Podcast Summary: The School of Greatness

Episode: Why Healing Your Past Won't Change Your Life

Host: Lewis Howes
Guest: Katherine Woodward Thomas
Date: January 26, 2026

Overview

This episode features renowned therapist, bestselling author, and transformational teacher Katherine Woodward Thomas. Katherine joins Lewis to challenge the prevailing idea that healing your past alone will set you free. Instead, she advocates for a future-focused approach—one that starts with claiming your positive possible future and transforming your identity in the present. The conversation dives into the persistent core beliefs that hold people back, the dangers of staying in victimhood, and a practical breakdown of Katherine's seven-step process for moving beyond a painful past to manifest your brightest future.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Roots of "I'm Not Good Enough" and Core Identity Beliefs

• Formation of Core Beliefs in Childhood

  • As children, we form core beliefs—like "I'm not good enough" or "I'm alone"—based on relational wounds and interpretations of unmet needs.
  • [04:21] Katherine:

    "When we're young, our task is to form a sense of self and to understand who we are for others and where we fit into this world...we would get the message that somehow I'm small, I don't have the power that I need..."

• The Power of Relational Wounds

  • These beliefs often stem from early family dynamics, such as parental neglect, parental emotional struggles, or even subtle cues in the womb.
  • [08:00] Katherine:

    "There's scientific evidence about how consciousness at the level of identity is often imprinted in the womb based on the mother's feeling towards the fetus."

• 22 Core Identity Beliefs

  • Katherine outlines 22 common limiting identity beliefs, which form our psychological "glass ceilings."
  • [07:10] Katherine:

    "22 core beliefs at the level of identity that will actually serve as the inner glass ceilings on our potentials."

2. Why Healing the Past Alone Doesn’t Create Lasting Change

• Therapy Helped, But Isn’t Enough

  • Katherine shares her journey through therapy and addiction, noting that while understanding the past helped save her, it didn't spur big transformation.
  • [12:41] Katherine:

    "It helps to go back. You've got to grieve...But after that, if you just stay stuck in analyzing why you are the way you are...you kind of solidify the self of that story."

• The Future Pull vs. The Pull of the Past

  • Lasting change requires being pulled by a compelling future, not solely pushed by pain from the past.
  • [14:41] Katherine:

    "It's the future that actually pulls us forward."

• Victimhood Blocks Creativity

  • Progress and creativity are not possible if you make a "home" in victimization.
  • [03:00] Katherine:

    "You can't create from victimhood. The first entry to creativity is giving up victim sympathy."

3. The Seven Steps to Break Through Your "Source Fracture Story"

Step 1: Claim Your Positive Possible Future

• Go beyond "goals." Imagine the most expansive, miraculous outcome for your life.
• [26:06] Katherine:

  "Let's get outside of your current identity. Because the 'I'm not good enough' is not going to think big enough..."

Step 2: Name Your Source Fracture Story

• Identify the core wound at the root of your struggles (e.g., “I’m not lovable”).
• [34:28] Katherine:

  "You can isolate it with the simple question, how old are you, sweetheart?...Now there's two of you in the room."

Step 3: Differentiate Trauma from Truth

• Acknowledge the feeling but recognize it's not the ultimate truth about you.
• [47:07] Katherine:

  "You've got to distinguish trauma from truth...Sweetheart, that's not true. That's trauma. I'm so sorry you were wounded like that."

Step 4: See Yourself As Source

• Recognize how your beliefs and ways of relating shape your experience—without blame or shame.
• [51:38] Katherine:

  "Very few of us are trained in how to do it. Most of us when we go to say, well, what's my part...will drop into shame."

Step 5: Identify New Ways of Relating

• Articulate how you need to show up differently—even if it feels unfamiliar or scary.
• [56:11] Katherine:

  "Identify new ways of relating which you will not know how to do."

Step 6: Embrace a Growth Mindset

• Accept mistakes, persist, and view setbacks as developmental opportunities.
• [56:54] Katherine:

  "When you have a positive possible future, it will initiate growth...You're not yet the person you will need to be..."

Step 7: Take New Actions; Integrate Your New Identity

• Practice embodying this new identity and taking bold, unfamiliar actions—over and over.
• [61:54] Katherine:

  "It's actually where the rubber meets the road...making new choices, taking new actions, you're stepping into something you've never done..."

