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.

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.

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.

Michael’s books Mind the Gap, The Next Station Is…, and Between the Lines are available on Amazon.

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Why do so many people feel exhausted even when nothing obvious is wrong?

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.

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.

Drawing on emotional intelligence, psychology, and neuroscience, Michael reflects on why we feel wired but tired, why reactivity has become the norm, and how to pause between stimulus and response in a world that never switches off.

The episode references insights from Daniel Goleman on emotional reactivity, Viktor Frankl on choice and response, and Robert Kegan on our ability to live with uncertainty.

If you feel tense, overwhelmed, or permanently on edge, this episode offers reassurance, perspective, and practical ways to regain calm without disengaging from the world.

In this episode

• Why constant urgency exhausts the nervous system
• How news and notifications trigger stress responses
• The difference between being informed and being emotionally inflamed
• Why reactivity feels normal but costs us clarity
• A simple emotional intelligence pause practice
• Why calm is a form of discernment, not indifference

Mind the Gap is a podcast by Michael Comyn exploring emotional intelligence, psychology, and modern life with clarity, warmth, and practical insight.

New episodes are released regularly.

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.

No quick fixes.

No noise.

Just thoughtful conversations grounded in emotional intelligence and lived experience.

Mind the Gap. Season Four begins soon.

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.

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 and Stoic reflection, this episode invites listeners to notice what the year has taught them and to choose what they will carry into 2026.

As Mind the Gap reaches seventy episodes, this reflection brings the current season to a close. The podcast returns in early 2026 with a refreshed Season Four, focusing on everyday psychology, emotional intelligence, and the meaning found in the small, unnoticed moments of daily life.

Books by Michael Comyn:

Mind the Gap, The Next Station Is, and Between the Lines, available on Amazon.ie.

The Mind the Gap audiobook is available on Audible.

https://amzn.eu/d/2Ma0P1U

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.

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 everyday interactions weaken the emotional skills we rely on for empathy, patience, and presence.

Stoic ideas from Musonius Rufus and Cleanthes help frame the episode, reminding us that character is shaped in community and that emotional intelligence is learned through contact with others. This episode asks an important question. What happens when convenience replaces connection, and how do we protect the emotional muscles that only grow through real human interaction?

Books by Michael Comyn, Mind the Gap, The Next Station Is, and Between the Lines, are available on Amazon.ie.

https://amzn.eu/d/hNBGotF

In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael explores how the stories others place on us can quietly shape the direction of our lives. A simple comment, a casual label, or a reputation formed years ago can become a route we follow without ever stopping to question whether it was ours to begin with.

Using the quiet landscape of Limerick Junction as a metaphor for moments of choice, Michael reflects on how emotional intelligence and Stoic thought can help us pause, reconsider our direction, and choose a story that truly fits who we are today.

If you would like to explore these ideas further, Michael’s three books, Mind the Gap, The Next Station Is, and Between the Lines, are available on Amazon. Additionally, Mind the Gap is also available as an audiobook on Audible.

In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael explores the hidden layers of communication that sit beneath the words we speak. Tone, timing, silence and posture often tell the true story long before language ever arrives.

Drawing inspiration from the first chapter of his upcoming book Between the Lines, Michael invites us to notice the subtle signals that shape our conversations and influence our relationships.

This episode asks an important question. Are we responding to the words someone uses or to the meaning they are trying to express underneath? When we slow down and listen with curiosity, we become better leaders, better colleagues and better companions.

The episode is part of the journey toward Michael’s full trilogy of books.

• Mind the Gap and The Next Station Is are available on Amazon

• Mind the Gap is also on Audible

• Between the Lines arrives this December

If the podcast resonates with you, follow the series and share it with someone who might enjoy the reflection.

Mind yourself, mind each other, and mind the gap.

We’ve all done it — assumed the worst about someone else’s actions.

The colleague who doesn’t reply, the driver who cuts across, the friend who forgets. It’s easy to think they meant to hurt or ignore us. But what if most of it isn’t personal at all?

This week, Michael Comyn explores Hanlon’s Razor, the simple rule that reminds us not to attribute to malice what can be explained by misunderstanding, distraction, or human error. Drawing on Stoic wisdom, emotional intelligence, and his own experience in live broadcasting, Michael reflects on how quickly we fill in the blanks with blame, and how we can learn to pause instead.

Discover how applying this principle can reduce conflict, strengthen relationships, and even soften the way you treat yourself.

Most of the time, it’s not about bad intent, but rather imperfect communication.