back, doesn't it? The ripples get stronger. And we really do have to, I think sometimes it's like this thing where it deflects. Well, if I'm listening to everyone else, I don't need to listen to myself. And you see, your own emotions are not your enemies. They're not. They're there to help you. They're just signals. Signals to say, I've got something for you to learn. Let's change. And if you avoid that through kindness to other people, you're still avoiding, still avoiding us. Avoiding us, that's a word, isn't it? But you're still avoiding yourself, dealing with yourself. And that's what I'm putting this all down to. There's a better way than being or having empathy for people, I believe. But also it's more about, I'm here for you. No other bugger, just you. Let's help ourselves, deal with ourselves. And then we can be compassionate and help other people. And that's where I want to go, to compassion. Let's compare the two. Let's compare empathy to compassion. Empathy, I feel your pain. I feel your pain. Do you really want to feel other people's pain to help them? Or do you want to recognise their pain? And that's where compassion comes in. I recognise you are in pain. You're hurting. I mean, when I'm working with a clinically depressed person, do I have to feel clinically depressed to help? Because if I do, I won't be able to help them. I've got to be able to recognise the pain they're in, and then come up with a process to help them and guide them out of that. Empathy absorbs their pain. You absorb it into your own body. You can't help but try on. What's the point of that? I mean, is that supporting them? Just knowing their pain? Feeling their pain? No, but compassion is supporting them. Supporting them in a way to help get rid of it. Change. What else does empathy do? Well, it drains you of energy, drains you completely. Whereas if you're compassionate, your energy is sustained. You're able to use all your energy to help people and yourself. Empathy is reactive. Oh, there we are. I'll do that. But when you're compassionate, you are grounded, grounded, and therefore you're able to use all the skills you've got to see things, to reframe things, to help people, support people. As we said, hopefully that makes a difference to you. Because my answer is, what would you rather do? Would you rather feel pain, absorb the pain, get drained of energy, be reactive? Or would you rather be able to recognise people's pain and therefore support them? And when you're supporting them, come from a sustained energy level that you have. And by that way, you remain grounded. Which would you rather have? I think it's a no-bloody brainer, which is why empathy sucks. I'm never going to go away from that, by the way, with one exception. I'll tell you that now, where empathy doesn't suck. If you're in and around somebody who is having the most wonderful time, feels joy, love, everything, they're really enjoying themselves. That's when you can be empathetic. Feel the joy. Because you can learn from that. You can learn from the good feelings. I love this feeling. How can I generate it in myself? It doesn't drain. But that doesn't normally happen. People don't come and jump around because they're too busy enjoying themselves. So try to find that, match them. If you see that, that's what I do. So what's the first process I want to talk about? Because I think there is three. But the first process is, and it is so simple. And it's all about dealing with yourself. Forget other people at the moment. Because as I said before, I think empathy is deflecting. It's masking. It's a shield. But those emotions inside you, the negative emotions inside you, are there for a reason. They have a positive intention. So what do you do? We've done it a few times before. We just want to sit with that feeling. Sit with it and acknowledge it. That's it. Just sit in the feeling. You're not going to do anything. You're not going to try to push it away. You're not going to try to change it. There are processes where we change the modalities and some modalities of the pain that you're in, or the emotional pain, or the emotion itself. Move it around in your body, change its colour, change its weight, shape. But we're not doing that. This is just sitting and asking questions. So once you are sitting in the middle of that emotion, sometimes if you sit there just for a minute or two, it will disappear. Because it's been recognised. Because sometimes emotions just want to be recognised, acknowledged. Because in some way you'll get the learnings from it unconsciously. But you can ask, what are you, this emotion in me, trying to do for me? What are you trying to protect me from? It's when you get that intuitive, you go, ah, I get it. But you also realise there's this clash, there's a direct conflict, because what your emotion is trying to protect you from is creating the same feeling. You know, sometimes there's an emotion trying to stop you from feeling fear by giving you fear. That's the whole thing. But if you were calm and collected, you'd be okay. So what are you trying to teach me? That's another one. What are you trying to teach me? And just sit. And the thing is, you have to sit with that, acknowledge it and just listen with all your senses. Because sometimes things don't always come out in words, they're always audible. They can come through as maybe a visualisation, an aha moment. Maybe there's a word on the tip of your tongue, or a memory that suddenly comes back. I've had a couple of these and suddenly, oh, that was years ago, man. I say to myself, that was years ago. That's gone. It existed back then, but no longer now. So I don't need that. You've just been, you know, you've been here, still trying to do the same thing. And it's no longer necessary. Take a chill pill, take a rest. And sometimes that's enough, that acknowledgement. It's okay. You could say, well, you know, if I listened to this with all my senses, instead of pushing it away, what would happen? What would happen just sitting here acknowledging it? Sometimes just thanking the part is enough. So sit in that feeling. Thank you. Thank you for doing what you do, because it's doing it relentlessly. It is using loads of energy, by the way, trying to make you aware. And if you let go of that negative energy, you've got a void to fill with positive energy. Wonderful things. So listen and thank it. Thank you for being so persistent. Give me the learnings and then we'll just let it go. And when you say that, thank you. What's the learnings? Just notice what shifts. Sometimes it's a feeling of lightness. Sometimes it's just, I don't know what, I feel different. And sometimes you don't even notice a difference. But, there is a but, when you look back over the week that's just gone after doing the work, just sitting there, you go, oh, I'm no longer doing that thing that I used to do. No, you're no longer feeling anxious about that thing. I'm feeling more confident now because I'm doing things differently. You've got a new norm. And that's what it's all about. Because you've got to remember, every negative emotion, in fact, every emotion, not negative, has a positive intention. And when we learn that positive intention, we can find better ways if they're negative. This isn't working. How can we find a better way and keep the intention? Most people try to put, when you push and suppress, you're pushing away an intention, which is to protect you and save you, not save you, but yeah, maybe save you, protect you in different ways. And when you work with it, you begin to access different things, different ways. Yeah. Does that make sense? That make sense? So, that's one, just sitting. Here's what I'd like to do a little visualisation. I can say visualisation, but not just that. I want to do a little visualisation with you. And visualisations can be open eyes. We all daydream with our eyes open. Or sometimes it's better to close your eyes because you just avoid all the distractions out there. And visualisation, by the way, doesn't have to be in 20-20 vision, seeing everything in perfect contrast. No, it could be just an awareness that things are out there. And anything in between, from awareness to perfect 20-20 vision, is just right for you. Some days it's clearer than others. Some people say, oh, but I can't visualise. And yes, you bloody do. Sometimes you find it difficult when you're asked to visualise, but then you're wandering around and you've got all these pictures in your mind. That's visualisation. You know, when you think about memories, it's a visualisation because it's not happening. It's gone. But now you're recalling it in visual, auditory, all those terms. I just want you to imagine this. So if you want to close your eyes for a moment, just make sure that no one needs your attention. You've got a safe space just to sit, maybe lay down if you're at home, but just stand anywhere you like. But just notice for a moment, visualise this. Imagine you're with somebody and they're offloading on you. They're being supersonically vulnerable. But instead of being that old empathetic, I want you to visualise it in a different way. So there they are, they're offloading. And just imagine this. Imagine grounding yourself in the moment. Just be in your body, grounded to the floor. Maybe you could imagine there's like... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40212470

FMQ527 Empathy Sucks! 03/06/2026

FMQ527 Empathy Sucks! Empathy Sucks (Unless It's With Yourself) I said it. Empathy sucks. Now before you unsubscribe and send me a strongly worded email… hear me out. In this episode I’m diving deep into something that most people believe is a virtue — feeling other people’s pain. And yes, empathy can be beautiful. But if all you do is absorb the emotions of others, carry their struggles, and ignore your own… that’s not kindness. That’s self-neglect. Here’s what I explore in this episode: Why absorbing other people’s pain drains your emotional energy How empathy can become a way of avoiding your own feelings Why suppressed emotions don’t disappear — they generalise The difference between empathy and compassion (and why it matters) How to process your own emotions so they stop running your life Simple processes to turn emotional overwhelm into emotional strength I truly believe this: If you deal with your stuff first, you help people better. When you stop hiding from your own emotions and learn from them instead, something shifts. You become grounded. Present. Powerful. And far more able to support others without drowning in their experience. This episode includes practical processes to: Work with difficult emotions Discover the positive intention behind them Stop suppressing and start learning Shift from emotional sponge to compassionate supporter Because compassion sustains. Empathy without boundaries drains. And if you’re going to feel deeply… start by feeling for yourself. This Episode Is For You If: You feel emotionally drained by other people You often absorb the moods of those around you You struggle to process your own emotions You consider yourself “an empath” but feel overwhelmed You want stronger emotional resilience You want to help others without losing yourself A Simple Practice From This Episode Before helping someone else this week, ask yourself: “Am I grounded… or am I hiding?” Then sit with one emotion of your own. Ask: What are you trying to teach me? What are you protecting me from? What can I learn from you? Learn the lesson. And watch what shifts. Share The Love If this episode resonated with you: Subscribe Share it with someone who gives too much of themselves Leave a review Let’s help more people become emotionally strong instead of emotionally overloaded. And as always… Have more fun than you can stand. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Hey, welcome to the five minute quickie, the seed that I sow for a longer podcast. And hopefully you'll find if you, if you have an issue, by the way, if you have an issue and they're not, not directly talked about in the episodes, I think you'll find that I've made, made them in a way that if you concentrate on your issue and set your intention to learn about your issue and how to let it go with every episode, you'll find that they're, they're ambiguously linked. I'll say that again, ambiguously linked. Done it in a way that you can really use these for so many issues. In fact, you can have any issue you like as many as you like, but pick one and have a listen and you'll find that it will help. That's my plan anyway. And today we've got another seed and it's about one of the banes of life. And what is it? Bloody empathy. Empathy because it bloody sucks. Now, title is something different. You have to read the title, but you know, why do I say empathy sucks? I've said it for a long time is that if all you do is feel the pain of others, then, you know, it just adds to yours, doesn't it? It adds to your pain. The people who just dump on you. And I don't mean it in a nasty way. They're not doing it consciously. Well, maybe some people are, but most people do it unconsciously. They offload, don't they? They offload their pain. And because you're empathetic and you think it's a good thing to do, you feel their pain, you take their pain, you live with their pain and you add it to yours. And that's why I think it sucks. But I also think being empathetic does have a sort of positive intention because it hides you away from your pain. Get it? Hides it away from your pain. Now, you have to think about that for a little while. Because you can say, no, no, no, no, no. This is really good that I'm helping somebody. But you're not concentrating on yourself. You're not setting an intention to deal with your stuff first, because if you deal with your stuff first, you will help people a lot better. You will. And I think sometimes when you're in that way of being empathetic and you're hiding things from yourself, you're hiding that emotion from yourself and what it's trying to do for you. Because everything has an intention. Every emotion you have is here for a reason, negative or positive. You're learning. Or you could and should learn from them. And when you learn from the negatives, they just disappear. But here's the thing. I know it's a form of safety. But when you're not dealing with yourself first, then there's a little bit of a clash, isn't there? And we need to do that. Because it's not really safety, is it? If you're not dealing with yourself, how safe are you? Well, you're not really. You're hiding again. I say hiding. So what are we going to do? You see, one of the reasons we push negative emotions away is because they're painful. They're bloody painful. We push them away. We suppress them. We repress them. And what happens? The more you push, those emotions push back. And they don't only push back in the context that they were created in. They generalise, they generalise into different areas of your life. And what happens then is, well, unless you're prepared to learn from them and deal with them, they just get worse, bigger, stronger and in more areas of your life, which is a real shit. And you can deal with it. You really can. Now you've got, as I said, loads of other episodes, but this particular longer episode coming next is to deal with this thing called empathy, but dealing with it in the right way. If you're going to be empathetic, be bloody empathetic to yourself. So what can we do about it? These emotions that you're ignoring, you're trying to hide, you're pushing away, you're suppressing, repressing more than we've said it all before. What can you do about it? Well, I've got a plan, a plan and maybe a couple of processes that I'm going to put into the longer episode, because that's what we need to do. And the thing is, these processes, guess what they are? They are simple. And what does simple do? In simplicity, there is genius. Because it's easy to do. It's easy to follow. Sometimes it's a little bit hard because it takes effort. That's the only only hardship. You have to take effort. You have to set your intention. I'm going to do this. I'm going to find the learnings because this part of me is making me feel this emotion that I'm trying to push away. But if I if I work with it and learn from it, it will disappear and I'll be a better person for it. So that's where we're going on the deeper, deeper, that's where we're going on the longer episode with a deeper dive. And just in case you don't agree with me, and that's fine. It's just my opinion, my thoughts. If you don't agree with me that empathy sucks, that's just a belief. And I think it's a limiting belief because I'll show you why when we deal with it. Because I think if you really want to help people, change your empathy into being compassionate. Compassion. That's where you really get to help people. You can be there for them, support them. You don't have to feel the pain to know they're in pain. But you can use all your compassion to support them. And that feels bloody good. Oh, there is one other thing before we go, where empathy doesn't suck. Even though I said it does suck. There's one place where it doesn't suck. Because feeling other people's emotions can be when they're feeling joy, feeling happy, when they're celebrating, you go feel that celebration, you go feel the happiness, you go feel that joy, support them in that way. Oh, we're being compassionate again, because we're meeting them with that wonderful feeling again. And we're just, well, that's what we're going to do. We're going to be there, we're going to be for them. But more importantly, you have to be compassionate with yourself, you have to be more empathetic with yourself. And that's where we're going. Long way around. But I think you'll enjoy it. Even though it seems a bit weird, come and play. Come and sit down for a change, maybe for a spell, all that magical stuff. And let's just see where it goes. Because you might find it just really gels to set your intention when you come with me on the longer podcast. I want to learn from this. What can I learn from this? And I guarantee you when you say that to yourself, with a pure, honest intention, you will learn something big. Come with me on the longer podcast, comes out next week. I have more fun than you can stand. Okay, see you soon. Bye bye now, go fly. So before you leave this unplugged mind of mine, this hypnotic mind, if you enjoyed this podcast or any of the other podcasts, please do subscribe. It helps this podcast grow and affect so many more people. And we love to leave everyone in a better place than we found them. And this will help help the podcast, it will help you and it will help everyone that you know. So if you just subscribe and share, share this podcast to everyone you know. That's the only cost, pay it forward to everyone. And when you do that, boom, we are all going to make a difference to this little old planet Earth of ours, and the people in it. Let's make a good world, a nice world. Okay, okay, you can now prepare to leave this unplugged mind. Warning, you are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly. Be brave, my friend. Personal Development Unplugged Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40149495

Here's A new Hypnosis track from #475.1 Creating The Life You Haven't Lived Yet 03/01/2026

Here's A new Hypnosis track from #475.1 Creating The Life You Haven't Lived Yet HYPNOSIS Creating The Life You Haven't Lived - Yet I thought it would be nice to take the process from the longer podcast and remix it to a deeper and even more comfortable way to connect with your Unconscious mind and sow the seeds of what you dream of for you in the future. So please enjoy with my compliments And........ Let me know what you need now to ensure they happen bigger, better and quicker than you could imagine :o) Get your unique link here: Oh! You will also find a further 65+ more complimentary deep hypnosis tracks and NLP processes Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by from . Music by from . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40149510

#475 Creating The Life You Haven't Lived Yet 02/27/2026

#475 Creating The Life You Haven't Lived Yet Creating The Life You Haven't Lived Yet In the last FMQ, I talked about the idea that there’s a book inside you. In this episode, I take that idea further. Because here’s what I truly believe… You’re already writing your life. One page at a time. One day at a time. The question is — are you writing it consciously? In this episode I guide you through a creative visualisation process that helps you: Step out of “life just happening” Stop letting other people write your chapters Feel your future before it physically exists Align your unconscious mind with what you truly want Take one small, powerful step forward This isn’t about pretending the past didn’t happen. It’s about deciding what happens next. And you don’t have to be 100% ready. You just have to start. What We Do Together In This Episode I guide you into a relaxed, curious state. You sit at a desk. There’s a book in front of you called: My Life, My Adventure. The past chapters are written. You acknowledge them. You thank them. And then… You begin writing the next chapter. Not perfectly. Not dramatically. Just intentionally. You float outside yourself. You see yourself writing. You feel support from the people who care about you. You see yourself through loving eyes. And then you ask one powerful question: What small step can I take now? Because the magic isn’t in dreaming. It’s in deciding. What I Want You To Take From This You are not stuck. You are not finished. You are not defined by previous chapters. Responsibility is not blame — it’s power. Your future starts now. And remember… Even if you do nothing differently today — you’re still writing a page. So why not write it on purpose? If This Resonates Subscribe. Share this with someone who needs it. And take one small step. Have more fun than you can stand. Wallow in pleasure. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Hey, so welcome back. It's Longer Dive, creating the life you haven't, you haven't lived yet. And there's a few things that surround what I'm going to be talking about. It's like my intention and a few observations I've made about the subject. And looking as if you were looking down on this subject, my thoughts were, this starts now. It starts right now. And you don't have to be ready, by the way, you don't have to be ready. You just have to start now. And what I want to tell you is, you know, this is your choice. Of course, it's your choice. But you get the right to choose. And the thing is, I believe in you. I believe in you. I want to support you in this. Yeah, bit hammy, isn't it? But that's what I'm going to do. That's why I'm here. How do I want you to feel through all of this? Well, that feeling is, I want is, I can do this. I can do this. And why is it so important? Even though you don't know what I'm going to talk about, why is it so important? Because it's our responsibility, yours and mine. No one else's. No one gets involved in this. It's our responsibility to create this life we haven't yet lived yet. And that's what we're going to do. You see, I talked on the last FMQ about everyone's got a book inside them. But not everyone has to write it, not write it physically out there. You can do, you can do. Awesome. If you feel like you've got a book, but this is like taking that metaphor of the book of your life. And I've got a lovely process that I want to, I've adapted, that I was going to help you actually get your unconscious mind to begin to align with your conscious mind and write the chapters of what's yet to happen. So you're an author. You are an author already. In fact, you write a page a day, at least. You write a page a day because you create the life you're going to live today, right now. You may not know it consciously, but that's what you do. And you decide your day. Again, is it conscious? Sometimes. Unconscious? Absolutely. Put the two together. It can create mayhem. It can create wonders. But when we set our intention of how we want to be, and they're aligned, conscious and unconscious, we can now start writing those paragraphs, those chapters and form a wonderful dedication. Because we can dedicate this and our life to the people who's come to us in the past, but we've still got mentors to come and experiences to come in the future. And I think sometimes we get involved with other people sometimes too much. We try to write their chapters, their paragraphs. And it's not our responsibility. Yes, we can be there to support, mentor, but ultimately it's up to them to take responsibility, write their own and create their own life. And then there's the other side of that. Sometimes we let other buggers write our lives as if they're imposing what we should do. Oh, you could do this. You ought to do that. Why don't you do this? It's such as, oh, that's the right thing to do. And they don't bloody know because they're not you. They haven't got your experiences. They haven't got your learnings. They haven't got anything. They just know you from over there, but they don't know you in here, do they? Only one person knows you in here and that's you. Anyway, having said all of that, what the fuck am I talking about? I'm sorry. Well, this is what I'm going to do. Just follow along with me. If you could just take this time out, be open, be curious and follow along with me. Because on this metaphor that everyone has a book inside them, whether you actually physically write it or whether you just create it, it's just a story, but you are creating that story. You can look back over yesterday, that was part of your story. You look back over a month ago, that was just a year ago, but you look into the future and decide how you want it to be. Because it's your choice, you can either live on the effect side of life, which is cause and effect, allow other people to cause you to be a certain way, or it's the weather, a financial situation, oh I can't do this because, because, because. All bloody reasons. Good reasons? No, they're excuses, aren't they? Cause and effect. You're living in the effect side of life, but when you start to take responsibility, you are creating, you're choosing. You chose, if you did, to live at the effect side of life, you chose that unconsciously, consciously, you let it happen. Now you can stop because you can do this. You can begin to write every paragraph, every chapter creatively. You see when you become at cause, you take responsibility, you become totally bloody empowered because it's you. I've got this, happy day. So that's what we're going to do, we're going to take responsibility for this creation. And the best part about this process, the process I want to share with you, it doesn't matter if you're feeling a hundred percent, absolutely wonderful, or maybe you're not loving the world and you're struggling, or you're struggling just a little bit, or you're struggling big time, or even if you're in therapy. Why? Because it works on your desires, your dreams, and giving your permission to create and have those dreams and desires. So it doesn't really matter what chapters have gone on before, it's now creating your future, how you want to be. So it doesn't matter whatever stage you are in your life right now, this is going to help, this is going to do something. You are going to be the director of your book, well the author. So what I want you to do is whatever state of mind you're in at the moment, just suspend a little bit of doubt if you've got any, and for a few moments open up your curiosity. Give yourself a break, yeah just give yourself a break to say well if it did work, if I did follow Cloughie's little process, I wonder how good it could happen, I wonder what wonderful effects it will have, that's an awesome question. And you see what we're going to do is this wonderful process based on an NLP process called, it's a visualization, maybe a bit hypnosis, a bit hypnotic, but it's called my autobiography, but I've changed it slightly, I've adapted it to be for not the life you've lived, but the life you want to live, yours, no one else's. So that's what we're going to do, and all you're going to do is put aside 10 minutes, that's all, just 10 minutes, well give or take, that's all it is. Have you got 10 minutes? Of course you bloody have, everyone's got bloody 10 minutes, especially with the chance of creating something really nice, really good, good for a change right now. Now you may need a little notebook or a big one, I don't care, a piece of paper, a pen, because sometimes we get instant ahas, instant insights, that's it, I've got it. Write the bugger down, because you don't write it down, what happens, someone says, oh by the way, bugger it's gone, what was I thinking about, it's disappeared. So let's write the bugger down, you can go back to it, and that's what we're going to do. And remember curiosity, what does curiosity feel like? Because I want you to feel curious just before you do this process, because when you're curious and you've got this little thought in mind, I wonder what I can learn from this, you're going to learn big time. So this is what I want you to do, I just want you to find a comfortable place, a place where you will be undisturbed for around 10 minutes or so. So if you need to pause, come back to this when you've got somewhere nice and gentle, it could be on the outside, out in the fresh air, could be inside in a nice quiet place, and set that intention. I wonder what I can learn from this right now. Okay, so get that feeling of curiosity, remember a time when you were so curious and you learnt something great, and if you were to feel that feeling right now, what would that be like? And as you feel that feeling, allow your eyes to close, because you've got this safe space where you're going to be undisturbed for 10 minutes or so. You're lying down or sitting down, it doesn't matter. And breathe, take a wonderful in-breath, hold it just for a few seconds and let it out long and slow. That's right. And as you do that, you may even wonder how comfortable you could be. What would it be like to be twice as comfortable as you are right now? What would that feel? Oh yeah. And if your muscles around your eyes were so soft, maybe the eyelids wouldn't want to work, but that softness in the muscles of your eyes can penetrate all your body, all the muscles, the sinews, everything. Just with every out-breath, you get more and more comfortable. It's all you need to be. And as you do that, I want you to imagine you're sitting in a room. You're in a room, sitting at a desk. And on that desk, there's a lovely book. Some of it has already been written in. And if you looked at the cover, it would say, My Life, My Adventure. And you notice the pages have been written on. Your life that's gone by, it's already been written. The ups and the downs, the pleasures, maybe even trauma. It doesn't matter. It's gone. It's gone and been done with. You've learned from it. And as you sit there, you can see a wonderful pen and you can think now, I wonder, how would I like tomorrow? Maybe how would I like next month to be? Maybe how would I like the next six months to be? I wonder what I'm planning to do and enjoy over the next year. And that book, the unwritten pages, it's really thick because you've got so many pages to fill. Now, as you begin to think and that you pick up that pen, begin to put it on the page, it might start writing. But as you just think, get curious of how you would like the days of the rest of your life to be, to experience, to enjoy, to create. I want you to imagine leaving your body and floating outside this room because on one wall, it's a clear wall, like a lovely plastic glass. It's all the same. And you're on the other side now, looking at you, writing. Yeah, you, you're writing the rest of that book, how you want your life to be. All the adventures, the things you want, the pleasures, like your hero's journey, following your path, your passions. You're over there writing them now. See the smile on your face as you're creating wonderful, wonderful characters that you meet along the way. But then as you stand here, looking at you at that desk, you also notice beside you, people who you love. They're here too, looking at you over there. People you love. And then the other side, there's people you respect. Maybe your mentors, maybe people you've read about. They're all here, all here with you. You may not be able to see them all, but you can feel the essence and energy of their presence. And you can imagine, if you wanted to, looking through any of their eyes and seeing what they would see as they look at you, creating your future, looking through the eyes of love for you, sending you all their energy. So you can use it with inspiration, intuition, ahas, those moments of just wonder. So you can create over there, beginning to create something that you can sometimes not even imagine possible, but now you can because you have all the support. Maybe you look through the eyes of someone who loves you and look through their eyes, through the eyes of love at you over there. Feel that love being sent to you over there, giving you the quality of pure love. That's right, all this energy, all this wonderful love being, as it were, beamed to you, that you over there. And just from here, you might want to begin to think, if that you over there could have the life they want in all different areas of their life. Maybe all the different areas of context could be family, could be social, could be work, relationships, mental, physical, spiritual, connection, family. They can dream of how they want it in each area. No editing, because each time they think about it, how their life would be, they can feel it. You can feel it now. Feel how you would send the energy of how you want your relationships to be in the future, how you want your career to be in the future, your social life, your free time. How do you want to be physically, emotionally, having that connection? And feel it. Feel each one from here and send that feeling to that you over there. And just let that happen over and over again. Your unconscious mind can do it even more. But your conscious mind can imagine now, become the dreamer. And your unconscious mind can be the dream maker. That's right. If you're taking responsibility, you're empowered, and you can have it any way you want, because this is you, this is yours, your imagination of how you want the rest of your life to be. And as you feel each one of those, begin to bring them all together. As you float back into that room, into that you, sitting in that chair, in that chair and at that desk. And you might not see the words being written because you're writing this day by day in real life. I want you to take those feelings and magnify them. Magnify the feeling of how you want life to be. The ultimate vision of yourself, your best version. When you're creating the life you were meant to do. The reason you're here on this little old planet Earth, making a difference. Socially, at work, career, selfless service, feeling of wonderful relationships. What it's like to be mentally strong, emotionally so good, accessing all wonderful positive emotions and spreading true love. How it feels to be physically, just the way you want it. Having that connection. Maybe there's a spiritual side of this too. And feel them all. So this you, writing your book, can have everything you dream of. And as you do that, I want you to float all the way out of this room now, leave that you out there, at that desk, to continue writing and come back into you right now. And just for a moment, just wonder, what have I learned from this? What can I do right now? How can I begin to create the next paragraph, the next chapter of my life? How can I begin to create the life I dream of? What's a smaller step in each and every one of those wonderful contexts, areas of your life? So you know you're creating this. And allow that just to settle in and knowing, knowing, and be curious. I wonder how rich can this be? Because it's going to be the rest of your life creating the adventure of your life, of enjoyment, of joy, of love, of wonderful adventures, meeting wonderful people, doing all wonderful things, and being the true you, you were meant to be. And with that, take a wonderful in-breath with me. Let it out nice and slow. And open your eyes. There you go. Open your eyes. Look around the room, give yourself, well, can you spell your surname backwards just to bring yourself back into the E-I-H-G-U-O-L-C. Cloughie, that's me, backwards. There you go. It just breaks, whoops, breaksy. Breaks that little thing now. So now we can live that life. And if you do have that paper and pen, pencil, and if there is anything, I love it in a little book because they carry it around with you because at any moment you could get that intuition, that aha moment. So you can record the things, the insights, the intuitions, the wonderful, ah, that's what I'm going to do. And then you can just let that book inside you to be written as you create it. If there's anything you need, there are several thousand bloody episodes now of this tiny little podcast. So there's loads of tools, processes here, lots of insights. If you need a help to find something that matches your needs, let me know, feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. That's my email address. And I'll try to direct you to different areas. You've also got, because this, some of this is you're going to want to say, well, what type of state do I want to be in? How do I want to plan my future? How do I, this one particular goal that I'm really now so enthused about, how can I go about it? There are, I say, loads of previous episodes. There is a complimentary, I don't like the word free, but it is free, complimentary hypnosis track, 65, six of them at the moment. I'm going to do more, all different areas of, of change work. So you can just sit down for change and maybe just sit down for a spell and allow them to be your tools for creating the life you want. But most importantly, just take responsibility to live it because it's... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40085875

FMQ 526 Writing Your Future 02/20/2026

FMQ 526 Writing Your Future Writing Your Future Everyone says, “There’s a book inside you.” But what if that book isn’t about writing your past… What if it’s about writing your future? In this Five Minute Quickie, Paul takes the metaphor of “the book inside you” and flips it into something powerful — a way to consciously create the next chapters of your life. Your past chapters? Already written. Some brilliant. Some messy. All done. But the unwritten chapters? They’re rich with possibility. And here’s the key — you are the author. In this short episode, you’ll begin to: Reframe your past through learning and growth See your future as unwritten potential Fire up your imagination intentionally Start designing the emotional tone of your next chapters Prepare for a deeper process in the upcoming longer episode This isn’t about fantasy. It’s about engaging your unconscious mind through metaphor — the language it understands best — so it can begin spotting opportunities aligned with your dreams. The only limit? Your imagination. And you’re in charge of that. Listen now — and become the author of your life, not lived. Share what you hear Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism FMQ 526 Writing your future Welcome my friend, welcome to another FMQ. A seed, a seed that I want to sow to generate, create a richness in your life. A life to come, because you've already lived a good chunk of your life, or a part of your life, or what, well you've lived anyway because you're listening here. But we've got a runway, a runway that needs to be filled I guess, needs to be filled. And I heard the other day, and I forgot to make a note of the guy's name, but someone said, everyone, everyone has a book inside them. I thought, you see I get it when people say that, and people literally think, well I've got this book inside me, I've got to write it. And some actually do write it. I've written a book, I'm not going to say it's a very good one, but it was all about me giving therapy to myself when I went through a dark period. And it was called It Doesn't Have to Be This Way, because that's the way I felt. I didn't want it to be this way, and then I created processes to get me out of that. I know another guy, a friend of mine, who's written five books, five, five books, and none of them have ever been printed yet, because he's writing them for himself. He has books inside him that he wanted to write just for himself. Maybe one day he'll let them out, who knows. But taking that aside, that literal view, everybody's got a book inside them, you know, not everyone wants to write a book, do they? No, not everyone. But I do believe in the metaphor now, because I've got a different take on that. And in this different take, or with this different take, I'd like to use the metaphor to create something special. I'd like to be able to create a process using the metaphor, if you've got a book inside you, to create the life you dream of, to allow those dreams to become your reality. And that'd be good, because we all have dreams, don't we? And I'm here, well, I'm supporting your dreams. That's one of my aims for this podcast, to support your dreams and support you in achieving those dreams. You know, get you through the naysayers, the people who throw, metaphorically, throw rocks at our dreams. Sometimes they try to just hold us back, because they don't want to let us go. But we've all got dreams inside us. And I believe those dreams are on our runway, runway for the rest of our life, or they can be. And you see, if you think about the metaphor of having a book inside you, if you think about it, you've got a dedication where you would give thanks to the people in your life. You've got chapters, chapters you've already written, the past, the life that you've lived, some shit ones. And there's some great ones, you know, there's some great ones. But there's a huge difference in those chapters. But they've already been written, haven't they? Well, maybe not the complete dedication, because you know, there may be people you come and find along the way, like the hero's journey. You find mentors, friends, accomplices, people who support you, people who give you maybe a little bit of pushback, the challenges. But the past has already been written. It's all been done. It's been dusted. You got the t-shirt, you've been there, done that, got the t-shirt. And you can't you can, because the past is only your perception of the past, isn't it? And when you change, your perception changes. You see, when we can learn things from the past, it changes its role. The past changes role because it has new learnings for you. You see, when we, you, I, grow by learning from our experiences, those past chapters, we take on the learnings, they go inside, our perception changes, our view of those events of the past change because we have the learnings and our beliefs change. We grow. And then, this is what I think, the unwritten part, the rest of your book, the future that hasn't happened yet and is going to come into the now, hasn't happened yet. And it's rich in opportunities, isn't it? Wow, it's so rich because you can create those opportunities with new perceptions, new learnings, new dreams, goals, aims in mind, all of that. And the thing is, keeping that metaphor going, you are the author. You get to decide, no other fucker, as soon as we square in, but this came out, but no one else has the right to decide how you write your future, how you live your future. And that's where we're going to go on the longer podcast. We're going to dive in deeper because I know there's a process in this metaphor that we can find at least one, if not two processes, maybe more, that's going to allow you to follow the metaphor through, but give your unconscious mind, because it follows metaphors and imaginations so much better than you telling it, to create your dreams. So for you to write your dreams, to feel them and then have them come into fruition, wouldn't that be brilliant? So what I'm going to ask you to do, a couple of things. I want to get your imagination fired up. So I want you to begin to think, if this was a book, how would you like the final chapters to be? I'm going to say finally, you can have as many as you like, and you can make them as rich and imaginative as you want, because it's yours. And as you do that, you'll get a feeling. So I just want you to think about that for the moment. Just think of the things you'd like to write about, what those chapters may be, if you had that book. And that's what I just want you to think about for the moment. So when we get into that longer, deeper dive, I can get you to hook into and re-remember thoughts you've had from now until then. I'll also get you to think of even richer ones in the longer podcast. Think again. That's my aim. So we can take this metaphor and allow your unconscious mind to start creating, looking for opportunities to allow those dreams, those goals in mind, those aims to come to fruition. And maybe your imagination along the way will make them bigger and brighter, because you can. Because with each successful step in the now, as it comes along, you'll be able to think, well, if I could do this, what else is available to me? And the only limit, is there a limit Cloughie? You're saying there's a limit? Yeah, there is a limit. The limit is only your imagination and you're in charge of that. No other bugger. So allow your imagination to run wild for what you want, what will make you happy, what will make you feel so good, what will give you joy, what will bring love or any other emotion you want to have. Okay? Because when we get those emotions, everything else will just be right. If you would, just pass this on, pay it forward, so other people can come along into the deeper dive and allow them to write their future. If you do that, and press that subscribe button. So when the longer, deeper podcast comes along, bing, it flashes up for you. And then you can sit back, find a space, because there'll be, if there's a process, it's probably going to be close your eyes a little bit. Maybe just have a pad and pen or a pencil just to make a few notes as well. So you can be fully prepared to create what you want. Yeah. Okay. You go fly my friend. I'll see you on the deeper dive. So before you leave this unplugged mind of mine, this hypnotic mind, if you enjoyed this podcast or any of the other podcasts, please do subscribe. It helps this podcast grow and affect so many more people. And we love to leave everyone in a better place than we found them. And this will help help the podcast, it will help you and it will help everyone that you know. So if you can just subscribe and share, share this podcast to everyone you know. That's the only cost, pay it forward to everyone. And when you do that, boom, we are all going to make a difference to this little old planet earth of ours and the people in it. But let's make a good world, a nice world. Okay. Okay. You can now prepare to leave this unplugged mind. You are now leaving the unplugged mind of Paul Clough. It's time to fly. Be brave, my friend. Personal development unplugged. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40056580

