Growing Plants Growing People

Kristian Hickson-Booth and Daniel Locklair
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Self-Improvement

What if some of the principles that help gardens flourish could also help us understand how people grow? Welcome to Growing Plants, Growing People™ — the podcast where we discover that the principles which help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow. Hosted by Kristian Hickson-Booth and Daniel Locklair, we bring together very different backgrounds and experiences with a shared professional foundation in Self-Talk and Life Coaching — and a fascination with one of the most extraordinary gardens of all: the human mind. Together, we explore Self-Talk, programming, beliefs, habits, neuroplasticity, personal growth and the often unseen influences that shape the way we think, feel, act and ultimately the results we create in our lives. This isn't simply about positive thinking. It's about understanding what's happening beneath the surface — where our programming comes from, how our brains learn and change, why lasting change can sometimes be difficult, and what we can do differently once we begin to understand the processes involved. Through conversation, personal stories, practical ideas and lessons drawn from both personal development and the garden, our aim is to help you understand yourself a little better, question some of the things you've come to believe, and recognise that change is possible. Because whether we're growing plants or growing people, what happens beneath the surface matters. And remember: the most important conversation you'll ever have is the one you have with yourself. Make it count.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    How The Brain Gets Programmed | Episode 008

    Understanding Your Programming series Where do the thoughts and beliefs we carry about ourselves actually come from? In Episode 007, we discovered that programming creates beliefs. But that raises another important question: how does that programming get there in the first place? In this episode of Growing Plants, Growing People, Kristian and Daniel explore how the messages we receive, the experiences we have, the conclusions we reach and the things we repeatedly say to ourselves can gradually become part of our programming. Using the idea of the mind as a filing cabinet, Daniel explains how new information doesn't necessarily arrive in isolation. We often make sense of what is happening today through information and experiences that are already stored. Kristian brings this idea to life through her own experience of learning plant identification. Beginning with twenty plants a week at horticultural college and continuing through more than forty years in horticulture, her ever-growing mental “filing cabinet” demonstrates how new information connects with what we already know — and why the filing cabinet is never finished. In this episode, you'll discover: How our mental “filing cabinet” develops over time Why new experiences can be interpreted through information we already carry The difference between an experience and the conclusion we draw from it How messages from other people can eventually become our own Self-Talk How “I found that difficult” can gradually become “I'm no good at that” Why repeated conclusions can begin to feel like facts about who we are Why our programming has a history — but also a present You'll also be invited to listen more closely to some of the phrases you use to describe yourself: “I've always been…” “I'm no good at…” “I never…” “That's just the way I am.” Not to judge them. Not even to change them yet. Simply to become curious about where they came from. Because the filing cabinet is never finished — and what is already in there may not have to be the end of the story. Your Free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Foundation Workbook If today's conversation has encouraged you to think more deeply about the programming you may have picked up along the way, our Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Foundation Workbook will help you continue that exploration. Throughout the first six episodes of Growing Plants, Growing People, we created an individual reflective worksheet to accompany each conversation. Those six worksheets have now been brought together into one free resource — the Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Foundation Workbook. It's designed to help you take the conversations we've been having beyond the podcast and give you space to pause, reflect and explore how those ideas relate to your own life. Whether you've been listening from Episode 001 or have only just discovered Growing Plants, Growing People, the Reflective Foundation Workbook gives you a place to begin and allows you to work through those foundation conversations at your own pace. Get your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Foundation Workbook here: Download the Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Foundation Workbook Try the Self-Talk App Free for 30 Days If you'd like to take what we've been exploring in the podcast and begin putting Self-Talk into practice for yourself, we'd like to invite you to try the Self-Talk Plus App. As a listener to Growing Plants, Growing People, you can try the app free for 30 days. But we also know that downloading an app and knowing how to make the best use of it are two different things. That's why we've created something specifically for our listeners — the Growing Plants, Growing People Listener's Guide to the Self-Talk App. It's designed to help you get started, understand how to begin using Self-Talk and make those first 30 days something you can actually explore and experience for yourself. Throughout the podcast, we'll continue exploring why the conversations we have with ourselves matter. The Self-Talk App gives you an opportunity to begin experiencing Self-Talk for yourself. Download your Growing Plants, Growing People Listener's Guide to the Self-Talk App and Start your free 30-day Self-Talk App trial here: Download the Listener's Guide and get your free 30-day trial of Self-Talk Plus here Direct link to free 30-day trial of Self-Talk Plus here Next Time on Growing Plants, Growing People If our brains can become programmed through what they learn and experience, an important question follows: Can they also change? In Episode 009 – Neuroplasticity Explained - we'll explore the brain's ability to change and adapt — and what that could mean for the programming we've been carrying with us. If our minds can learn programmes… …perhaps what they've already learned doesn't have to be the end of the story.

