Shadowing Practice: How To DESTROY Negative Thoughts (And Rewire Your Brain) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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The reason why you haven't created the life that you want yet isn't because you need to learn more.
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It's because there's something that you actually need to unlearn.
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You know, what if you spent years trying to improve yourself
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while unknowingly carrying around negative beliefs and fears and identities that have been quietly limiting you your entire life? of who they are.
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but they're not. And
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so today we're going to dive really deep into the psychology of unlearning all of the negativity that's actually holding you back.
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We're going to talk about why your mind holds on to beliefs that no longer serve you.
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We're going to talk about how those old patterns from childhood continue shaping your life today
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and then why unlearning and letting go of who you may have been
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probably is the most important step towards becoming who you're capable of.
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Now, I've been in self -development now for over 20 years.
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And for over a decade, I approached self -development as the way that most people do, which is I thought self -development was all about addition.
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I needed to learn more and read another book
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and listen to another podcast and take another course and learn from some other morning routine and find another productivity hack
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confident become more successful everything was about adding adding knowledge adding habits adding strategies adding information
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and don't get me wrong like those things did help me have a better life
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but eventually i hit a point where i realized
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that i wasn't changing as much as i had been in the past
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and it was because i didn't need any more information
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It was because I was carrying around too much oil old information outdated information
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and the breakthrough wasn't going to come from learning something new
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it was going to come from unlearning unlearning my fears unlearning my assumptions
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my old stories my old identities my old emotional contracts i didn't even realize
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that i signed with a past version of myself And so all of us, Learn how to become adults from the adults who raised us.
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And I'm not here to shame anybody, but if you never unlearn, what you learned from them then you are only going to get as far in life
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or just a little bit further than they did because they unconsciously downloaded their operating system into you.
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And so what I've come to realize is that self -development, it's not just about becoming somebody new and adding more.
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It's about removing everything that actually isn't you that's holding you back.
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I remember hearing about like Michelangelo and he was asked how he created the statue of David,
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this big, beautiful 17 -foot statue considered the best piece of art that's ever been made.
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And he said something along the lines of, David was already inside of the marble.
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I simply just removed everything that wasn't David.
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And I think about you becoming the best version of yourself and I think about it the exact same way.
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Right now, you're like that piece of marble.
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And the only way to create yourself to your highest potential, the greatest piece of art that you can create yourself into is not to add more.
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It's to actually start chipping away at the marble, chipping away at what is no longer needed.
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And we will be right back.
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Hey, if you're ready for your next breakthrough, join me at my three -day live in -person event in Austin, Texas this December.
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It will be a complete deconstruction and reconstruction of the old patterns,
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habits, beliefs, and fears that are holding you back from your next breakthrough and getting to your next level in your life.
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If you're ready for 2027 to be the best year of your right there.
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And now back to the show.
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And so the question becomes, what do I need to unlearn to become more?
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What fears, what limiting beliefs, what negative thoughts, what identities, what habits do I need to unlearn?
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Now, if we're talking about negativity, we're talking about negativity.
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I need you to really understand something.
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There's also something in psychology that's built into the human circuitry that's called the negativity bias.
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The average person is more negative than they are positive.
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In fact, that's how our species actually survived.
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tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years ago
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if your ancestors ignored a rustle in like the bushes then it might have been the end for them
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but if they ignored a beautiful sunset nothing happened right and
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so your brain evolved to remember pain more than pleasure the
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the negative more than the positive as we would categorize it today.
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It's going to notice the criticism more than the compliments.
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It's going to notice all of the fears and the threats more than the opportunities in your life.
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And so we would call those quote unquote negative as humans, but really what that is is just a protection mechanism.
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Your brain is incredibly good at protecting you, like way better than you actually even realize because unconsciousness,
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it's just popping out fears in front of you so that you don't do anything outside of your comfort zone.
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And so nowadays, the things that we focus on are not the stuff
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that causes physical pain like a tiger would or any type of danger like our ancestors had to deal with.
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It's psychological pain that we're trying to avoid.
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It's rejection, it's embarrassment, it's looking stupid in front of people, being judged, failure.
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And so to your ancient brain, Those all feel important enough to avoid.
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And so every time that you think don't start the business, don't speak up, don't ask them out, don't post the video, your brain actually thinks it's helping you.
