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 https://personaldevelopmentunplugged.com/472-if-you-thought-this-was-bad/ 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 feedback@personaldevelopmentunplugged.com. Subscribe to the Podcast Ready to subscribe? Click here to explore your options. Or, if you're on Apple Music or iTunes, you can go straight to subscribe or leave a review here. Special Programs for You For tools on developing Supreme Inner Confidence, finding Freedom from Anxiety, or specialized Hypnosis Tracks, visit PaulCloughOnline.com. Free Hypnosis Tracks Want access to my FREE hypnosis tracks? Head over to paulcloughonline.com/podcast. Connect with Me Follow me on Twitter: @pcloughie 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 Spotify, Castbox, iHeart Radio, YouTube, or on our Libsyn page. Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨ Music Credits Music by Wataboi from Pixabay, Music by DreamHeaven from Pixabay, Music by ccjmusic from Pixabay, Music by freegroove from Pixabay, Music by prazkhanal from Pixabay. 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 f**k 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 f*****g 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, f**k 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 s