    How The Brain Gets Programmed | Episode 008

  2. Oct 13

    Programming Creates Beliefs | Episode 007

    Understanding Your Programming Series Have you ever stopped to wonder why you believe some of the things you believe about yourself?  I'm not very good at that. I've never been a confident person. I always struggle with things like this. That's just the way I am.  When we've believed something for long enough, it can stop feeling like a belief and start feeling like a fact.  But what if it isn't?  In this episode of Growing Plants, Growing People, Kristian and Daniel begin a new series, Understanding Your Programming, by exploring one of the most important connections in the way we think: Programming creates beliefs. Through conversation, Daniel's computer-keyboard story and a little horticultural thinking, we explore how the messages and information we receive can gradually become part of what we accept as true about ourselves — and why not every message we receive necessarily has to take root.  Most importantly, this isn't about looking backwards for someone to blame. It's about understanding where some of our beliefs may have come from and beginning to ask a very different question:  “How did I learn to believe that?”  Because if a belief was learned, perhaps it doesn't have to stay that way.  In this episode, you'll explore: What we mean when we talk about “programming”How someone else's words can eventually become our own beliefsWhy not every message we receive takes rootThe importance of positive programming as well as negative programmingWhy programming doesn't stop when we become adultsHow becoming curious about our beliefs can be the beginning of change Free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Foundation Workbook If you've been following us through the first six episodes of Growing Plants, Growing People, the individual reflective worksheets from our Foundation Series have now been brought together into one resource — the Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Foundation Workbook. It's designed to help you take the conversations we've been having beyond the podcast and give you space to pause, reflect and explore how those ideas relate to your own life. And if you're joining us for the first time with Episode 007, you can use the workbook alongside the Foundation Series to explore the journey from the beginning.  Download your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Workbook here: Growing Plants Growing People Reflective Workbook   Would You Like to Take the Conversation Further? Sometimes reflection brings up questions that are difficult to explore on your own. When was the last time someone focused solely on you, what you want to be, do and have in your life? We're offering listeners the opportunity to book a free coaching conversation — a chance to explore those questions with someone completely focused on you. There's no obligation. It's simply an opportunity to have a conversation, gain some clarity and see where it takes you. Book your FREE coaching conversation here: Free Coaching Call And in the next episode, we'll take the conversation one step further and explore How Your Brain Gets Programmed. Growing Plants, Growing People — because the principles that help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow.

    Programming Creates Beliefs | Episode 007

  3. Oct 7

    Painting the Picture of Your Life | Dr Shad Helmstetter – Part 1

    Every body of work has a beginning. For Dr Shad Helmstetter, bestselling author, founder of the Self-Talk Institute and one of the pioneering voices in the field of Self-Talk, part of that story takes us back to a young boy working alone beneath an enormous sky, surrounded by wheat fields and wondering what might exist beyond the horizon. In this first part of our special conversation, we go back to those beginnings and explore some of the experiences and ideas that would eventually contribute to more than forty years of work devoted to understanding the conversations we have with ourselves. Shad also introduces a powerful image for understanding how our programming develops: the canvas upon which, brushstroke by brushstroke, the picture we hold of ourselves begins to emerge. In this episode you will discover: Where Shad's extraordinary journey beganHow the messages and experiences we encounter can become part of our programmingHow programming begins to influence the beliefs we hold about ourselvesWhy those beliefs can become part of the picture through which we see ourselves and our possibilitiesShad's powerful analogy of the canvas, the colours and the brushstrokesWhy the picture painted so far doesn't necessarily have to be the picture we continue paintingContinue Your Self-Talk Journey Want to take what you're hearing in Growing Plants, Growing People further? Download the Self-Talk Listener's Guide and receive 30 days FREE access to the Self-Talk app, giving you the opportunity to begin putting Self-Talk into practice in your own life. Download your Self-Talk Listeners Guide Here You will find your FREE 30 day trial of Self-Talk Plus here This is Part 1 of a special conversation with Dr Shad Helmstetter that we'll be sharing throughout the Growing Plants, Growing People journey. Across the series, you'll hear Shad reflect on Self-Talk, programming, neuroplasticity, goals, language, choice, attitude and the evolution of his work through to his latest book, The Twelve Super Habits. The conversation continues. Growing Plants, Growing People Because the most important conversation you'll ever have is the one you have with yourself. Make it count.

    Painting the Picture of Your Life | Dr Shad Helmstetter – Part 1

  4. Sep 29

    Where Your Results Really Begin | Episode 006

    Have you ever tried to change something in your life, only to find yourself slipping back into the same thoughts, feelings or behaviours? We often focus on the result we want to change. We tell ourselves we need to behave differently, try harder or make better choices. But what if the result we can see is actually the end of a much deeper sequence? In this episode of Growing Plants, Growing People, Kristian and Daniel explore the connection between our programming, beliefs, attitudes, feelings, actions and ultimately the results we create. Drawing on the pioneering work of Dr Shad Helmstetter, they work backwards from the results we experience to explore where those results really begin — and why changing our actions alone may not always create lasting change. In this episode you will discover: How programming creates beliefs, beliefs create attitudes, attitudes create feelings, feelings influence actions, and actions create resultsWhy a belief doesn't necessarily have to be objectively true for it to influence the way you liveHow the things you believe about yourself can affect the opportunities you take — or avoidWhy repeatedly trying to change a result may mean you're starting at the wrong end of the sequenceHow to work backwards from a result and become curious about what may be driving itWhy understanding your programming can give you a very different place from which to begin creating changeFree Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet We've created a free reflective worksheet to accompany this episode and help you explore the ideas for yourself. Choose one result in your life that you'd like to understand better and use the worksheet to work backwards through the sequence — exploring the actions, feelings, attitudes and beliefs that may be sitting behind it, before considering the programming that may have helped shape those beliefs. You don't need to change everything at once. Start with one result and get curious about where it really began. Download your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet here: Where Your Results Really Begin Reflective Worksheet And there's something special coming next. After six episodes exploring the foundations of Self-Talk, Kristian and Daniel will be joined in the next episode by Dr Shad Helmstetter, widely recognised for his pioneering work in Self-Talk, for a special conversation about the story behind the work and what decades of studying Self-Talk have taught him. The most important conversation you'll ever have is the one you have with yourself. Make it count.

    Where Your Results Really Begin | Episode 006

  5. Sep 22

    The Feedback Loop: How Your Thoughts Shape the Person You Become | Episode 005

    Have you ever noticed how one thought can quickly lead to another — particularly when something goes wrong? In this episode of Growing Plants, Growing People, Kristian and Daniel explore what happens when the messages we repeatedly give ourselves become familiar patterns, and how those patterns can influence the way we interpret situations, respond to experiences and ultimately behave. Daniel introduces the memorable Golden Brain illustration to help explain how the programming we accumulate can influence the messages our brain feeds back to us. We also explore the extraordinary number of thoughts we may experience across a lifetime — and why the goal isn't to make every thought positive, but to become more aware of the messages we repeatedly reinforce. In this episode you will discover: How repeated thoughts can become familiar patternsWhat the feedback loop is and why it mattersHow existing programming can influence the way we interpret new experiencesThe Golden Brain illustration and what it can teach us about the messages we repeatedly reinforceWhy two people can experience a similar situation yet respond very differentlyThe important difference between what happened and the story we tell ourselves about what happenedWhy Self-Talk isn't about pretending everything is wonderful or denying realityWhy you don't need to control every thought to begin changing the patterns you reinforceHow the brain's ability to learn and adapt gives us the opportunity to begin strengthening different patternsThe thoughts and messages you've repeated in the past may help explain some of the patterns you experience today — but they don't have to decide the patterns you create next. And as we prepare for Episode 006, we'll begin connecting those patterns to something even bigger: how programming creates beliefs, beliefs create attitudes, attitudes create feelings, feelings determine actions, and actions create results. Free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet Want to take today's conversation a little further? We've created a free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet to accompany this episode, helping you notice some of the messages you repeatedly give yourself and begin exploring the patterns behind your own Self-Talk. Download your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet here: Episode 005 Reflective Worksheet Episode 005 Bonus Reflective Worksheet Because the most important conversation you'll ever have, is the one you have with yourself. Make it count.