#474 Vulnerability Starts Here - Inside 02/13/2026

#474 Vulnerability Starts Here - Inside Vulnerability Starts Here – Inside Everyone’s talking about vulnerability… But most of it starts in the wrong place. In this episode of Personal Development Unplugged, I slow it right down and take the pressure off. Because real vulnerability isn’t about oversharing, trauma-dumping, or spilling your guts to the nearest person who’ll listen. It starts inside. This episode is about learning how to be honest with yourself first — safely, simply, and in a way that actually creates change. Inside this episode, I guide you through two powerful, practical steps you can use whether you’re struggling right now, carrying something from the past, or just want better emotional resilience for whatever comes next. No forcing. No reliving trauma. No pressure to “open up” before you’re ready. Just awareness, understanding, and control. What you’ll experience in this episode: Why vulnerability is often misunderstood (and why oversharing isn’t the answer) How being honest with yourself changes everything A simple internal process to acknowledge emotions without drowning in them How to work with the part of you that’s been “pushing it down” A powerful visualisation to safely explore honesty with someone you respect How to gain insight without needing anyone else present Why vulnerability doesn’t have to be uncomfortable, messy, or embarrassing How small internal shifts create real-world confidence and connection This episode includes guided internal processes and creative visualisation, designed to help your unconscious mind let go of what it no longer needs — gently, respectfully, and effectively. If you’ve ever thought: “If only they knew how I really felt…” …this one’s for you. Listen. Experience. Then pay it forward. Key Takeaways Vulnerability starts with honesty to yourself, not exposure to others Acknowledging emotions is different from accepting or reliving them Internal safety comes before external sharing You can gain insight and relief without involving anyone else When you feel safe inside, vulnerability becomes natural, not forced Your Call to Action If this episode resonated: Subscribe so you don’t miss the deeper dives Share this episode with someone who might need it Email me at if there’s something you want help with Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism #474 Vulnerability starts here - Inside So welcome. Vulnerability starts here. If you listen to FMQ 525, you'll have got into a little bit where we said, or I said, it seems to me like everyone, everyone and his bloody dog seems to go on about being so bloody vulnerable. You know, just spill it all out there. As if it's that easy. Just spill it out. Just all out to anybody, whoever's there, whoever's close enough to listen. Now, for most of us, it's not that easy. Because it's private, isn't it? Don't like to share these things. And really, sometimes and most of the time, it's not usually appropriate because maybe the circumstance or the context is not appropriate, or the person you're sharing with. It's not an appropriate person to share it with. And most of all, you need to be, well, be vulnerable. You can't be vulnerable to every dick, Tom or Harry or Tom, Dick and Harry, as we say in the UK. And I want to take the pressure off. Because I know you're not one of these people who just, you know, spill it all out. Because that's inappropriate. You know, sometimes you had it when someone tells you too much too soon. You know, it's overwhelming. And it's embarrassing, isn't it? You hide, you want to get away. And you don't want to be that person. And you're not that person. So I want to take the pressure off. And I want to take the pressure off by sharing with you some very simple first steps. Simple first steps, we know what simplicity is. Simplicity is genius. In simplicity, there's genius. And these steps, well, I think they just work. Because they work in a very special way. They start at the core. And I believe it will allow you to be in control. Be in control and truly understand your specific vulnerability, because everyone's bloody different, isn't it? But these two steps, processes, call them what you will. They allow for that. They allow the general, but they're specific, because they allow you to add to the process, your specific needs, your specific issue. Because I've designed it so they're just for you. And I think that's something that, well, it's just going to work. Now, way back in that FMQ, I sort of hinted, or I might have been very direct. Being vulnerable, I think, is about being honest. Honest with ourselves first. Fuck the rest. It's about being honest with ourselves first. No excuses. No reasons why you can't understand, or don't want to understand, because we're going to find out. You know, we've got that confirmation bias, we're going to put that to one side. No excuses, because when you become vulnerable to yourself, I believe things just get different. They become different. They become easy to understand. And it's the understanding of our issues, from a distance, not in it. Can't read the label when you're in the jar, but we're just going to be honest. And in that way, we don't need to ask for help at this moment, because when we suffer, when we suffer issues and don't ask for help, it's like pushing it down, doesn't it? Because being vulnerable to others, and it is helpful, by the way, it is helpful when we've done these two processes, by the way, these two steps. Being vulnerable to others and being honest, it's really fucking hard. But when you get this understanding, and you find the right person, man, it'll change. And you don't always have to find the right person to be vulnerable to. Because when you go through these steps, being vulnerable can just be like being yourself. And what would that be like? Being yourself in amongst others, and with yourself. That'd be awesome, wouldn't it? I know that feeling. I've struggled with that feeling. And it's a dream. At that time, it was a dream to be so open, but in control of that openness. But what tends to happen, I think is, and if you're like me, you're going through an issue. And you're thinking, if only they knew how bad I feel, if only you over there knew how bad I feel, how isolated I feel, how alone this feeling makes me inside now, frightened, scared. Sometimes you're scared to face it. Because it's uncomfortable. But follow me, come with me, because it doesn't have to be uncomfortable. Because we don't have to know, we no longer then have to push it down. We don't. We're not going to push it down. You see, and you may be thinking, you may be thinking to yourself, well, I'm listening to this old boy, this Cloughie, and I don't seem to have those issues. I'm fine. I don't think you're being honest. Not that, not right now, maybe you're fine right now, but you've had issues in the past. Well, I bet you haven't shared it. Maybe you had that little voice, if only they knew. I'm a little bit frightened. I'm a little bit isolated. I'm a little bit alone. I feel frightened and scared. Push it down a little bit. Don't want to deal with it. You've had them in the past, maybe. If you haven't, that's awesome. You've dealt with it. But you may know somebody who's going through this. You might see the signs of them holding it down. Because we say, what we do is we just push it down. And I think I said that saying, push it down, buttercup. Let's just get on with it. But no, we're going to get on with it, but go through these steps. You see, the first thing I think we do when I say be honest, be honest with ourselves, we need to acknowledge for ourselves or to ourselves how we really feel, how we really feel, and just sit with it. That may be the one and only step you have to do. If it's small, if it's a small issue, and you don't like this, but I don't want to talk about it. Just sit with that feeling, sit in the middle of that emotion. And sometimes just sitting with it, you'll begin to understand it. You're not accepting it, by the way. I always say this, never accept it, just acknowledge it. Because it's happening, it's happening right now. So when you get that emotion, that feeling, sit in it. How do you do that? Well, find where it is in your body, just close your eyes and just notice where it is in your body. And just put your attention on it. Just sit with it. Maybe you can just understand what you can learn from it. I wonder what this feeling is doing for me. What is it trying to do for me? And sometimes we get that aha moment, or the understanding, or just sometimes, just literally becoming aware, sitting in that emotion will allow it to disappear because it's been acknowledged, because most of the time, as we say, we're pushing it down, pushing it away, doing everything we bloody can. And the more you push things away, the more you push it down, the more it will get stronger and push it back and push it up. And so just by acknowledging it, you go, okay, you're here. Think your fear. I think you're frightened, or whatever emotion it is. And just sit with it. And then just let it go. It's like stepping away from those biases, stepping away from hiding, just sitting there. And you see, as an example, in some of the therapy that I, my sons do, and a lot of people do, by the way, it's called timeline therapy. See, if we can see, well, not necessarily see, but become aware, because you don't always see these things. So don't worry if you can't, well, I can't see this feeling, I can't feel it, just notice it. It's an awareness. And if we can become aware of these emotions from different angles, we can learn. And that's the whole basis of timeline therapy, being able to let your unconscious mind learn what it needs to learn from the very root cause of this issue. When it learns what it needs to learn, the emotion, and the limiting belief attached to that emotion, that event, that very first event, the root cause of all of this. Well, it just disappears because you have what you needed to learn. And when you have those learnings, the emotion is no longer appropriate, it doesn't, it's not needed. The emotions are only there because you haven't learned from it. But that requires you going to see someone who is a practitioner of timeline therapy. And if you can find one, and there are loads and loads of them out, you will get the respite you need. You'll be free, free to go and find some more issues. So I'd suggest that. But there's a but and an and. If you go there, great, but what we're going to do, these two steps are going to help anyway. And even if you haven't got an issue, you can imagine an issue from the past and work in these two steps to understand the processes too. Maybe you'll learn a little bit more about what happened in the past. And maybe you just let those little echoes go too. So here's what I want you to do. And it's be about being honest, honest, first of all, step one, honest with ourselves. Now this is ever so easy. Because what I want you to do, it's going to mean closing your eyes, you don't have to close your eyes. But if you close your eyes, it just makes it that little bit more easier. Because there's less distractions around. And you can focus, focus on the process, because that's what I want you to do. Give yourself permission to spend a few minutes playing with this process, because we're going to have fun doing it. Serious fun. And then just let it go. So if it's okay with you, remember, I'm a therapist, but not your therapist. But we're just going to learn. Here's what I want you to do. Let's imagine in front of you there's another you. Well in fact it's you, but it's this issue, this thing that you've been pushing down, you don't want to, you know, you've been getting away from it, but now it's here. Just ask, just notice, become aware that you can have that issue in itself, be in front of you. May have a shape, may have a colour, might even look like yourself, who knows? It'll be what it'll be and it is what it is. It might be that you just have an awareness of the essence and the energy of that issue in front of you. So it's anything from awareness to being aware of something else there and just sit with that for the moment. This is like just becoming aware of your issue, acknowledging it. So you just acknowledge it. Maybe you want to thank it. You go, what? Thank it? Yeah, because it's trying to do something for you, hasn't gone away, it's been persistent, it's been consistent, because it wants to help you. Now, what we're going to do is ask this issue a question in a moment. Why do we ask it a question? Because we want to either find the answer, because when we get the learnings, things disappear. Or we're going to loosen the model of the world, loosen that issue just a little bit by giving it the acknowledgement that it needs, then it can start helping you in a different way. Especially when you ask this question or two questions. There's two questions I want you to ask of this issue. Maybe think of it as a part of you that's running this issue. That's another way to look at it or be aware of it. There's a part of you that's running this issue. Because that's how we talk sometimes, isn't it? There's this part of me that just keeps doing this. Well, have that part come out in front of you. If that's an easy way to become aware. So you say, ask that part to come out in front of you and ask, what can I learn from you? What do you want me to know? The learnings of which and the knowings of which will allow these negative emotions, maybe the limiting belief and inappropriate behaviours to just disappear because I'll have what I need to learn, what I need to know. And sit with that for a moment. Just sit with it. Notice the response you get. And it might be just like an understanding. Just an understanding. Yeah, just do that. What do you want me to learn? What do I need to know? The knowing of which, the learning of which will allow you to disappear. Because I'll have what I need to learn and know. There, that's, you know, you're asking lovely questions. Acknowledging that there is something to learn. You've thanked that part. For looking after you, for keeping you safe. But it's time to stand down. And notice what you get. Maybe you do get a voice, like a conversation. Maybe it's just an understanding, an awareness, an intuition. And if you don't get one now, I think you'll get an understanding when maybe you're just doing something completely different. Maybe just going for a walk, maybe being quiet. You'll suddenly get, oh, now I understand. And you can just thank it and let it go. Now there is another question, another question you can ask. Because sometimes, that part of you, the part of you that's running this little issue, been pushed down so long. It's been ignored, isn't it? You've been pushing it away. But sometimes if we ask this other question, simple little question, but this time it's like roles reversed. You're saying, well, what can I do for you? What would you like me to do for you? What is it you need from me that will allow you to support me in a better way? Allow me to be safe in a more, in a comfortable way? What is it you need from me? What can I do from you? And once you say that, let my words, if need be, become your voice to that part of you. What can I do for you? And just listen. Listen with all your senses. Maybe you'll see something in your mind's eye. Maybe you'll hear what it needs. Maybe you'll feel intuitively, just understand what this part needs from you. When I do this, a lot of the times I just get, please acknowledge me. Just this thank you, but just acknowledge me for being here. I've felt ignored for such a long time because this part of you could be so young. Just acknowledge me and that's it. Recognise me. And sometimes when I do this, most of the time I do this and I get that, it's as if everything just disappears. And I feel so different. I feel resourceful. I feel open. And then I can feel gratitude. Gratitude for that part of me and gratitude for the whole of me. Yeah. So that's one, one simple step. Just sit there for a moment. That's right. And you can obviously repeat this if you want to go and maybe, well, I've listened to this because I wanted to understand the process Paul, but I'm going to come back. I'll just bookmark that, that point in time of this episode and then come back to that. And here's a second step though. Now, what I've said to you right at the very beginning is being vulnerable to others, being honest with others, how you feel, how, because you'd like to share it with somebody. You'd like someone, maybe just a little bit of advice, a little bit of help. And that's, as I said to you, and I did swear, I said, it's fucking hard. You know, you might be embarrassed, you know, because people, you think people think of you in one way, you know, and you, I'm embarrassed that to admit that I'm feeling this particular way. Well, the second step is so wonderful, so easy and wonderful. Is there somebody who you would like to share this with? And the beauty of this, this wonderful genius step is it doesn't have to be somebody, you know, but well, there may be someone who you respect in your, in your company, you know, you're the people that you know, friends that you just know would help. And that's cool. We could pick one of those or pick the one, but say there's somebody who you really respect that you haven't met. You've maybe read an autobiography, read about them, maybe seen them on YouTube. Maybe you've seen them on videos or whatever. But there's somebody who you really respect. Maybe they've gone through the type of issue that you're pushing down that you haven't told anybody about. And you can pick them because this is what we're going to do. And it's a lovely process. It's called perceptual positions if you want to know what the NLP process is that I'm using. But here's what we're going to do. You see, you're looking... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/40018115