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It actually thinks it's keeping you safe and alive.
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it isn't trying to ruin your life.
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It's trying to keep you safe.
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And I get it.
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That's trying to keep you safe, but it's also going to keep you captive inside of the comfort zone you're currently in.
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And that's not really going to change your life.
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And just because I want you to understand just because your brain generates a thought, it doesn't mean that you have to obey that thought.
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Too many people get wrapped up and they identify with their thoughts and they're like, I'm negative.
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I am an overthinker.
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I get overwhelmed.
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I am anxious.
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No, those are the thoughts that you have that create feelings.
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That's not who you are.
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It's just a that's stuck in your brain that you need to unlearn.
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One of the greatest freedoms that you'll ever discover is realizing that your thoughts are just suggestions.
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They're not commands.
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They're not truth.
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Your negativity bias can make recommendations all day long, but it doesn't have to make your decisions.
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That's your job.
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And so your mind might say, don't do it.
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but you get to decide what to do.
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It might say like, "Oh my gosh, watch out.
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Don't put yourself out there.
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They're going to judge you." But you get to decide what to do.
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It might say, "Oh, you're probably going to fail." but you get to decide what to do.
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The negativity bias can speak up, but it doesn't have to drive the car.
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And so these negative thoughts, these negative patterns, these negative beliefs that we all have from childhood, if you never question them in why they're running your life,
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you will never become the new version of yourself
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that you need to become to create the life that you actually want to create.
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You will only become the best version of your conditioned self.
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You'll only become the best version of your limited self.
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Like think about that for a second.
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You will become the most successful version of of the person who's afraid of rejection.
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What's that going to look like?
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If you never get rid of it, you might become more successful, but you'll only become the most successful version of that person who's so afraid of rejection or failure or judgment.
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You'll only become the richest version of the person who still doesn't believe that they're enough.
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You'll only become the healthiest version of the person who's still driven by shame.
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Do you see what I'm saying there?
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Like you're trying to upgrade your life without changing the actual operating system.
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In the operating system, we'll always win eventually.
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Imagine trying to run Windows 95 today.
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For those of you guys that are old enough to remember Windows 95, it would be impossible to run all of the programs that we have today
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on a windows 95 computer so
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if you're going to update your life you have to update your operating system now
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when we talk about the person that we are and the identities that we have i love
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affirmations i think that they're great i think they're very important you know i think
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that the way you speak to yourself is very important
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but to be honest with you i think what is way more with yourself.
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Like stop dancing around the bush and ask yourself like the surface level questions like start.
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asking yourself the really tough questions where did i learn this Like who taught this to me?
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When did I decide this?
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Like, is this actually true?
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Is this fundamentally true that I am not good enough?
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Is it fundamentally true that I am too loud?
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Is it fundamentally true that I am not good enough to be able to hold a relationship?
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Or is it fundamentally true that I am unlovable?
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Or did I learn it in childhood, and it has simply been repeated so many times in my life, that it actually feels like it's true.
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Who the hell do I want to be?
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And what do I need to unlearn in order to become that version of myself?
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This might be the most important thing
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that you could ever do is unlearn all of the stuff that you no longer need.
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Listen, I get it.
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When you were six years old, maybe somebody laughed at you when you spoke in class.
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Like maybe your parents argued every single night.
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Maybe you learned that love had to be earned.
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Maybe you learned that being quiet kept you safe.
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Maybe you learned that you needed to achieve in order to be quote unquote valuable.
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Maybe you learned those things.
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I get it.
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But those are not facts.
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And if you don't get rid of that, your life will not be what you want it to be.
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They were not facts.
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or six or seven year old.
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And so many people are walking around as adults with beliefs that were hardwired into them by the time they were seven.
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Because according to psychologists, 95 % of who you are is according to them, quote unquote, fully formed.
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by the age of seven years old, unless you consciously and intentionally change what you learned about yourself.
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So if you're 42 years old now and still letting a six year old, seven year old version of you explain reality to you,
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Like, doesn't that sound really wild if you actually think about it?
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Like, and I really want this to hit home.
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95 % of what you learned is quote unquote fully formed by the age of seven years old.
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So if you're 42, if you haven't unlearned the things that you learned in childhood,
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you're still walking around basically having your reality filtered through a seven -year -old's beliefs
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and thoughts that they learned from other people and were downloaded into them.
