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 began
• How the messages and experiences we encounter can become part of our programming
• How programming begins to influence the beliefs we hold about ourselves
• Why those beliefs can become part of the picture through which we see ourselves and our possibilities
• Shad's powerful analogy of the canvas, the colours and the brushstrokes
• Why the picture painted so far doesn't necessarily have to be the picture we continue painting

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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.

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 results
• Why a belief doesn't necessarily have to be objectively true for it to influence the way you live
• How the things you believe about yourself can affect the opportunities you take — or avoid
• Why repeatedly trying to change a result may mean you're starting at the wrong end of the sequence
• How to work backwards from a result and become curious about what may be driving it
• Why understanding your programming can give you a very different place from which to begin creating change

Free 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.

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 patterns
• What the feedback loop is and why it matters
• How existing programming can influence the way we interpret new experiences
• The Golden Brain illustration and what it can teach us about the messages we repeatedly reinforce
• Why two people can experience a similar situation yet respond very differently
• The important difference between what happened and the story we tell ourselves about what happened
• Why Self-Talk isn't about pretending everything is wonderful or denying reality
• Why you don't need to control every thought to begin changing the patterns you reinforce
• How the brain's ability to learn and adapt gives us the opportunity to begin strengthening different patterns

The 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.