FMQ 525 They Don't Know I'm Suffering 02/05/2026

FMQ 525 They Don't Know I'm Suffering They Don't Know I'm Suffering We talk a lot about vulnerability these days — maybe too much, and often in the wrong way. In this Five Minute Quickie, I challenge the idea that vulnerability means oversharing or spilling everything too soon. Because for most people who are suffering — anxiety, overwhelm, feeling broken, or just “not quite right” — the real issue is this: People don’t know what’s going on inside. And we’re embarrassed to tell them. This episode plants the seed for a deeper dive into: Why “suck it up” beliefs don’t keep you safe How your unconscious mind is trying (and failing) to protect you A healthier, simpler way to understand vulnerability What freedom from inner suffering could feel like This is for everyone — whether you’re suffering a little, a lot, or not right now at all. The deeper dive is coming next. Please share this with others so we can all come together on the longer episode Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Hey, welcome to the five minute quickie. Well, it's not five minutes, but it's a seed for a longer, deeper dive into something that I think is quite serious. You see, I get confused. I am confused. Why am I confused? Because every man, every man, his dog, wife, family, relations, talk about vulnerability, bloody vulnerability. It's over-talked. And to me, it starts, and the way they talk about it, it starts too far in. And those who follow that, and when I say follow that, I mean, they go overboard, don't they? And it's embarrassing. They give out so much personal stuff. And it's intense. And it's probably too soon. And it's just too much information. Too much. And it becomes embarrassing because what do you do? What do you do when you hear it? You know, for me, it's like, and I'm a therapist, not their therapist, but, and I could go into therapy mode, but I think, you know, this is not the, we're in the, maybe in a bar, pub. This is just too much. Sometimes you've only just met the buggers and it's like, gosh, you see, this is what I think in reality, when we suffer issues, experiences, you know, they could be large, could be small. Doesn't really matter inside. We would like other people to know that we are suffering because you can't see it. Can you? It's not as if you're limping or something like that. It's inside. You're suffering inside, large or small. Could be just anxiety. Could be, could be something massive. And they don't, don't know. And we just, we would like people to know, don't you? You do. I do. I know I do. I feel, you know, I'd love to be able to speak to you, but no, no, no, no. You see what happens is I think it's embarrassing to say it. It's embarrassing to let it out, you know, because we've got these things called like, suck it up, suck it up, buttercup. You know, you push it down, push it down, man up, woman up, get on with life. Just get on with it. And then there's old limiting beliefs. Those old limiting beliefs that go, well, they'll think less of me. They won't understand me. They just, you know, if I show weakness, that's a real bad thing. And it isn't by the way, it isn't. But here's the thing. They are all excuses. They're excuses. And you're choosing to use those excuses. And now in my notes, I thought to myself, fuck, that's hard, Cluffy. That's a hard one to take. But I have to take it myself because I do the same thing. And when I look back and I can look at myself in like a meta position, I can say, yeah, he chose to do that because who else chose? Who else chose to say those things, do those things or not say those things and suck it up, push it down. We chose. Now I'm not saying necessarily we chose consciously. I don't think we do. We just do it because they're like limiting beliefs. Those limiting beliefs are in there and they just, they just kick off, don't they? They get triggered. So it's unconscious. So it's an unconscious choice, but your unconscious mind is your unconscious mind. It's choosing, but it's choosing for you for a wonderful reason. Don't feel very good. Don't feel wonderful, but it's a wonderful reason trying to protect you. And it's given us all this bullshit beliefs. I call it bullshit because we could call them limiting beliefs, but they're bullshit beliefs and all that self-talk, but it's trying to protect you for your own good, but it's not working, is it? Because you see, this is my thought. You have a thought. You have a thought, Cluffy? Yeah, I have a thought about what vulnerability really is or could be in my mind. You see, I think it's more to do with honesty and that's not being straight with others or not straight with others. You know, it's about something else, which I'll go into in a minute. And that's where we're going to dive deeply into on that longer, deeper podcast of that episode. You see, I've got a plan. I've also got a process that I think just might make the difference. And what do I mean by that? Well, first of all, let's go back a little bit, rewind. Who is this episode for? The longer, deeper dive? Well, in my mind, it's bloody everyone. You see, it doesn't matter whether you're suffering a little, got a little bit of anxiety, got a little bit of this, a little bit of that, or you're suffering a lot. Or you're not suffering at the moment because there's always a time that you might, you see. And I want to deep dive into those beliefs, those limiting beliefs, those suck it up beliefs and all that stuff, and how they're not keeping you safe. How, although it's a wonderful intention to keep you safe, the behaviours and the beliefs and all that BS stuff is now no longer appropriate. It's no longer working. And how do you know it's not working? How do you know? Just have a little think. Have a little think that you know it's not working. And I'll tell you for why. It's because it doesn't feel comfortable. It doesn't feel safe. And if it doesn't feel safe, it doesn't feel comfortable, then it's not working. But we do want to feel safe, don't we? We want to be safe in the world. We want to be comfortable in the world. We want to let go of issues so we can really be, really be safe. We don't want to hide behind these things and keep our issues. We want to let them go. And that's how in the longer, deeper dive, we want to, in effect, explain to your unconscious mind what it's trying to do is a wonderful thing. However, it's no longer working. Let's find a better way. And you see, it's all about simpleness, simple ways. We know in simplicity, there is genius. In simplicity, there is genius. In simplicity, there is genius. Keeping everything in a nice, easy way so we can understand it consciously, and our unconscious mind can understand it even more better. And you see, we're going to use some lovely, simple steps that work to get you or your friend back from feeling broken. Because we do sometimes we feel broken, we can feel anxious, we can feel every bloody syndrome in the world. We get depressed. We get, you know, don't want to leave the house. I don't want to meet people, social anxiety in every way, shape or form. And they grow. If they don't get tapped, they can grow, they can get more intense. And even if they are intense, we can still work on this. So that's who we, that's who it's for. And I want you to be the person who you really want to be, who you really are. You know, let's let this go and be that person. And we can be vulnerable. But in a special way, we can be honest in a special way. I mean, just for a moment, just for a moment. Just before I go, if you're suffering a little, if you're suffering a lot, even if you're not suffering, but you could imagine that if you were just for a moment, just for a moment, take a breath and imagine what it would feel like to be free, to be free of issues and to have the tools to deal with any issues that came knocking on your door. What would that feel like? Just feel it now for a moment. Imagine it, make it up, make it up to just get an idea, idea what it would feel like, because we're showing our unconscious mind, this is a great feeling. And with this great feeling, I could probably do a lot more than I'm doing. And I can do it in a way that creates wonderful results. Then I get lucky, serendipity comes knocking on my door and all these opportunities keep coming. And I start to be my real self, my real me. So that's where we're going. That's the seed. So you know, come back to me, come back to the road. You can keep that feeling as long as you want, by the way. But that's the feeling I'm looking for to start off with, sowing the seed of what's possible. So if you're in any way, if you're part of everyone, either with a small issue, with a big issue or no issue at all, but it doesn't matter. You never know. It could be a friend you're looking, listening for and looking for. Just get to the next deeper dive and we'll have some fun. Because change can be fun, by the way. Serious fun, but it's fun nevertheless. So come with me on that deeper dive, on the next deeper dive. Come and sit with me for a spell. We love that way. Sit with me for a spell. Sit with me for a change. Come and listen for a change. Because change could be easy. It can be comfortable. So let's do that. Come to the longer podcast, the longer episode where we do the deep dives. Do subscribe, please. Press that subscribe button only because I want you to have that longer episode come straight into that device that you listen to, that you don't miss it. It's always there. And if there's anything that you want to dive into, just send me an email. Feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. That's me and we'll get into it. So until the next time, my friend, on that deeper dive and all the rest, have more fun than you can stand. And I'll see you, hear you. No, you'll hear me on the deeper dives. Bye-bye now. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/39687270

#473.1 Your Hypnosis track to Bliss and Joy 02/01/2026

#473.1 Your Hypnosis track to Bliss and Joy Your Hypnosis Track to Bliss and Joy So following on from episode #473 Experiencing Joy and Bliss - A Creative Visualisation, I have remastered the visualisation process into a deep hypnosis track to engage your unconscious mind even more. It's only around 20 minutes long so we can all find time to experience deep feelings of Bliss and Joy and use them to direct our unconscious mind to find more in the waking world. Yay! If you've already signed into the complimentary 60+ hypnosis and NLP track,s then use the same link and it'll be at the top of the list. If you haven't yet signed up (no credit card or personal details asked), go to and get all that free personal development 'stuff'. And it's all downloadable, so you can use it anywhere and anytime. Please share Enjoy Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/39640455

#473 Experiencing Joy and Bliss - A Creative Visualisation 01/30/2026

#473 Experiencing Joy and Bliss - A Creative Visualisation Experiencing Joy and Bliss - A Creative Visualisation What if joy and bliss weren’t things you had to chase… What if they were already inside you, waiting to be remembered? In this deeper episode of Personal Development Unplugged, Paul guides you through a powerful creative visualisation designed to help you experience joy, bliss, and deep personal pride – not just think about them. This is not about forcing positivity or pretending everything is perfect. It’s about sending a clear emotional signal to your unconscious mind: “This is how I want to feel.” Using imagination, memory, sensory awareness, and gentle NLP-style anchoring, you’ll explore what joy truly feels like for you – and how that feeling can begin to influence your future choices, goals, and direction in life. This episode works best when you can set aside around 20 minutes with no distractions. It’s an internal experience – subtle, safe, and deeply personal. In this episode, you’ll: Discover why feelings, not goals, are the real compass of personal development Experience a guided creative visualisation for joy, bliss, and personal pride Learn how imagination can bypass internal resistance and unlock change Anchor empowering emotional states you can access whenever you choose Begin building a “base camp” for future growth and deeper work Explore how joy can become a signal your unconscious mind follows This episode gently sets the foundation for upcoming deeper dives into joy, purpose, and removing what gets in the way of feeling truly alive. Best enjoyed somewhere comfortable, safe, and uninterrupted with headphones Your Key Takeaways Your unconscious mind often knows more than your conscious plans Joy and bliss are states, not rewards Imagination is a valid and powerful route to emotional change You can consciously anchor empowering feelings Feeling good isn’t selfish – it’s ecological Your Call to Action Subscribe so you don’t miss the upcoming deeper dives Share this episode with someone who could use more joy in their life Explore Paul’s hypnosis and visualization tracks at paulcloughonline.com/podcast Send feedback or suggestions to Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . Music by And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism Hi there, just before we dive into exploring bliss, joy, I just wanted to say this is like creative visualisation. So you may, well maybe closing your eyes, it's certainly maybe better to do that so we can really get in touch with some intense feelings of joy and bliss and wonderful personal pride. So to that end, if you're doing things or have things that need your attention, it's probably best to listen to this at another time, put say 20 minutes aside, because that's all it's going to take. So where you can just be comfortable and listen, inside, outside, but nothing that needs your attention. Okay, just want to say that before we start, because I want you to enjoy this experience. So intense and have a wonderful experience too. Okay, so here we go. So as we move into a new year, and it doesn't really matter whether we're moving into a new year or not, I wanted to explore something first. Because I always think that we're not clever enough to know exactly what we want. You, me, we think we do. We have this idea, this aim of the things we'd like to do, the things that maybe we think will give us the passion or follow our passion, our meaning, our purpose, and we give it a damn good go. But sometimes I think our unconscious mind knows more. And in fact, while we're focusing on where we think we're going, our unconscious mind can use our peripheral vision so much more to see opportunities that we don't see, that will actually give us more meaning in life, more passion. And how do we direct that? Well, I think it's all about feelings. How do we want to feel? Now, as long as this feeling, and the behaviours that give us this feeling are good for us, either going to be healthy, going to be safe, good for other people. So we're not doing it, you know, one for us and not for you. It's good for other people too. People around us, people we love, people we don't even know, but it's good for them. And it's good for little old planet Earth. And if we get that right, and that feeling will give us all of that, then I think your unconscious mind will find even more benefits, as it were, more opportunities, things that we weren't aware of. It's like those aha moments, those sudden fits of intuition that you go, ah, oh yeah. Oh, this makes sense. Oh, what a coincidence. Serendipity has hit me again. And that's how I think those happen. So before we go on to deeper dives, I thought it'd be nice just to, to find out what joy is for you, for me, for you. It might be, and I have to say, there's a gap there because it's you. If I say what, what I think joy is for you, then that would be my joy. This one, I get this wonderful feeling when I get joy, that I'm just alive in my body. I feel right, if right's the right term. I just feel good. I feel I'm in the right place. I feel super competent in what I'm doing. And I'm enjoying what I'm doing in the flow, in the moment. So what might it be for you? Because there's only me and you here. Now, sometimes you might not be able to come up with what you think it is. Because when you think about it, joy, and I've put joy and bliss together. Joy, bliss. Sometimes we can't admit to the feeling. Because when we admit to what the feeling of joy and bliss is, we have to also admit that we haven't got it. And I think that's okay. Because one thing about it is, it'll always, or can be, just a little bit better. So you can have the most wonderful joy and bliss, knowing that as you live your life in joy and bliss, we can just have it a little bit more intense. Make it a little bit. So it's okay. And this is something we're just going to do in our mind, I guess. So we can just imagineer it. And when we imagineer things, it doesn't really matter, does it? Because we're just thinking, making things up. And sometimes you'll remember, remember times of joy and bliss. And if you do, awesome. And we can take that further. Or we can just imagine it. Make it up. And I'm happy with making it up. Because when we make up how joy and bliss feels, it comes from us anyway. So in some ways, we are getting through that barrier, that filter, and allowing it to come to our mind, just through the power of imagineering. Or we can do both at the same time. So we use our remembering skills and then spice it up. Or we can spice up the feeling and suddenly allow a memory that may just go with it too. Either way and every way, it's okay. So if you're happy to come with me, just to examine, just to explore joy and bliss. And who wouldn't want to do that? Just put some time aside. Because this feeling we're going to explore is like a direct message, encrypted, no one knows, message to your unconscious mind. That this is how I want to feel. And I'm not going to suggest that you close your eyes now. I'm not going to suggest that. But you could. If you want to close your eyes now, that's no problem. But I'm not going to suggest that. I'm not even going to suggest that you simply let them close all by themselves when they're ready to close now. Or you could try to keep them open as long as you can before they close. You choose. It's your choice. But as you sit and listen intensely, with a feeling of maybe just curiosity. What does curious and curiosity feel like? Can you remember a time when you were curious? When you were so interested? And with a sense of curiosity, maybe. Maybe you could recall a time of the past. A time of the past that when you think about it now, it filled you with so much personal pride. So much personal pride. You felt the real you. Recall a time in the past. Or imagine now what that would feel like. To feel an immense feeling of personal pride. Because we mentioned two words together, pride and joy. You're my pride and joy. So when we're feeling so much personal pride, maybe that's the time when we feel joy, bliss. Or maybe just imagine now what that would feel like. Where would you feel it? Would you feel it all over? Would you maybe just feel it in your heart? Maybe you could feel your heart beating beating with joy, bliss, pride. So much. So intense. Maybe you can feel a warmth, a temperature. Some people feel it as a color. Maybe you just feel it. Feel it so intensely. And as you do feel it, to feel that joy, the bliss, so much personal pride flowing through every cell of your body. I wonder what color it does have. What would you imagine that color to be? When you have so much joy and bliss pumping around you. Your heart literally filled with joy and bliss. Feel it. Feel it now. Now you can feel the temperature with that color. Your whole body, the whole you radiating this joy, this bliss. Not just on the inside, you just know secretly you're radiating joy, bliss, intense personal pride. And as you feel all of that, I want you to wonder. You may even say these words with me. I wonder what it would be like if this feeling was doubled. Yeah. Imagine having this feeling now in everything you do. Would that be good? Hell yes, that would be good, wouldn't it? Imagine having it, this feeling, bliss, joy, intense personal pride in everything you do. When you're by yourself, with yourself, with your loved ones, with your friends, your colleagues, just being, filled with this feeling of joy, bliss, intense personal pride. Here's a question for you. Feeling this wonderful feeling that's already doubled. Could you stand to double it again now? Double it and double it. And use every part of you to remember this now. Remember it consciously, remember it unconsciously. I want your unconscious mind to remember this, to know when you feel this feeling. This is pure safety, the feeling of healing, the feeling of living your passion, the feeling of, that's right, the feeling of that. Imagine having this feeling in everything you did and everything that you do. So when you look to the future, how enticing it will be, knowing that you will be bringing to the world this wonderful feeling of joy, bliss, intense personal pride. And when you review, knowing how this joy, bliss, intense personal pride has created the most wonderful parts of the past. So just sit in this joy, bliss, personal pride, intense personal pride, just for a moment longer, so you can really remember this. Now I don't know if you want to take your little finger and your thumb and just gently squeeze them together to anchor this feeling. Or you could just put a finger on the back of a knuckle and as you feel this feeling, you can begin to slide it gently up the knuckle towards your wrist. And as you do that, intensify this feeling. And then come back to that knuckle and then slide it up again and make that feeling even more intense. So every time in the future, when you press that knuckle and slide your finger towards your wrist, you get this feeling even more intense. So you can use it as your intentional anchor. I don't know. Everything is choice. And what would you do and be able to do, having this feeling and the most wonderful positive intentions to create the real you, the ultimate vision of you, following your purpose with passion, every mission that you take on, filled with joy, bliss and ultimate intense personal pride. What would that do? And then I'm not going to suggest, I'm not going to suggest you, if you did close your eyes, you can open them now. And maybe if you didn't close them, you can open them even wider and just, well, just think about spelling your surname backwards or your telephone number backwards, or just looking around and smiling at the world, just to get back into our normal state, knowing that you can go and think about this joy, this bliss, this intense personal pride feeling. More often, because the more you think about it, the more you're telling your unconscious mind, this is the way to go, please. This is what I want to feel in all the things that we do. And if you were to think about that in your goals, your aims, your directions in life, for all different areas of your life, all those different contexts, how would your life be when you look back at it and go, yeah, so you can look forward now. But the things you're doing today, the things you're doing tomorrow, the things you're doing next week, and imagine as you think about them being successful, you could just squeeze that little finger and thumb together, or just slide from that knuckle and feel that intense feeling of bliss, joy, and notice how that changes your way of looking at the world and your goals, your dreams. And that's where we're going to dive into creating joy and all these things, or finding out if there's anything stopping us feeling this intense personal pride, joy, and bliss in everything that we do. Then we'll find a process for it. But I just wanted to dive into this gently and easily, just so we've got a base camp, as it were, of where we're going and where, if you can feel it now, you've already got it. It's a matter of letting it out into the world, isn't it? Opening the doors, opening something in your heart to allow this to happen. Your choice. I hope you enjoyed that, and I'll see you on the next shorter podcast, which is the five-minute quickies, which are about 10 minutes sowing the seed for where we're going in the deeper dives, so you can really prepare yourself and look forward to it. Hope you do. If you did enjoy this type of interlude, I'd love you to let me know. Feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. That's the email address to use. I'd love to hear what you thought. And if there's anything you think, ways that I can improve this, I know there's millions of ways, but if there's something that either bugs you or you think, well, if you could really enhance it by doing this, Cloughie, I'd love to hear that too, on that same email address. Feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. Remember to subscribe so you don't miss these. And if you would share this, so other people can start to start their life, their day, their morning, their hour, their minute, with a feeling of joy, bliss, intense personal pride, that would be awesome. So please share the episode. Until next time, my friend, have more joy, bliss, intense personal pride, and you can stand. Enjoy. Bye bye now. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/39640445

FMQ 524 Heading For Joy - Wanna Come With Me 01/23/2026

FMQ 524 Heading For Joy - Wanna Come With Me Heading For Joy - Wanna Come With Me What if personal development wasn’t about fixing what’s wrong… but about deliberately heading for joy? In this Five Minute Quickie, I share where we’re heading next on the Personal Development Unplugged journey — and it’s all about creating a life that feels worth living. A life with joy, intention, and chapters you’re proud of. We explore: Why joy might be the most underrated success metric The “book inside you” and how you’re already writing it A different take on vulnerability (not the over-sharing nonsense) Why empathy isn’t quite what people think it is A powerful question about suffering… and why you don’t have to do it alone This episode sets the direction for the deeper dives to come — using mindset, imagination, and inner work to let go of suffering and create more joy, one seed at a time. If you’re up for less struggle, more meaning, and a lot more joy… come with me. Oh! And bring others along, too, by sharing this Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And Will Marshall And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism FMQ 524 Heading For Joy - Wanna Come With Me You're going to come with me? You see, I'm trying to set out a few episodes ahead now. Give you an idea of where we're heading. And obviously, personal development is an intention, isn't it? You have your own intention of where you want to go. But to me, sometimes it's more about how you want to feel. And if you think about it, if you've got joy in your life, you're doing pretty well. And you'll probably be doing things that are really, really good because they're providing joy in your life. So, think about it. I want you to think about a few things before we head into the deeper dives. Here's the things I want you to think about. You see, everyone has a book inside them. Well, not everyone wants to write a book. Do you want to write a book? Hmm. But in a deeper dive, I want to uncover the book that's inside you. Because there is one. You're living the bloody thing. And with a little bit of hypno, hypnosis, maybe visualisation, a little bit of internal work, we can find out the remaining chapters of your book. So, you don't have to write it. But what you have to do is live it and create the chapters of your life to come. So, at the end of the book, you can say, yeah, that's a life well lived. I lived it with passion. I lived it with intention. And I'm fucking proud of me. Yeah, and that's what I want for you. So, that'll be one of the deep dives we're doing. Then, this is what gets me sometimes. These thought leaders. These fucking influencers. You know, they spout off about, you have to live a life of vulnerability. You have to be oh so bloody vulnerable, spilling your guts out, spilling your life out to anybody and everybody, because that's the only way to live. Is it? Have you ever been with anybody who gives too much, too soon? It's embarrassing, isn't it? And it's not comfortable, is it? It's not a comfortable place to be. So, where are we going to go? Well, I have a different way of being vulnerable and how to work with vulnerability. And yes, we'll dive into it. And of course, I'm going to say it again, probably say it again, with a little bit of hypnosis, with a little bit of visualisation and just diving deep into our unconscious mind. So, that's another deep dive. So, what else? You see, I want to talk about empathy, because empathy is a good thing to have. Is it? Well, sort of. It's a bloody buzzword. I hear so many people on podcasts go, oh, let's be empathetic, let's do this, let's... It's all got to be empathy. Empathy, empathy, empathy. And you see, it is important-ish, but not in the way most people think. And I want you to be empathetic in a different way. And I'm going to deep dive in that too, so you can understand how you can use empathy. And you'll find that that will also link into that book inside yourself. And living the chapters and creating the chapters, it will link into being vulnerable. It all goes in. You see, I heard this wonderful, wonderful, bloody statement, and it was an awesome statement. So awesome, I might even repeat it twice. And there's a swear word in it. And the statement is this. What is your capacity for suffering alone here? And why the fuck should you? That was the statement. I'm going to repeat it. What is your capacity for suffering alone here? And why the fuck should you? You see, in this version of personal development, the unplugged version, my version, it's all about letting go of suffering and finding joy in your life. And that's my intention, for me, to find more joy in my life. And as I work through it, I want to share it with you. So you can find the tools that I use, the tools that I have used, the tools I use with my clients, and processes that just create more joy in our life. Now, if that's all we do in 2026, I think that might spill into a few more years after that. But if all we do is create joy in our lives, what will it be like? Here's another question. Because firstly, you won't be suffering alone unless you suffer joy. And suffering joy must be a damn good thing to do. But when you have joy in your life, the people around you get to be around you when you're joyful. And that's really good for them. Good for them in so many different ways. They get to feel joy. They get to see someone being joyful. And they can learn from it. You can be that shining example, shining lights into little cracks into their life to show them where joy can come from. And being joyful, it means we're going to be good for little old planet Earth. And you get those three together, we are totally ecological. That's right. So imagine if you could, just for a moment, before I go, what does joy feel like? If everything was to disappear from your life, every negative emotion, every limiting belief, was disappeared just for a second or two. Just imagine it now disappearing for a second or two. Right now. What would joy feel like? And what would happen if that feeling of joy was to keep doubling every day, every week? You were finding more joy in more things. And it doesn't have to be boom joy. It could be that little seed of joy. There you go. And you have that little, little seed of joy just bursting through. That would be a good life to have, I think, wouldn't it? So that's where we're heading. Well, that's where I'm going. You want to come with me? Cool. If you don't, well, at least I've given you the heads up and you're not going to waste your time with me. But if that's where you want to go, come along. Subscribe so you don't miss any of them because one of those might be the one thing, the one thing that makes a difference, the difference that makes a difference. Subscribe. Share this with other people. You know I say that every time. That's the only payment is to pay it forward because it's no point in just having joy in your life. I like being around people who have joy in their life too. Let's share all this with everybody and have fun. So come with me every week. We'll sow the seeds and then we'll do the deep dives. Have more joy than you can stand every day. Till the next time my friend. Boom! We go deep diving. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/39552180

#472 If You Thought This Was Bad 01/16/2026

#472 If You Thought This Was Bad If You Thought This Was Bad Including deep hypnosis If you thought this was bad… it isn’t. And that’s actually good news. In this deeper dive, I’m talking honestly about what happens when life feels overwhelming, when things get pushed down instead of talked through, and why “suck it up, buttercup” is one of the biggest myths we’ve ever been sold in personal development. This episode is about not being broken, even when you feel like you are. It’s about understanding that feeling low, anxious, lost, or like a failure is not the end — it’s a starting point. A platform to move from, not a prison to live in. Inside this episode, we explore: Why suppressing emotions only makes things worse How feeling “not good enough” can actually be the best place to begin change The difference between pity and genuine support Why imagination is one of your most powerful tools for transformation How to reconnect with the best version of you — even if you can’t see it yet And embedded within this episode is a deep guided hypnosis / guided imagery process designed to help you: Let go of limiting beliefs and emotional weight Reconnect with your inner strengths and qualities Experience what it feels like to be your best self Begin acting as if change is already underway You don’t need to be “fixed”. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need the right tools — and a bit of encouragement. What You’ll Experience A safe, grounded hypnosis process (eyes closed, no distractions) Powerful imagery to reconnect you with confidence, ease, and self-belief A reminder that growth doesn’t have to be hard — it can be fun Practical encouragement to start using the tools you already have And I’ve got your back. Call to Action If this episode resonated: Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes Share this podcast with someone who might need it Pay it forward — growth shared is growth multiplied Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism transcript copy #473 If You Thought This Was Bad So the deeper dive today. Welcome. The deeper dive. If you thought this was bad, you're wrong. If you thought you have to suck it up, buttercup, keep it to yourself. Remember we talked about that on the previous FMQ. You see, it's a new year, isn't it? It's a new year. And some, some people are following or failing in their new year's resolutions. And you know, I hate new year's resolutions with a vengeance. For some, life's shit. It is at the moment. It's too hard. Maybe we've got this belief that I'll never succeed anyway. I shouldn't be here and all that rubbish, all limiting beliefs, one of a positive intention, but they're limiting. And I can remember, I can remember this a long time ago, saying to myself, why the fuck bother, Clive? It's not worth it. Too far down. Can't do it. But when I said that to myself, what I didn't do, I didn't suck it up. I didn't suck it up, buttercup. I wasn't a buttercup and I didn't suck it up, but I did keep it to myself. I did man up by pushing it down. Cause that's what men and women do. We man up, women up and we push things down. We suppress them. Don't tell people about them, do we? We don't say, I need help. Can you help me? Suck it up, push it down. What a load of old bollocks. It's a waste of time. Such a waste of time. Cause it just causes more problems, doesn't it? More problems. You need help. Ask for help. And that's where we're going. Cause if you thought this was bad, it's not. You see, this might be you now, the way I was, and I really just didn't think I was going to make it. And if it isn't you now, cause I didn't think back then that would have been me. I thought I had a pretty good life and then boom, something happened and I got, well, the results were plain to see then. Sucking it up, pushing it down. And even though I thought I was doing it well, people knew. Some people helped. Some people are brilliant helpers. Others, maybe not. Because I wouldn't let them in. I wouldn't let them in. And the thing is, because I didn't feel that way, you might think, well, that'll never happen to me. But just in case, not to put it into your future, but just in case it ever did, here you will have the tools. The tools to make sure that you can deal with it. So remember, suck it up, buttercup. Push it down. Keep it to yourself. It's such a load of bollocks, in the personal development world that is. Unless you're looking for pity. We said this before, if you're looking for pity, this isn't the place. Go to a pity party. But if you, in that pity, think, well, I need a little bit of help. You can stay. You can stay. Because we're here to help everybody. I'm here to help everybody. I'm helping you. I'm helping me. Helping everybody. So, but if you are still here, I want to have a look at those feelings. When I say those feelings, they're like the negative emotions that we experience. Not necessarily all the time. Sometimes we do with anxiety. Sometimes anxiety can be pretty all the time. These negative emotions are never all the time, but they can feel so. Because when we're in that bloody jam jar, can't read the label, we think this is our world. This is our, call it familiar zone. But there's also the thoughts that we have with those negative, attached to those negative emotions, the thoughts, the pictures we make in our mind. That bloody self-talk. We need to look at it differently, don't we? If you've ever seen it, and I haven't seen it lately, there's a lovely t-shirt around and it says, I'm broken. But it also shows a smiley face with a bit of plaster, maybe a couple of stitches and a black eye, but there's still a smile on it. It's still a smiley place. So if you feel broken, a bit like me, if you feel broken, or just a little bit broken, or maybe worried about being broken, or anything to do with broken, basically. If you feel like a failure, maybe feeling that you can't go on, maybe feel that you shouldn't be here. Maybe you think to yourself, why me? Why is it always happening to me? I'll never get out of this. You know what? That's fucking great. And you're going to say to me, Paul, what's great about this? Tell you what's great. We've got a platform. We've got a place to start from. We've got a place to push from. To move away from, towards something brilliant. To create a life where we can access, experience all the wonderful dreams, desires, goals, that at this moment in time, you may not even dare dream them, but you will. You'll be able to imagine them. We're going to go through that in the next episodes as they come along. But even if you don't feel broken, you know, maybe you're just a little bit of a failure. Not that you are, but you might think it. Maybe you get a little bit anxious now and again. Maybe you get that little bit of, don't think I should be here. Who am I? Who am I to even do this? Think about it. Dream about it. Who am I? But that's still a wonderful platform. I'm not good enough. It's a wonderful platform to move away from because we can. And we can go towards, and in my notes, I went dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, because we're going towards whatever you choose. That's the thing. Whatever you choose, where you want to go, what you want to experience, what you want to share, what you want to bring to the world. Yeah, that would be awesome, wouldn't it? So let's think. Let's just acknowledge something. A little swear word coming up. But it's, fuck it, I'm here. I am here. I'm breathing. I'm in this world. I'm above ground. Might have those funny old feelings, funny old beliefs, thoughts. But I am here. Touch yourself, hit you, smack yourself on the heart, head, heart, whatever. You can feel it. Feel your body. You're here. Breathe. We are here in this world. Now, a long time ago, way, way, way back to hashtag 78, it was called opening up, letting you in. And it was my sharing of personal challenges. But in that, I talked about my qualities. It was a process that came to me. I don't think anybody ever else has done it, but maybe they have. Maybe that's where I got it from subconsciously, unconsciously, and I just brought it out for myself when I needed it. But I don't think so. But anyway, it was all about the qualities that I had, and I didn't think I had many. But I think with this platform, let's go back to the qualities that you've learnt. You've learnt via experience. You've learnt by people telling you, reading stuff, looking at stuff, just being in life. So if you want to have a listen to that, I might even do another rendition of it as well, another episode to bring it to life again. But there's also a hypnosis track. Hashtag 78.1, funny enough, called My Qualities. Where do you get that from? Well, it's paulcloughonline.com forward slash podcast. I might even at the end of this, throw in the 90 seconds of hypnosis so you get it all. So don't worry about that, taking a note now, we'll put it at the end of this podcast. But you see, I want you to imagine, because imagination cannot be overrun. It's your imagination. It's only you who controls your imagination. No one else. And you can imagine what you choose, because you don't even have to think it's viable. You don't have to think that it's possible, because it's just bloody imagination. It's like, I wish. Now, if it could be like that, that would be great. I can imagine what it could be like. So I want, maybe, imagine the feeling that you would experience when you're succeeding. When all of this shit in your life has gone. You know, actually being the real you, not the old you, because the old you was part of that stuff that created all those negative feelings, emotions, beliefs, behaviours and all that stuff. Like a desire, like a dreams. But if you were succeeding, if that was all disappear right now, and you could have life the way you wanted it, feel the way you want, be the way you want, behave the way you want, and attract everything that you want. I wonder what that would feel like. Yeah. I mean, we can do this now and we will. But I'd love you to do my qualities, just to get a feeling of how good you bloody are. Because you forget about it, you forget of all the things that you can do, have done. But just think now. Now, I'm going to do it in sort of hypnosis fashion. Because I really, you could call it just guided imagery, if you don't like hypnosis, because that's the same thing. We're just going to do guided imagery. But I want you to relax. I want you to relax and take a breath. But before we do that, remember, I'm a therapist, not your therapist, but this is only guided imagery, because I just want you to experience what it would feel like, what you can create in your mind, of how you want it to feel like when you're succeeding, being the best self. And if you could, I want you to close your eyes in a minute. But if you're going to close your eyes, you're going to listen to this and go into your mind, well, you need to make sure that you're going to be undisturbed. You're not gonna be driving. You know, that would be stupid, wouldn't it? You're not going to be, I don't know what they call it, operating machinery. Don't do that. You want to find, just make sure you're going to be undisturbed. You're going to close your eyes, it won't be too long, maybe 10 or so minutes. But just make sure that you'll be undisturbed. So if that's okay with you, this is what we're going to do. And please remember, I am a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. Okay? Just before you close your eyes, I want you to take a gentle in-breath for the count of four. Now. One, two, three, four. Now hold it for the count of four. Two, three, four. And now let it out to a slow count of eight and allow your eyes to close through all the way to eight. So when you're there, your eyes are closed. And I just want you to breathe gently. Just breathe. In fact, I have a wonderful way of breathing in this state. And it's all about making every in-breath more gentle than the one before. It's so simple. Simple as that. And as you breathe that way, allow your in-breath to take you into a lovely place of comfort. And then as you breathe out, just imagine you're being drawn in to a place of comfort, even more so. So in-breath, you feel good and relaxed. And out-breath, you're just drawn into a wonderful place of comfort. It's your place of comfort. And just imagine going deeper and deeper into that place. And as you do that, just imagine, maybe ask the question, what would it be like to feel twice as comfortable as I do now? What would it be like now? Feel it. And then ask yourself, in this imagination, imaginary, what would it be like to begin to imagine how I want to be? If I could see a me over there, just over there, that's it, being the way I dream of, or could dream of. How do you want to be? Being the best version of myself. And be it over there. What would that look like? What would you see? And access all the powers of your imagination now. See that you over there. See it so clearly. Having let go of all that stuff. Or just become aware of it. Did the work. And now is living the best life. They are experiencing wonderful life. Wonderful things happening. Their best self. Wonderful emotions. Your best self. Not just happiness, but maybe joy. Maybe even bliss. Excitement. Connection. And even dreaming more dreams. Because you can. To create a reality. So every day is a new day for creating even better change. To striving to be an even better you. New opportunities. What does that look like over there? So many new opportunities. Do they have a smile on their face? Do they have a twinkle in their eye? Or even their eyes? How do they breathe? Do they move with an ease and a comfort and a confidence? Just sense it now of who they are. That's right. Just watch them for the moment. Maybe you could imagine even more right now. What else? Even more. As you do that, imagine they begin to walk towards you. And you somehow go towards them. Coming together. And maybe in this wonderful imagineering of yours as one, you can imagine now. You're them. This is me. You're you. This is you. Experiencing life. Just the way you could ever, ever want to be. Feel the physical feelings of being in this body. Walking. The ease of movement. Feel the smile on the inside and the outside. Because you can. Feel the lightness of movement. Maybe feel the excitement. Maybe the joy. The emotions. They're your feelings. You feel them now. Whatever you would feel right now, you're feeling them right now. Of living your best life. Make them even more. And moving towards an even better one. Feel those emotions. See what you'd see in the world. And hear what you'd say to yourself. The encouragement you would give to yourself. Talk about the new dreams that you have. The new opportunities you're going to take. The life that you're going to create for yourself. Because you can. You can. I wonder, if you could access the most powerful positive sets of belief, or beliefs, how would they sound in your head? Hear them now. What would you say to yourself? How would you believe in yourself so positively? And maybe, you could imagine sharing this with other people too. So they too can come on your adventure. Because that's what it is. It's an adventure. We're not quite sure what's going to happen, but we know it's going to be better. Every day. Every breath. A new breath. A new day. To create new things. And feel what that would feel like. To experience the confidence in your competence. Feeling so confident. So good. Imagine that feeling going all the way around your body. Feeling now. From the tips of your toes, to your unconscious nose. Exactly how to trigger this. To create it. That's right. And then, maybe just keeping this feeling. Because you could imagine, maybe now, as when you come back to the now, you could have this feeling and begin to act as if you have it already. So when you go through the processes, choosing the thoughts, the dreams, to act as the of creating this now. You could act as if you have it already. What would that be like? And maybe just say to yourself the immortal words. I call them immortal words. I think they come from Shakti Gawain. This or something better. This or something better. This or something better. And with a wonderful sense of gratitude, you can take a wonderful in-breath. Open your eyes. And go, yeah, I got this. Yeah. So come back into the world. Look around. Feel that lightness. Feel the brightness. And then just think to yourself. So what's the difference between then, that you in the future, but you can act as if now, and now? Well, here's what I thought when I did this. Well, now I'm clueless and I'm toolless. There in the future, I was clued in. I was tooled up. I love that. Tooled up. But right now, you see, you're just not using the tools. You might not have the tools. And that's where the next episodes, my dreams for this podcast is to be able to supply you with the tools, the processes to make change easily or easy and effortlessly. Keep them simple because in simplicity, there's what? Genius. Now you may say to yourself, I have the tools. Well, maybe you have got the tools. But if you're like me, I have to question myself. I've got a lot of tools, but do I use them? Am I being a master of what I know and doing, knowing what I know? Say that again. Knowing what to do and doing what I know. Yeah. Have a think about that. So how do we, and I say we, because it's you and I, make those changes. Now, you see, I think this is just a work in progress. That's me. I'm just a work in progress. I get stuff that comes and still knocks me to the side. I find a tool and I do something about it because I want my life to be better. And I want to be living my... /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/39515255

