The Self-Trust Project

Bradley Rausch
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The podcast that helps high-functioning overthinkers rebuild their operating system to replace anxious thoughts with confident actions.

  1. 11/12/2025

    061. Why You Keep Choosing the Same Pain

    Here's what you'll learn: The Difference Between Safety, Comfort, and Growth Most people crave stability, safety, and familiarity. Familiarity often feels good, but it doesn’t always promote growth. Comfort can be mistaken for peace; familiarity for safety. The brain prioritizes survival over growth. It favors what it knows, not what helps you evolve. Anxiety and fear amplify when facing new situations because the brain confuses predictability with safety. Staying in familiar discomfort (jobs, relationships, habits) feels safer than facing the unknown. The nervous system learns through exposure, not logic. You can’t think your way into confidence; you must act. Start with small, manageable discomforts. Don’t jump to “Mount Everest” level challenges before you’re ready. Build resilience through micro-discomforts, stacking small wins to create safety in the unfamiliar. Distinguish between two types of safety: Inherited safety: What you absorbed from childhood, family, or trauma as “safe.” Earned safety: The self-trust and confidence built through exposure and evidence. Inherited and earned safety often conflict, creating tension between who you were and who you’re becoming. Growth happens when you stop obeying fear rather than trying to eliminate it. Exercise: Create two columns: “What I learned was safe” and “What I know is actually safe.” Fill them with examples from work, relationships, and personal growth. Begin retraining your nervous system: Notice when “familiar” is disguising itself as “safe.” Choose one small new action that challenges that pattern. Reassure yourself afterward: “See, we handled it.” Building earned safety is how you teach your body that change is survivable. True growth doesn’t mean destroying comfort. It means redefining what safety really is. The goal isn’t to chase discomfort endlessly but to stop confusing comfort with peace.

    8 min

  2. 11/05/2025

    060. What No One Tells You About Surviving a Breakup

    The Self-Trust Project: How to Heal After a Breakup Episode Summary Bradley shares an unfiltered reflection on the six months following his breakup Focuses on emotional recovery, nervous system regulation, and rebuilding identity Offers three mindset reframes and five tactical steps for anyone healing from a major ending Core Themes Breakups dismantle your sense of safety, self-trust, and identity Emotional chaos is part of your nervous system recalibrating Healing is non-linear and cannot be rushed 3 Mindset Shifts Nothing is wrong with you for feeling this way Pain is a natural physiological response to loss Grief has no timeline Judging your emotions slows recovery Your emotions don’t need to make sense Disorientation and contradiction mean your body is processing Feeling better or worse without reason is normal Acceptance accelerates integration Pain is proof of self-respect Leaving what doesn’t serve you is an act of self-trust The heartbreak is the cost of choosing integrity With time, pain converts to confidence and self-belief 5 Tactical Practices Conserve energy consciously Acknowledge where attention goes Let yourself ruminate, but do it intentionally Direct even 1% of leftover energy toward yourself Walk daily Movement helps regulate emotion Walking processes feelings through the body Survive the first 10 seconds of a wave Don’t resist the surge Acceptance softens intensity faster Refuse resentment Anger keeps the bond alive Respect for the other person speeds emotional detachment Abandon the idea of linear healing Some days you’ll feel free, others shattered Both are valid parts of the same process Final Message You can’t skip the pain to reach clarity You traded comfort for self-respect Keep walking, breathing, and feeling Healing isn’t about moving on, it’s about moving with yourself

    23 min

  3. 10/29/2025

    059. You Don’t Need New Friends to Grow

    Here's what you'll learn: Elevating the Conversations Around You Why “leveling up your circle” can feel isolating The alternative: changing the conversations, not the people Three levels of conversation: Low: gossip, complaints, judgment Mid: tasks, work, circumstances High: ideas, growth, change How to move from reacting to directing conversations Replacing statements with questions to shift energy “That sounds frustrating. What do you think would make it better?” “That’s one way to see it. Have you thought about it like this?” Leading without ego or judgment Emotional regulation in conversations Recognizing when to shift topics entirely Simple questions that elevate dialogue: “What’s something you’ve learned lately that surprised you?” “What are you trying to get better at right now?” How practicing deeper conversations with others strengthens your inner dialogue Reflection prompts: “Where do I default to safety instead of curiosity?” “What thoughts keep looping in my mind and why?” Challenge: observe your conversations this week Notice if they lean high or low on the spectrum Ask one question that adds depth instead of walking away