    The Feedback Loop: How Your Thoughts Shape the Person You Become | Episode 005

  6. Sep 15

    Why Good Ideas Are So Hard To Stick With | Episode 004

    Have you ever discovered a great idea, started with every intention of sticking with it...and then watched everyday life get in the way? In this episode of Growing Plants, Growing People, Kristian and Daniel explore why struggling to maintain a new habit, goal or personal-development practice doesn’t necessarily mean you lack commitment or discipline. Every attempt to change has to compete for three limited resources: our time, our physical energy and our mental energy. Through the story of Dr Shad Helmstetter’s own experience with goal setting, along with a rather familiar gardening analogy, we discover why even a good idea can gradually become another chore — and why having the right tools can make all the difference. In this episode you’ll discover: Why even good ideas can become difficult to maintain when everyday life gets in the wayWhy time, physical energy and mental energy all influence our ability to stick with somethingWhy struggling to maintain a new practice doesn’t necessarily mean you lack commitment or disciplineThe three important requirements for a personal-growth approach that is going to survive the realities of everyday life:It needs to be simpleIt needs to be easy to useAnd when you put it into practice, it needs to work Perhaps the question isn’t: “Why can’t I stick with it?” Perhaps there’s a better question: “Am I using the right tool?” Free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet We’ve created a free reflective worksheet to accompany this episode and help you explore how these ideas apply to your own life. Use it to consider the things you’ve tried to introduce or maintain, what may have made them difficult to stick with, and whether the tools or approaches you’ve been using are realistic for the time, physical energy and mental energy available to you. Download your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet here: Why Good Ideas Are So Hard to Stick With Reflective Worksheet Download your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Bonus Worksheet here: Your Three Resources Bonus Reflective Worksheet Listen now and continue the journey as we explore how lasting change really happens. Growing Plants, Growing People — because the principles that help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow.

    Why Good Ideas Are So Hard To Stick With | Episode 004

  7. Sep 15

    Why Good Advice Isn't Enough | Episode 003

    Have you ever read an inspiring book, listened to a great speaker, or discovered an idea that made you think, “This is going to change everything”—only to find yourself slipping back into familiar habits a few weeks later? If the advice was good and you genuinely wanted to change, why didn't it last? In Episode 003 of the Growing Plants, Growing People Foundation Series, Kristian and Daniel explore why information, inspiration and good intentions aren't always enough to create lasting change. They look beneath the surface at the programming already influencing the way we think, feel and act, and introduce the three necessary ingredients for lasting change. Drawing on Kristian's experiences from more than forty years in horticulture and mentoring, alongside Daniel's coaching and Self-Talk perspective, they discover a principle that applies equally to plants and people: lasting growth requires the right conditions. Perhaps the problem was never that the advice was wrong. Perhaps we were simply expecting good advice to overcome years of existing programming. And once we understand that we can begin approaching change very differently. In this episode you'll discover: Why inspiration can feel powerful but still fadeWhy knowing what to do doesn't necessarily mean we'll do itHow existing programming can compete with new ideasThe three necessary ingredients for lasting changeWhy understanding how change happens can replace frustration with hopeFree Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet We've created a free reflection worksheet to accompany this episode and help you explore the ideas we've discussed. Use it to reflect on the times you've felt inspired to make a change, what helped that change last, and where old patterns may have quietly returned. Download your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet here: Why Good Advice Isn't Enough Reflective Worksheet Because yesterday doesn't have to decide tomorrow. Growing Plants, Growing People — where we discover that the principles which help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow.

    Why Good Advice Isn't Enough | Episode 003

  8. Sep 15

    The Two Paths We Can Follow | Episode 002

    Where did the beliefs you have about yourself actually come from? None of us is born believing we're not good enough, not confident enough, or incapable of achieving something. Yet somewhere along the way, experiences, conversations and repeated messages can begin to shape what we believe about ourselves—and eventually those messages can become part of our own self-talk. In Episode 002 of the Foundation Series, Kristian and Daniel build on the ideas introduced in Self-Talk Park and explore how our early experiences and repeated messages can gradually influence the paths we follow. Using real-life coaching experiences and the world of gardening, they explore why two people can begin with similar potential yet develop very different beliefs about what they're capable of. You'll discover why some of the things you regard as facts about yourself may actually be well-practised thoughts—and why recognising where those beliefs came from can be the beginning of something very different. Because you weren't born believing the things that now hold you back. And yesterday doesn't have to decide tomorrow. In this episode: How repeated messages can become beliefsWhy encouragement and criticism can shape the paths we followHow other people's voices can gradually become our own self-talkWhy limiting beliefs can begin to feel like factsWhat gardening can teach us about potential, environment and growthWhy recognising an old belief is the first step towards changing itFree Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet We've created a free reflective worksheet to accompany this episode and help you take the conversation a little further. It will help you begin identifying some of the messages and beliefs that may have shaped your own thinking, giving you an opportunity to reflect on where they came from and which ones you may still be carrying today. Download your free Growing Plants, Growing People Reflective Worksheet using the link below: The Two Paths We Can Follow Reflective Worksheet The conversation continues: Whose voice do you still hear when you make a mistake? Growing Plants, Growing People — where we discover that the principles which help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow.