FMQ 523 Lets Start Over 01/09/2026

FMQ 523 Lets Start Over Lets Start Over A brand new year often brings pressure to reinvent everything. But in this Five Minute Quickie, Paul invites you to start over without throwing everything away. This episode is about recommitting — to your growth, your tools, and your intention to become the best version of yourself. Not by chasing pity or staying stuck, but by choosing encouragement, responsibility, and action. With over a thousand episodes behind him, Paul explains why revisiting the fundamentals of personal development isn’t going backwards — it’s how real mastery is built. You may have heard it before… but you’re not the same person listening now. Inside this FMQ, you’ll explore: Why “starting over” doesn’t mean starting from scratch The difference between healthy honesty and unhelpful pity Why reminders are often more powerful than new information How mastery comes from doing what you know — consistently The importance of sharing what you learn to deepen your growth This episode sets the tone for the year ahead: practical tools, encouragement, personal responsibility, and meaningful change — for you, and for the people around you. And if you want a say in where this podcast goes next, Paul invites you to get involved. Let's share this message and ask others to do the same Let’s start over — properly. Shine Brightly 🌟 Paul Hey there! I’d love to hear from you—questions, feedback, requests—all welcome. Drop me a line or leave a comment. If you've enjoyed this episode or any other, please share and subscribe! You can reach me at . Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review . Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit . Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to . Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: Remember: I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. This podcast and any of my online resources are for educational purposes only. Never use the hypnosis tracks or exercises if you're operating machinery, driving, or if you have epilepsy or psychiatric conditions. Always consult a healthcare provider if you're unsure. Find Us on Other Platforms Catch the podcast on , Castbox, , YouTube, or on our . Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from , Music by from . And the transcript WARNING if you're a lover of the written word this may make you frustrated, or angry - you have been warned - is it an 'ism FMQ 523 Lets Start Over Welcome to a brand new year. Yeah, brand new year. And it's got me thinking because I do like to review where we're going, what we're doing. And that's why the title of this FMQ is Let's Start Over. But I'm not starting over, over. You see, something got me. I heard on... Well, I heard, I think it's a Navy SEALS type thing that they say to themselves. And it's, suck it up buttercup. Keep it to yourself. And I'm going to guess, in a hostile environment, you can't show your emotions. So you do have to suck it up. You do have to keep it to yourself. But then I thought, there's another, another place that we should suck it up buttercup, keep it to yourself. And that's if you're looking for pity. And if you're looking for pity, you don't want to be here. Okay? Because this is a place where I know you and I are looking to change the way we feel. Looking to change the way we think and look to change any limiting beliefs and negative emotions. Well, how we feel, but then those limiting beliefs change what we believe. And maybe we want to have access to tools, help, things that will help us change and encouragement. And that's what I've been thinking about here in this little old unplugged mind of mine. You see, there's over a thousand episodes here in Personal Development Unplugged. Over a thousand. That's massive. Don't know where or how it all came out of this little brain of mine. But the thing is, I want to continue to help. And when I say continue to help, I'm helping me as well. So it doesn't matter where you are on this adventure. This adventure of personal development, self-improvement, looking to be and stretching yourself to be the best version of yourself. Because there's always going to be something here for you. I have challenges. And I've been doing this stuff for bloody years. Still get challenges. But I also have the tools to help me with those challenges. And I want to share them with you. Because you see, on this adventure of personal development, self-improvement, you're looking for your best self. There's a richness in rewards. There's a richness in life. A richness of experience. And that's what I want to share with you. So, in a way, I do want to start over again. Go back. I'm not going to go all the way back to episode number one. No. I want to start delivering new tools. But because I've done over a thousand episodes, doesn't mean we can't go back to the type of things I did talk about. And have talked about. Because they're still valid. And I don't expect you to go back and go, oh, I wonder what Paul was doing on episode 12. But what I do want to do is start to cover those basics again. And also develop them into new stuff. Because even if I go over some of the stuff I've talked about in those last thousand episodes, they're going to be different. The presentation is going to be different. The message is going to be different. Because I'm different. So even if you've heard it before, if you think you know it before, or known about it before, you've learnt it before, couple of things. I will deliver it differently. And you will hear it differently. Because you're different. You've changed. You've come further along this adventure. So we're both different people. We're both with lots of different experience and learnings. And we'll listen and allow different things to come in. So there'll still be an improvement. And the other thing is, it's great to be re-reminded, if that's such a word. Reminded. Of the things that you know. Because, go and think of that mastery. Doing what you know and knowing what you do. Because you might know this stuff, but are you using it? I have that same challenging questions to me. I ask myself, do you remember that stuff you've all learnt? Are you still using it Cloughie? And sometimes I'm thinking, well I hope I'm using it unconsciously. Sometimes when I look back at the videos I can see how I am using some of the things I've learnt unconsciously. They're in the muscle for me. But there's other things I sometimes have maybe left behind and I want to develop again. Make them interesting. So we can use them and really make some headway this year. Really make a difference. Make a difference to you, me. The things that we believe. The emotions that we experience. Experiences in this adventure. Get everything the way we want. And then be able to share it with people. Because when you share it, you really do get mastery. Because then you do know what you're doing and you are doing what you know. And when we share it, we just grow. And sharing in a wonderful way helps other people grow too. Which is so ecological, which has to be the basis of why we want to grow and be our best self. To serve and help others and serve and help this little old planet Earth. Because for fuck's sake, it does need it, doesn't it? There's a lot of shit going on out there. And if we can all do our little little bit, like the old butterfly flapping at one side of the world, creating a storm of change over the other. And if we all flap, we'll make a difference, won't we? So that's where we're going to go. Oh, and the other thing I want to give you, completely free, is all the encouragement you can stand. I want to give you every bit of encouragement because I want you to get your dreams, your goals, your desires. Everything. The full shebang. So, if that is for you, no, suck it up, buttercup. Keep it to yourself. Unless it's pity and you're not going to be here anyway, are you? But if that's for you, we're in for a doozy. A real doozy. And that's starting with next week's deeper, deeper dive. It's going to be exciting. I'm looking forward to it. And one thing is, if you want to influence where we go next year, or this year, I'm recording it last year, now. But if you want to influence the type of things we do, learn, discover, experience, the direction we're going, so they meet your desires, your goals, your dreams and everything else, send me that email. Feedback at personaldevelopmentunplugged.com Just give me a little pointer of the type of things you would like to dive deeper into. That's what I'm going to do. If not, you just have to come with me what comes out of my head. But I'd love your feedback on that. And there's a cost for all of this. As you know, there is a cost. I mean, everything else, you don't actually pay it, in a way. But what you do do is, if you could, pay it forward. Pay it forward. Pay it forward what you learn, share what you learn, and if you could just share this this podcast. If you could, to your friends, your colleagues, but also if you could share it on social media. I know social media is a bit we don't have too much social media but there are people, if we can get them to see where we're going together, what we're going to do. Show them, give them encouragement to come here. And we can just create more of that storm of change. So come sit down for a change. Because it's not magic, but it will be magical. The changes you experience will be magical. If you've got the will to do whatever it takes. And that was on one of the previous hypnosis tracks, wasn't it? The will to do whatever it takes. The secret ingredient of obtaining your your dreams, your goals, your desires, the richness of life. So please pay that forward if you could. And also remember, we're going to be banging out hypnosis and NLP processes as much as I can. My processes as much as I can. So they're really specific into each one. And I'll also if I can, keep putting them on my other site, paulcloughonline.com to where I have all my hypnosis tracks. About 60 something rather, I don't know. There's plenty there. Plenty. Something for all occasions as they say. And if you want to go there now, it's paulcloughonline.com forward slash podcast. And you get your unique link to all of those. To do that, have some fun. So we're going to dive in on the longer podcast. We're going to start over. So get ready to suck it up, and share. Have fun. And I'm going to see you on the deeper one. And every other one. Until then, have more fun than you can stand. Ta-ra. Transcribed by . Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis] /episode/index/show/personaldevelomentunplugged/id/39515240

Anxiety to Confidence - The Personal Development Unplugged Podcast

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