    9 min

  4. 10/22/2025

    058. How to Keep Going When the Feeling’s Gone

    Here's what you'll learn: The Motivation Myth and How to Build Automatic Progress Motivation is unreliable. It keeps you dependent, not consistent. Overthinkers confuse burnout cycles with growth. Real growth happens when progress becomes automatic. You don’t need motivation. You need systems that remove negotiation with yourself. Main Ideas Motivation fades. Systems sustain progress. Build conditions where doing the right thing is easy. Make progress automatic, not emotional. Success is repetition, not perfection. 4 Reasons You Keep Starting Over You attach identity to intensity You expect 100% every day. When you miss a day or fall short, you quit. Progress comes from showing up, not from being perfect. Grace means giving yourself permission to do it badly while learning. You lack a minimum viable identity You only define success by ideal conditions. On bad days, you collapse instead of adjusting. Create a baseline version of yourself that can still execute on hard days. You chase momentum instead of maintenance You rely on dopamine instead of discipline. When excitement fades, you stop. Train for maintenance. Build consistency that feels normal, not exciting. You measure evidence, not effort You wait for proof before continuing. Progress is delayed; effort is immediate. Track the promises you keep to yourself, not external validation. Key Frameworks Self-trust grows from effort, not outcomes. Define success by daily execution, not motivation spikes. Small, consistent progress compounds faster than sporadic bursts.

    13 min

  5. 10/15/2025

    057. Why Fixing Your Problems Feels So Hard

    Here's what you'll learn: Problems often form passively, through small unnoticed actions like late-night snacks or years of self-doubt. Fixing problems requires conscious effort, every step feels heavier and intentional. Bad habits are like taking the elevator, they happen automatically without effort. Positive change is like taking the stairs, slow and effortful but the only way up. Misconception: fixing issues takes as long as creating them. In reality, problems form subconsciously while fixing requires deliberate action. Discomfort, fear, and resistance are natural parts of change, not signs of failure. Expecting progress to feel effortless sets you up to quit and restart. Accepting that discomfort is required makes the process easier and sustainable. If there is no discomfort, you are repeating old patterns and creating the same results. True growth is built step by step, with focus, consistency, and intentional action. The short-term discomfort is proof you are doing something different, and that matters. Stop believing there is something wrong with you for feeling resistance. It means you are on the right path. Each intentional step up the stairs shows you who you are and what you are capable of. Progress becomes possible when you embrace the hard work as part of the process.

    4 min

  6. 10/08/2025

    056. How to Do More Than You Think You Can

    Here's what you'll learn: Most people overestimate what they are willing to do, but underestimate what they are able to do Intentions do not prove your ability, consistent reps do The problem with overpromising and building unsustainable plans Why stacking proof matters when aiming for new, unfamiliar goals Lessons from fitness coaching: focus on one variable for sustainability Example: waking up earlier in gradual steps instead of going cold turkey How your brain resists unfamiliarity and seeks comfort Importance of building small, undeniable wins to shift confidence The CRAFT Method for achieving goals with little or no proof: C: Commit to a time horizon, avoid renegotiating the plan R: Reveal your goals and action steps to others for accountability A: Active curiosity, remove judgment and assumptions about difficulty F: Frame if-then plans to handle predictable pitfalls T: Tolerate short-term discomfort as proof of growth Discomfort signals you are doing something different to achieve a different outcome Sustainable change comes from small, intentional actions that compound over time Confidence expands when you prove to yourself that you can take consistent, aligned steps

    12 min

  7. 10/01/2025

    055. Why One Sentence Is Enough to Change Your Life

    Here's what you'll learn: Why journaling is the most impactful practice for mental health and anxiety after 6.5 years of daily use The real reason most people fail to stay consistent with journaling Mistake 1: Forcing yourself to write a certain length or for a set time each day Why this leads to frustration and quitting The one-sentence daily commitment that actually works How writing one sentence a day for 30 days builds repetition and creates an outlet for processing feelings Mistake 2: Making the journaling process too complicated Introduction to the “one-on-one” technique for simplifying journaling How to use “I + verb + adjective/noun” sentences to quickly process feelings during overwhelm or anxiety Mistake 3: Adding too much fluff and unnecessary context Why skipping backstory and diving straight into feelings helps regulate your nervous system Journaling as a tool to release emotions quickly without overthinking How to adapt journaling so it fits your needs and keeps you consistent The key takeaway: consistency matters more than length or style, and simple repetition makes journaling a tool you can rely on long term

    8 min

  8. 09/24/2025

    054. Befriend Discomfort in 58 Seconds

    Here's what you'll learn: Discomfort signals progress, not danger Change triggers anxiety, fear, and apprehension because you are doing something new If you felt nothing, you would not be changing at all The choice: tolerate discomfort to reach your outcome, or abandon the outcome to avoid emotions Befriending discomfort is the only way to achieve meaningful change Discomfort is proof you are on the right path, not an obstacle blocking you Difficulty has no bearing on your ability to succeed Growth requires accepting the intensity of the feelings that come with it

    1 min
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About

The podcast that helps high-functioning overthinkers rebuild their operating system to replace anxious thoughts with confident actions.

Information

  • Creator
    Bradley Rausch
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Bradley Rausch
  • Show Website
    The Self-Trust Project