    The Two Paths We Can Follow | Episode 002

  9. Sep 15

    Self-Talk Park | Episode 001

    What if the most important conversation influencing your life is one that nobody else can hear? Every day, we talk to ourselves. Sometimes we’re aware of it. Often, we’re not. But the words, thoughts and messages we repeatedly give ourselves can influence the way we think, how we feel, the choices we make and ultimately the results we create. In Episode 001 of Growing Plants, Growing People, Kristian and Daniel begin the Foundation Series by opening the door into the fascinating world of Self-Talk. Through the idea of Self-Talk Park, they begin exploring what Self-Talk actually is, where those internal conversations come from and why becoming aware of them matters. This isn’t about trying to make every thought positive or pretending that difficulties don’t exist. It’s about beginning to notice the conversation that is already taking place. In this episode you’ll discover: What we mean when we talk about Self-TalkWhy the conversations we have with ourselves matterHow the messages we repeatedly give ourselves can influence the way we think, feel and actWhy much of our Self-Talk can happen without us consciously noticing itWhy becoming aware of our internal conversation is an important first stepHow understanding Self-Talk begins to open the door to understanding ourselvesAnd perhaps most importantly, we begin with a simple idea that will run throughout Growing Plants, Growing People: The most important conversation you’ll ever have is the one you have with yourself. Free Reflective Worksheet We’ve created a free reflective worksheet to accompany Episode 001 and help you take the conversation a little further. It gives you an opportunity to pause, reflect and begin noticing some of the conversations you have with yourself and how those messages may be influencing the way you think. Download your free Growing Plants Growing People Reflective Worksheet here: Self-Talk Park Reflective Worksheet This is only the beginning. In Episode 002 — The Two Paths We Can Follow — we’ll begin exploring where some of the beliefs we carry about ourselves actually come from. Growing Plants, Growing People — where we discover that the principles which help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow. The most important conversation you’ll ever have is the one you have with yourself. Make it count.

    Self-Talk Park | Episode 001

  10. Trailer

    Growing Plants Growing People Podcast Trailer

    What if the principles that help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow? Welcome to Growing Plants, Growing People — a podcast about growth, potential and one of the most important influences on the way we think, feel, act and ultimately the results we create: the way we talk to ourselves. Kristian brings more than forty years of experience in horticulture, alongside over two decades helping people build confidence, develop skills and overcome limitations. Daniel brings his experience in coaching and Self-Talk. Together, they explore the fascinating connections between growing plants and growing people — and how understanding the conversations we have with ourselves can help us better understand the beliefs, attitudes and patterns that influence our lives. Throughout the podcast, you’ll discover practical ideas, thought-provoking conversations, personal stories and opportunities to pause and reflect on your own experiences. Because growth doesn’t happen by accident. Whether we’re growing plants or growing people, understanding what is happening beneath the surface can change what becomes possible above it. Join Kristian and Daniel for Growing Plants, Growing People. The podcast where we discover that the principles which help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow. And remember: The most important conversation you’ll ever have is the one you have with yourself. Make it count.

  • 1 Trailer
    9 Episodes

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About

What if some of the principles that help gardens flourish could also help us understand how people grow? Welcome to Growing Plants, Growing People™ — the podcast where we discover that the principles which help gardens flourish are often the very same principles that help people grow. Hosted by Kristian Hickson-Booth and Daniel Locklair, we bring together very different backgrounds and experiences with a shared professional foundation in Self-Talk and Life Coaching — and a fascination with one of the most extraordinary gardens of all: the human mind. Together, we explore Self-Talk, programming, beliefs, habits, neuroplasticity, personal growth and the often unseen influences that shape the way we think, feel, act and ultimately the results we create in our lives. This isn't simply about positive thinking. It's about understanding what's happening beneath the surface — where our programming comes from, how our brains learn and change, why lasting change can sometimes be difficult, and what we can do differently once we begin to understand the processes involved. Through conversation, personal stories, practical ideas and lessons drawn from both personal development and the garden, our aim is to help you understand yourself a little better, question some of the things you've come to believe, and recognise that change is possible. Because whether we're growing plants or growing people, what happens beneath the surface matters. And remember: the most important conversation you'll ever have is the one you have with yourself. Make it count.

Information

  • Creator
    Kristian Hickson-Booth and Daniel Locklair
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Growing Plants Growing People
  • Show Website
    Growing Plants Growing People