4. Navigating Victimhood and Responsibility

• The Dangers of Making a Home in Victimhood

  • Progress halts when you center your identity in your trauma or victimization.
  • [44:18] Katherine:

    "You can't create from victimhood. The first entry to creativity is giving up victimization."

• Moving Beyond What Happened to You

  • You are not responsible for what happened as a child; as an adult, you can choose your response and your new direction.
  • [42:49] Katherine:

    "You were never, ever, ever responsible for anything when you were a kid...but as an adult...that's a smart question to ask yourself."

5. Becoming Your Own Wise Self (Self-Parenting)

• Mentoring the Wounded Part Within

  • Learn to recognize when your "younger self" is triggered and lead with your wiser, adult self.
  • [34:54] Katherine:

    "The adult who has wisdom and depth and capacity can turn to yourself and say, sweetheart, how old are you? And where are you in my body now there's two of you in the room."

• Practice Self-Compassion and Reparenting

  • Treat your wounded self as you would a beloved child or close friend.
  • [52:29] Lewis (paraphrasing):

    "It's just learning how to respond to things that might trigger us from the wisest version of us..."

6. The Role of Intention and Visioning

• Mental Rehearsal and Vision

  • Bring the desired future into the present through intention, visualization, and emotional rehearsal.
  • [28:39] Katherine:

    "It's an intention, it's a visioning practice...We bring the future into the present."

• Power Statements

  • Use affirming power statements to disrupt false beliefs and step into your new story.
  • [50:01] Katherine:

    "I am alone. I didn't come here to be alone. I was born to love and be loved..."

7. Integrating Healing and Transformation in Daily Life

• Transformation vs. Healing

  • Healing is anchored in resolving the past; transformation is about living from the future.
  • [65:00] Katherine:

    "Healing, I say, is the domain of the past, but transformation is the domain of the future."

• Staying Present in the New Identity

  • Catch yourself and re-center when you feel old wounds resurface.
  • [66:14] Katherine:

    "The true you is in the now..."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the Limitations of Healing Alone

"Understanding the past is a good thing, but staying there is not. It will save your life. It won't change it."
— Katherine, [14:46]

On Why Victimhood Blocks Growth

"You actually cannot progress in your life when you are making a home of victimization."
— Katherine, [40:17]

On the Importance of Vision

"The future that we're living into actually determines our current motivation and actions even more than the past does."
— Katherine, [28:07]

On Identity

"Wherever we're centered at the level of identity is where we're generating our lives from. So there's a lot at stake."
— Katherine, [38:33]

On Transforming in the Face of New Challenges (Cancer Diagnosis)

"You just decide, who am I going to be in the face of this?...when you have a context of the future that you're living into, it repositions the challenges that we're in. And you can live your life not from where you are trying to get to that future, but from that future which then informs who do I need to be today?"
— Katherine, [79:57]

The Three Truths (Katherine’s Closing Advice)

1. "You are the creator of your life."
2. "The purpose of life is to create heaven on earth."
3. "The essence of who you are is love."
   — Katherine, [86:12]

Important Timestamps

• Core Beliefs and Early Woundings: [02:01] – [08:00]
• Therapy’s Limitations & Future Focus: [11:13] – [14:50]
• Victimhood and Agency: [40:11] – [44:25]
• The Seven Steps Overview: [25:01] – [62:15]
• Power Statements and Being Source: [50:01] – [54:19]
• Growth Mindset & Change: [56:54] – [61:54]
• Transformation vs. Healing: [65:00] – [66:14]
• Imposter Syndrome & Identity: [69:41] – [73:45]
• Parenting with Consciousness: [81:46] – [84:12]
• Katherine’s Three Truths: [86:12]
• Definition of Greatness: [87:24]

Episode Takeaways

• Healing your past is important, but it's not enough: true transformation is anchored in a vision of the future.
• Naming your core wounding ("source fracture story") is essential, but don’t live there—use it as fuel to create your new self.
• Progress is impossible if you dwell in victimhood or keep seeking sympathy for your wounds.
• The seven-step process can help you shift your identity, cultivate new ways of being, and create a "future pull."
• Transformation is iterative—setbacks happen. The goal is to develop the skill to heal, re-center, and keep moving forward.

Final Words

Katherine’s wisdom emphasizes that your power lies not in fixing the past, but in creating your future. Through practical steps, self-compassion, and vision, you can move beyond old patterns and manifest a life that feels true, meaningful, and expansive.

For more, check out Katherine’s new book “What’s True About You” and visit katherinewoodwardthomas.com.