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And I want you to understand, like, We were all gifted.
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or given the parents that we were given.
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There's nothing we can do about that.
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So I'm not here to shame people or guilt people or any of that type of stuff.
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Everybody's always doing the best they could do with whatever it is that they have.
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But if you look at that and you look at your parents and say, do I want their life?
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Even if their life is okay.
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I'm not saying they have terrible lives or they were terrible people.
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Even if their life is okay.
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If you want something better than what they have, whatever better means to you, more happiness, more love, more joy,
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more money, then you're going to have to unlearn some stuff.
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And this is one of the most important journeys that you will ever go on, is what do I need to unlearn in order to get my life to where I need it to be.
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Because if we don't actually sit down and do this identity audit and ask ourselves the really tough questions, Like I said, we're just going to become the greatest versions of our limited selves.
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And I know if you're listening to this podcast, you're not trying to become your limited self.
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Like that doesn't sound exciting to anybody who's here.
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And so what I really want you to do is this.
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I want you to understand the next version of you doesn't need another book.
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Listen, I've read hundreds of books.
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I don't need another book.
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You don't need another book, right?
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You don't need another productivity system.
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You don't need another hack that some sort of guru gives you.
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You don't need any of that.
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You need to sit down with a pen and paper and say, where do I want to go in my life?
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And in order for me to get there, I know that I can't be the person that I still currently am.
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I'm going to need to unlearn some stuff.
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What are the things that I need to unlearn in order to get my life to where I want it to be?
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You need to do a full identity audit and you need to stop believing what no longer serves you.
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Because every belief and negative thought and identity that you release,
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It's extra space to breathe.
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It's like you've been carrying around a backpack that's full of weights and you're just starting to drop all of them, all of these things you don't need anymore.
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It makes it easier to run when you just release the weights.
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Every belief and negative thought and an identity that you have
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that you get rid of and negative patterns that you have creates space.
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for you to actually start to fill in with the person you are becoming That's what true unlearning is, and it might be the most important thing that you'll ever do.
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So if I could give you the biggest tip that I possibly could, one of the most important things you can ever do with your entire life is ask yourself,
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what is it that I need to unlearn and what do I need to do to expedite this process of unlearning?
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And do I need to take more time, more meditation, more journaling, more going on long runs where I can think about stuff,
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and more action in the opposite direction from what my old self wants me to do, so that I can actually speed up the process of becoming the person that I want to be.
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miss another video hit that subscribe button join us and i'll see you on the next video
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Why This Video Is Perfect for English Speaking Practice
The video’s conversational tone and relatable content make it ideal for shadow speech practice. The speaker uses natural pacing, pauses, and emphasis—key elements of fluent English—while discussing a topic that keeps learners engaged. Whether you’re working on pronunciation or flow, the dialogue balances complexity with clarity, making it easy to follow and mimic. Plus, the mix of personal anecdotes and psychological concepts exposes you to diverse vocabulary, from "negativity bias" to "operating system," expanding your language toolkit.
Breaking Down Natural English Phrasing
Let’s look at 3 sentences that sound authentic and why they work: 1. "The reason why you haven't created the life that you want yet isn't because you need to learn more." This uses a common structure for explaining causes, with "the reason why... isn't because" creating a natural flow. 2. "I simply just removed everything that wasn't David." The casual "simply just" and relative clause "that wasn't David" mirror how native speakers simplify complex ideas. 3. "What fears, what limiting beliefs, what negative thoughts... do I need to unlearn?" Repetition of "what" builds rhythm, a technique used to emphasize key points in spoken English. These examples show how native speakers combine grammar and style to communicate clearly.
A Simple Shadowing Routine to Try
Use the shadowing technique to master the video’s speech patterns:
- Watch a 30-second clip, focusing on the speaker’s mouth movements and intonation.
- Play the clip again, pausing after each sentence to repeat it aloud—match the speed, stress, and pauses.
- Record yourself and compare it to the original. Note differences in pronunciation (e.g., "unlearning" vs. "un-learn-ing") and rhythm.
- Repeat daily, gradually increasing clip length. For extra practice, use a shadowing app to track progress.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was asked · been made · being judged |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't created · have been · I've been |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.