We explore identity change through Dark Work, unconfident action, and the choice to set a scale that serves faith, family, and freedom. Anthony Trucks shares how to build proof-based confidence, access a “secret self,” and end suffering with decisive action.

• defining identity as lived wiring, not labels
• building a vision on a personal scale, not the world’s
• Dark Work deposits and proof that breeds confidence
• unconfident action as the path to courage
• secret self traits that stay “on” across life
• effort over outcome and the 1 percent edge
• embracing pain to earn pride and patience
• faith, mentors, and avoiding the dumb tax
• action ends suffering as a daily rule
• avoiding numbing and choosing productive movement

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If your life looks perfect on paper but feels strangely hollow, this conversation will hit home. We sit down with coach Ben Robbins, who rose fast in a global consultancy and realized the wins felt thinner with each promotion. Instead of doubling down on hustle, he rebuilt from the inside out—trading golden handcuffs for a compelling vision of freedom, health, meaningful work, and a life lived on his terms.

Ben breaks down a deceptively simple idea: most high performers don’t need to add more; they need to remove what’s untrue. He shows how hidden scripts like “I’m not good enough” quietly drive overwork, overplanning, and the constant chase for validation. Rather than pushing affirmations the nervous system doesn’t buy, he uses real evidence from your life to neutralize old stories, shifting change from intellectual to embodied. That’s where energy returns, creativity flows, and burnout loses its grip.

We also reframe success through a powerful lens: goals are not a place to get to, they’re a place to come from. If you want the million, the promotion, or the freedom, who do you need to be today in how you show up, connect, and create? This shift unlocks the feeling now and, paradoxically, helps results arrive faster. Ben shares practical ways to create space—micro-pauses, fewer low-value meetings, silent walks—so your best thinking can surface. And he makes a case for lives that look “weird” to others but feel true to you, from living abroad to crafting work around conversation and impact.

If you’re tired of chasing the next rung and ready to define your version of a 10 out of 10 life, this episode offers a clear path: remove, integrate, and create. Listen, share with someone who needs it, and if it resonates, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us the one story you’re ready to drop.

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The chase for status is loud. The quiet work of self-worth is louder. We sit down with midlife self-love coach Jonathan Ashley to unpack how men can build genuine confidence without the scoreboard—by caring for the “emotional six-year-old” inside, stepping into the observer’s seat, and practicing non-attachment so expectations stop running the show.

Jonathan shares a practical framework: self-love as the bundle of self-worth, self-esteem, self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-discipline, activated through daily reps. We dig into the tools that create emotional scaffolding before life shakes—journaling that names real feelings, meditation and breathwork to calm the nervous system, yoga to connect body and heart, therapy to untie childhood knots, and books that offer language for growth. Along the way, we tackle comparison culture and the myth of the “four sixes,” making the case for moving competition to the court and turning friendship into a refuge for truth.

You’ll hear how service multiplies “emotional currency,” why vulnerability isn’t venting but honest ownership, and how surrender shifts your experience from judgment to peace. With stories, book recs, and hard-won wisdom, Jonathan shows that steady inner worth can survive career swings, breakups, and the internet’s highlight reels. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s presence. Choose one habit today—five minutes of breath, a page of journaling, a call to a friend—and make a deposit into your emotional bank account.

If this conversation helps, follow and share it with someone who needs a steadier inner base. Subscribe for more thoughtful, heart-led growth, and leave a review to tell us what you’ll practice this week.

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Want weight loss that actually lasts? We sit down with Dr. Pavy Cannall, a surgeon with nearly two decades of experience, to unpack why the breakthrough most people need isn’t a new meal plan—it’s a new mindset. From identity shifts to social pressure, from emotional eating to constant digital distraction, we pull apart the hidden forces that derail progress and share simple, repeatable tools that put you back in control.

Dr. Pavy explains how his most successful patients treated surgery as one tool among many, then rebuilt their habits and self-image to match the life they wanted. We explore the difference between physical and emotional hunger, the circuit-breaker question that stops autopilot snacking, and the power of journaling to reveal patterns you can actually change. We dive into mindful eating—no screens, slower bites, clearer signals—and how short daily meditation builds the presence you need to make better choices under stress.

You’ll hear how to visualize high-risk moments before they happen, design an environment that removes “weight gain enablers,” and use community and accountability when your current circle resists your growth. We also challenge outcome obsession: goals set direction, but systems deliver results. When the scale stalls, your process—sleep, movement, protein, mindfulness—keeps compounding until the body catches up. If you’re ready to shift from willpower sprints to identity-level change, this conversation gives you a practical path forward.

Subscribe for more mindset-first health conversations, share this with someone who needs a nudge, and leave a review to tell us which tool you’ll try this week.

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Want to be a guest on Playing Injured? Send Joshua Dillingham a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/playinginjured

Contact Us

Support the show

Want to be a guest on Playing Injured? Send Joshua Dillingham a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/playinginjured

Contact Us

Support the show

Want to be a guest on Playing Injured? Send Joshua Dillingham a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/playinginjured

What if your biggest breakthroughs aren’t blocked by willpower, but by old code running in the background? We sit down with hypnotherapist and NLP coach Matt Johnson to map the invisible forces that shape behavior—childhood imprints, nervous system alarms, and identity “thermostats”—and then we show how to change them.

Matt recounts the hiking accident that led to years of light and sound sensitivity, the SPECT scan that revealed PTSD, and the turning point where traditional treatments gave way to targeted work with hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming, and somatic tools. You’ll hear how the subconscious computes rather than reasons, why ages zero to seven are so pivotal, and how “parts” formed in childhood keep trying to protect you as an adult. We walk through parts integration to resolve inner conflict, reframe people pleasing and imposter syndrome, and align self-worth with assertiveness.

If you’ve ever hit a goal and mysteriously stalled, Matt’s identity thermostat concept and pain-versus-pleasure strategy will make sense of self-sabotage. We get tactical with habit design—1% daily gains, stacking joy so “fun gets done,” and the Navy SEAL-style 10-second focus to push through discomfort. Matt also demonstrates quick, portable NLP exercises: a power-scaling visualization to shrink intimidation and a “spin” technique to unwind body tension in minutes. Along the way, we compare hypnosis, NLP, EMDR, and somatic release so you can choose the right tool for your nervous system.

You’ll leave with a practical toolkit and a hopeful frame: if an imprint can be installed, it can be updated. Explore Matt’s weekly hypnosis program, Limitless by Design, and grab his free NLP Mind Magic course for step-by-step exercises on perfectionism, procrastination, rejection, and more. If this conversation sparked a shift, follow, share with a friend, and leave a quick review—what pattern are you ready to rewrite next?

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What if a pen could make fear honest, grief bearable, and confidence repeatable? That’s the thread we pull with John Dedakis—former White House correspondent, longtime CNN editor, award-winning novelist, and daily journaler—who maps a clear route from anxiety to agency through the written word. We dig into his “fear continuum” and why courage isn’t the absence of fear but the decision to move with it. The payoff, he argues, is confidence built through small reps, whether you’re asking a stranger a hard question or facing a blank page at dawn.

We talk about writing as a healing practice, especially for men who were taught to numb rather than feel. John shares how grief counseling and decades of journaling helped him separate signals from stories, turning raw anger into insight instead of corrosion. He explains why handwriting slows the mind enough to focus, how the subconscious slips onto the page when you stop trying to sound “writerly,” and why presence beats regret and worry every time. Along the way, he shows how “write what you know” can turn personal loss into powerful fiction, and what he learned by writing from a female perspective with the help of candid beta readers.

Relationships come into sharp relief: listening over performing, confidence without meanness, boundaries that protect both people, and the trap of neediness when we ask someone else to complete us. We connect these dots to craft, creativity, and daily choices—fewer third drinks, smarter mornings, steadier decisions. If you’re ready to trade perfection for progress and use journaling, reflection, and breath to build self-awareness, this conversation offers a practical blueprint you can start today.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest insight so we can keep these conversations going.

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Want to be a guest on Playing Injured? Send Joshua Dillingham a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/playinginjured