Danny Greeves: A journey to developing lasting self-confidence

Danny Greeves’ entire life changed within an hour. He had been struggling with low self-confidence until, one day, he experienced the power of his subconscious mind. Since that moment, he has been on a journey to discover the best ways of developing genuine, lasting self-confidence.

Hi Danny! Could you tell us more about how your journey started?

I had a supportive family, a great network of friends, and I was working in London in a nice private clinic. But there was a continuous background of anxiety around not being able to find a partner and heading towards my late twenties without ever being in a proper relationship. I didn’t feel the talking therapy route was right for me, so I needed to find something different.

Through a recommendation of a friend, I signed up to work with a life coach. Within two weeks of my first session, I was dating my now fiancé, and I was fascinated by how coaching and hypnotherapy combined to create such incredible results in a short space of time. I fell in love with coaching.

What is it about the subconscious mind that fascinates you?

The subconscious mind fascinates me because of its complexity and power. Although we like to think we are rational, intelligent people, a lot of the time we are actually acting on autopilot and following the instinctual patterns we have learned and stored in our subconscious mind.

This is so interesting because it means the content of our subconscious mind dictates what we pay attention to, where we focus, how we interpret the world, and so much more. It sets the parameters of our reality, so by understanding how it works and how we can alter our perceptions, we open ourselves up to an entirely new world just by changing the way we think.

I wanted the book to help people look in the mirror and smile about being who they are. I think it’s something we all deserve but so few people can do

You’re a coach, physiotherapist and hypnotherapist. Which came first?

I went straight from high school to university to study physiotherapy and qualified in 2009. I’d like to say I was a pretty good physio, but I wouldn’t say I was a great one. I didn’t have much desire to read about it, to study anatomy, or engage in deep discussions about its philosophies and concepts.

After my experience receiving coaching, I found a whole new world where I couldn’t wait to read, learn and study it. I invested thousands of pounds in learning with the best people I could find, and it was my favourite topic to talk about. The difference in my energy and attitude towards it was remarkable. On this journey, I started learning about different mental states and the power of language. This led me to hypnotherapy and it weaved perfectly with coaching. I realised these two were a dream pair!

How does it work, do you incorporate all areas when working with clients?

I help my clients appreciate that developing confidence and self-worth requires empowering both mental and physical aspects of life. I use my background in applied neurology to help people understand more about their body, and how their brain works, and encourage them to find something that they enjoy to help them keep in shape. But the emphasis is very much on mindset and learning how the mind works. Hypnotherapy weaves its way effortlessly throughout, but becoming more conscious and developing greater awareness is the focus of all my work.

Can you tell us more about hypnotherapy for low self-confidence?

Human beings have a natural tendency to grow, evolve and take on challenges. When we have accumulated past experiences that were painful or traumatic, information about these events stays with us stored in our subconscious mind. These moments create brain noise, self-doubt and can significantly lower self-confidence.

Hypnotherapy for low self-confidence works to address this by loosening attachments to those past events and helping them tap into inner resources that lay dormant. Hypnotherapy serves to change their inner state, release unhelpful thought patterns helping people reconnect to that natural desire to grow and seek inspiring challenges.

What are your top tips for those looking to work on their confidence?

The first tip is to distinguish which type of confidence they would like to work on. Situational confidence is when you want to feel good about performing a specific action – such as public speaking for example. Self-confidence is how you feel about who you are, what your response is when you look in the mirror, the belief you have in yourself.

If situational confidence is the goal, break the task down into small chunks and practice. Ideally, surround yourself with people that do it as if it’s natural and easy. The quality of your environment and the practice you do will build competence, and this, in turn, builds situational confidence.

To build genuine self-confidence it involves deeper work and getting clear on what specifically you dislike in yourself. It’s very hard to change something when it is nebulous and vague, but when it’s broken down and specifically labelled, it makes it easier to form a plan to change it.

Tell us about your new book.

Six Steps to Self-Confidence is my way of giving people a strategy to consistently and methodically feel better about themselves both mentally and physically. I share some of my story and the struggles I faced, and then jump into how you can actually make changes in your life.

In today’s fast-paced world it is so easy to negatively compare yourself to others, get lost in social media, and end up relying on distractions and sedatives to numb emotional pain. My book gives readers a manual, a playbook if you like to work through to really get in control of how they think and act in just a few minutes a day. But I didn’t want it to be nice in theory but lack in practice. At the end of each of the main chapters is a guaranteed way to increase motivation and change behaviour. It takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it.

I wanted the book to help people look in the mirror and smile about being who they are. I think it’s something we all deserve but so few people can do. I’m confident it will make a difference.

How can people contact you?

I post daily content on all of the main social media channels, but the easiest way to get in contact with me is to visit my website, Danny Greeves Coaching.

Learn more about hypnotherapy for low self-confidence. To find a hypnotherapist, simply browse profiles and when you find a person you resonate with, send them an email.