A Question That Stopped Me In My Tracks

Have you ever heard a question that made you stop dead?

Not because you didn't understand it.

Quite the opposite.

Because you understood it too well.

That's what happened to me.

I was listening to Chris Williamson on the Modern Wisdom podcast when he asked a question that stopped me in my tracks. And almost immediately I started searching for an answer.

Not because I didn't know the answer.

I did.

And that was the bloody interesting bit.

I realised that knowledge wasn't my problem. Action was.

I knew what I wanted. I knew some of the things I needed to do. I've been doing this personal development stuff for long enough to have a pretty good toolbox.

So why wasn't I acting?

That question took me somewhere much more interesting than I expected.

It got me thinking about my own search for meaning, direction, purpose and my North Star. It made me wonder about the dreams, goals and desires we have — and what might actually be stopping us from moving towards them.

Because perhaps sometimes the problem isn't that we don't know what to do.

Perhaps there's something underneath that knowledge quietly saying:

"Not yet."

And that's where things like limiting beliefs, emotional blockages, self-doubt and our internal voice can start to show themselves.

What happens when you see opportunity differently?

In this FMQ, I start exploring what might happen if we could make our dreams and goals:

Bigger
Brighter
Richer
Quicker
And, perhaps most importantly, more enjoyable to pursue

Because achieving something isn't the whole story, is it?

How we experience the journey matters too.

I want to explore how the way we see the world, the things we believe about ourselves and that little voice inside our heads can influence whether we actually take action.

And I've got a feeling that question might give us a rather useful way of uncovering what's getting in the way.

This is the seed...

This is a Five Minute Quickie, so I'm deliberately leaving the question hanging.

I'd like you to think about something you're working towards right now.

Perhaps it's:

Work. Health. Relationships. A project. A dream. A goal. Or simply letting go of something that's been holding you back.

Write it down if you can.

Don't solve it yet.

Just bring it with you.

Because in the longer Deeper Dive, we're going to explore the question properly and see whether we can turn it into a practical process for uncovering what's stopping us — and perhaps finding a better way forward.

And who knows?

Maybe your answer will surprise you.

That's certainly what happened to me.

Have a think. And enjoy every heartbeat.

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🎧 Listen to the Deeper Dive

If this question has already started rattling around inside your head, don't leave it there.

Come with me into the next longer episode where we'll explore the question properly and see what it can teach us about taking action, overcoming limiting beliefs and moving towards the life we actually want.

About Personal Development Unplugged

I'm Paul Clough, and for years I've been exploring NLP, hypnosis, personal development, confidence and the wonderfully strange workings of the human mind.

These days, I'm becoming increasingly interested in something beyond simply fixing problems.

How do we create a life we actually want to experience?

That's the conversation I'm having with myself — and with you.

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If there's something getting in the way of your confidence, goals or personal development, I've created a growing collection of free hypnosis tracks that you can explore.

Find them at:
paulcloughonline.com/podcast

Connect With Me

I'd genuinely like to know what this question does to you.

What did it make you think about?

And more importantly...

What do you already know you should be doing — but aren't doing?

Drop me a line:

[email protected]

Shine Brightly 🌟

Paul

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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.

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Stay tuned, and keep shining brightly. ✨

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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 five-minute quickie with me, Paul, Paul Clough. I had a question that stopped me right in my tracks. It was thrown out by, I say thrown out, by a guy called Chris Williams of the Modern Wisdom podcast.

Now, if you haven't subscribed to that one, I'd subscribe because it is bloody, bloody good, really is. But let's get back to the story. You see, have you had that experience where you hear something or you see something, someone asked you a question and boom, it stops you in your tracks and somehow the words don't come out and you go and search for an answer.

If you look at people doing this, their eyes go in all different directions. It's called a trans-derivational search in NLP terms, but you look everywhere for the answer. It's like going into the place we call the void to try to find something.

And this question, well, it stopped me in my tracks, but made me think. I love questions that make me think. It made me think about my search for meaning, my North Star, my direction, you know, my redesign, as it were, finding my new way, my path.

And you see, it got me so much. I was so excited about this question. I shared it.

It's good to share. It's good to share. I shared it with two of my sons and they were blown away by it.

Made them think. And as we talked about it, we got the same type of reactions, but I wasn't happy just to use that one question. I wanted to find out why, even knowing the answer to that question was triggering me.

You see, I wasn't doing the answers to the question and I had knowledge. I know a lot about it. As soon as that question came along, I was starting to think of different answers.

So knowledge wasn't the problem. It was action, wasn't it? I wasn't acting. So something must be stopping me.

So you have to have a little think, I guess. And that's where the longer, deeper dive comes into. And that's where we're going to go next, because I think you'll find it really exciting.

See, I want to explore that question and how we, you and I, might use it to really get our dreams, our goals, our desires, or basically anything you want quicker. Maybe we can get them a little bit bigger, you know, dream bigger. Maybe we'll get them even brighter, so they're even richer.

Maybe we'll get them even quicker. Did I say quicker? Maybe get in there just a little bit quicker. And most importantly, enjoy the process of all of that.

Can you imagine doing that? What would it be like if you could think of ways to make your dreams, goals, desires, become bigger, brighter, come along quicker? And how would you be in the world? Think about it. How would you see the world? How would you see the world through your eyes? I think you'd start to see it with more opportunity, wouldn't you? And when you see things with more opportunity and you believe in yourself with the opportunity, you start to believe in your competence, which gives you the confidence to really step out. What would that feel like? I mean, what would you say to yourself inside? What would your internal voice be? I don't think it would be that, oh, I'm not really good enough, or I'm not sure, or maybe what happens if I fail, or maybe, you know, I shouldn't be here.

I shouldn't be thinking, you know, who am I to think of these dreams, these goals, desires? No, I think you'll think, you know, I've got this. I deserve this. I'm going to get it.

I'm so lucky I get the opportunity. That's what goes in my head. What goes in your head? What would the inner voice say? And when you put what you see, how you see the world, you filter the world, all those opportunities, you've got that good feeling, you've got that great internal voice, you'd probably have some really powerful, positive beliefs that support you, wouldn't it? Wouldn't you? Just think about them all now.

Now you see, all of that got me, and I wanted to explore what stops us following those answers? What stops us getting into that wonderful way of being, seeing opportunities, having supportive beliefs, feeling so competent and confident in the world, achieving things, getting rid of things like limiting beliefs, because that's what we have, don't we? We have hold ups, we have emotional blockages, we have limiting beliefs, and if we can discover them because of this question, then I think we might be onto something. Might not be the whole panacea of getting everything, but I think it'll go a long, long way. Take a pause just for a moment, just pause for a second or two, if it's okay, and think about what you're doing now, what you're working on, in all different contexts, because I know deep down, even if you're not going to mid-air, you've got a dream or dreams, you've got goals, maybe you're doing a project for work, they're all goals, they're all different things that are going to give you things.

Think of, say, work-related goals, think about your health, maybe relationships, maybe even, even letting go of issues. They all come within this question, and I want you to think about what you're doing, what you'd like to achieve in those different contexts, so work-related, health-related, relationships, issues. So if you could think about that, maybe even write them down, don't really do anything with them, but just so when we go on to the longer, deeper dive, you've got that little bit of memory there, it's written down.

So as we dive deeper to find and get those answers, you'll be working along with me, with your specific issue that you want to work through. I think when we do that, you'll have a process that you can start to use, and I think what happens is when you get that process, okay, the first couple of times it might be a bit clunky, you have to sit down and think a little bit harder, but your unconscious mind starts to get that process, and you start to do it more naturally. And then those blockages, those limiting beliefs, those emotions, the ones that were stopping you, seem to just disappear because you've now got a better way of being.

So if that excites you, come explore that question with me, then I'd love your company on the longer, deeper dive that will follow this five-minute quickie. If you think you've got a mate, a friend, work colleague, or somebody who you feel might be just being stifled a little bit, we all are really, maybe just give them the heads up on this as well, because if they come with us too, we get to share a new way of life, or getting the dreams, the goals, the desires that we deserve, they're out there just for the grasping. So come with me, come with me, subscribe so you get the next longer podcast coming up on your playing device of of choice, and we'll have a great time, okay? So until next week, get those thoughts going, write them down, and I will see you, because it's time to fly.

So this five-minute quickie, what's it all about? It's all about a question. It stopped me in my tracks, it made me think, it made me go, wow, there's opportunity here. The answer gives you a great opportunity, and it made me explore my own personal path, my direction, the stuff I'm doing now.

And it's going to be the seed for the longer, deeper dive, so we can start to get our goals, dreams, and desires quicker, bigger, brighter, and richer. If that's of interest, have a listen now.

Personal development [self improvement] [self development] [NLP] [Hypnosis]

FMQ 540 A Question That Stopped Me In My Tracks

About this episode

A Question That Stopped Me In My Tracks

What happens when you see opportunity differently?

This is the seed...

🎧 Listen to the Deeper Dive

About Personal Development Unplugged

🎁 Free Hypnosis Tracks

Connect With Me

Subscribe to the Podcast

Special Programs for You

Connect with Me

Find Us on Other Platforms

Music Credits

Get every episode summarized

Hosts & guests

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