Mind the Gap
Welcome to “Mind the Gap,” the podcast where ancient wisdom and modern emotional intelligence converge. I’m Michael Comyn, and with nearly 40 years of experience in emotional intelligence, I’m excited to bring you this exploration of how Stoic philosophy can illuminate our contemporary challenges. You might also recognise my voice from a different context—I’ve been the one reminding passengers to “Mind the Gap” on public transport across Ireland for the past 25 years. It’s a phrase that has taken on a new meaning in this podcast, as we explore the gap between our emotions and reality. In each episode, we’l...
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The Smile That Isn’t Yours
<p>In 1954, Smile became an anthem of quiet endurance. The melody was written by Charlie Chaplin for the closing scene of Modern Times, with lyrics later added by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons. </p> <p>Recorded memorably by Nat King Cole, the song urges us to smile though the heart is breaking, to keep trying, to believe life is still worthwhile.</p> <p>But what does that really mean in professional life?</p> <p>In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael Comyn explores the concept of emotional labour, first described by sociologist Arlie Hochschild in The Managed Heart. He...
When the System Decides You’re Old
<p><b>Mind the Age Gap | Retirement Age, Identity and the Psychology of Ageing</b></p> <p>What does retirement age really mean in modern life?</p> <p>In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael Comyn explores the idea of the “age gap” — the gap between chronological age and how we actually experience ourselves.</p> <p>The reflection begins with a moment in a bank: an older couple being gently coached through online banking. They were not confused. They looked displaced. That observation opens a wider discussion about ageing, identity, and the subtle ways institutions categorise people after 65.</p> <p>Reti...
Whatever the Mistake, It’s the Lie Afterwards That Hurts More
<p>This week, during a leadership course, a participant shared a line from her father that stopped the room:</p> <p><b>“Whatever the mistake, it’s the lie afterwards that hurts more.”</b></p> <p>In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael explores why that simple sentence holds up across high-trust professions and high-pressure environments.</p> <p>From medical errors in hospital settings to cockpit decision-making in aviation, from financial oversight to corporate governance, the issue is rarely the original human error. The more serious damage often comes from concealment.</p> <p>This episode examines:</p> <p>• The differen...
Living with Fewer Filters
<p>Here’s the thing. Most of us spend our lives editing ourselves in real time. Softening opinions. Swallowing reactions. Running everything through an internal risk assessment before it ever reaches our mouth.</p> <p>And then, occasionally, we meet someone who doesn’t do that.</p> <p>This episode was sparked by conversations with people on the autism spectrum, and by watching <b>The Assembly</b>. What struck me wasn’t shock value or bluntness for its own sake. It was the relief. The calm. The honesty of hearing what someone actually thinks, without the usual social varnish.</p> <p>So t...
How We Heal in Ordinary Ways
<p>How do people really heal? Not through dramatic breakthroughs, but through small, ordinary moments.</p> <p>In this episode, Michael Comyn reflects on personal recovery from a recent experience of gossip and intrusion, and explores how humans heal through connection, routine, purpose, and everyday emotional intelligence.</p> <p>A gentle, optimistic reflection on resilience, wellbeing, and the quiet work of becoming a little quicker to mend.</p>
Stoicism Is Not a Weapon
<p>In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael Comyn returns to Stoic philosophy to address how Stoicism is being simplified and misused in some online spaces, particularly where grievance, emotional shutdown, and contempt are mistaken for strength.</p> <p>Drawing on the original teachings of Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, Seneca, and Musonius Rufus, Michael reclaims Stoicism as a philosophy of self-governance, responsibility, and shared humanity, not dominance or detachment.</p> <p>This episode is a clarification, a return to source, and a challenge to examine whether the philosophy we claim to follow is shaping character or simply justifying anger.</p> <...
Living in Permanent Alert Mode
<p>Why do so many people feel exhausted even when nothing obvious is wrong?</p> <p>In this opening episode of Season 4 of Mind the Gap, Michael Comyn explores what it means to live in permanent alert mode, a state of constant urgency driven by 24-hour news cycles, notifications, and global uncertainty.</p> <p>This episode looks at how the human nervous system reacts to modern life, why being informed is not the same as being emotionally overloaded, and how chronic low-grade stress quietly shapes our thinking, relationships, and leadership.</p> <p>Drawing on emotional intelligence, psychology, and neuroscience, Michael...
Coming Soon Season 4
<p>Season Four moves beyond reaction and into reflection. It explores what sits beneath our emotions, how we make sense of experience, and why understanding our inner world matters in everyday life and leadership.</p> <p>No quick fixes.</p> <p> No noise.</p> <p> Just thoughtful conversations grounded in emotional intelligence and lived experience.</p> <p>Mind the Gap. Season Four begins soon.</p>
The Pause Between Years
<p>In this special December episode of Mind the Gap, Michael reflects on the emotional landscape of the holiday season. For many, December is joyful and full of celebration. For others, it carries sadness, memory, and the quiet ache of missing someone who was here last year but is not here this year. Both experiences deserve space.</p> <p>Through the simple ritual of putting up and taking down decorations, Michael explores the silence that appears in early January, a silence that offers honesty, clarity, and a gentle emotional reset for the year ahead. Drawing on insights from emotional intelligence...
The Emotional Recession
<p>In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael reflects on a small moment in a bank queue that reveals a much larger shift in how we connect. As more organisations encourage us to use apps and digital services instead of speaking to real people, something subtle is happening beneath the surface.</p> <p>Drawing on recent research from almost seventeen thousand young adults, a global dataset of twenty-eight thousand people across one hundred and sixty-six countries, and long-term trends in emotional intelligence studies, Michael explores what experts are now calling an emotional recession. The conversation looks at how declining...
