Do you talk to yourself in ways that keep you stuck? Most people do. 'I should do that.' 'I can't.' 'I'll get to it someday.' These aren't just words — they're instructions to your unconscious mind. And your unconscious mind does exactly what it's told. In this solo episode, NLP Master Trainer and Ericksonian coach Doug O'Brien breaks down one of the most practical and underused tools in NLP: modal operators of necessity and possibility. These are the small words and phrases that silently run your motivation — and once you know which ones work for you, you can use them on purpose. 'I should do that.' 'I will do that.' 'I have to do that.' 'I'm doing that.' 'It's done.' Each one hits differently. One lights a fire. Another puts something on a to-do list it never leaves. Doug walks you through how to find the word that actually moves YOU — because it's different for everyone. 0:00 Why the way you talk to yourself changes everything 0:33 What NLP calls modal operators — and why they matter 1:33 Doug's own story: from 'I should' to 'I'm doing it' 3:34 The natural sequence: should → will → have to → doing it → done 5:00 You are the greatest hypnotist in the world — for yourself 6:00 The exercise: picture your goal and test each modal operator 8:32 We're in trances all the time — the question is which one 11:20 Dave Dobson: the unconscious mind is purposeful, not rational 13:13 Tony Robbins' string: if I can't, I must — if I must, I will 15:42 Words, tonality, and physiology — why 7% matters more than you think ----------------------------------- BECOME AN EXTRAORDINARY COACH!JOIN THE MEMBERSHIP NOW & Get My Six-Week Storytelling Course LIVE. https://www.essentialcoachingskills.com/membership-aug2025 JOIN 3K+ READERS ON THE WEEKLY ESSENTIAL COACHING SKILLS NEWSLETTER: https://www.essentialcoachingskills.com/newsletters/the-essential-coaching-skills-newsletter NEED DOUG AS YOUR COACH? BOOK HERE: https://www.essentialcoachingskills.com/coaching CONNECT ON LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougobrien/