Podcast
Mind the Gap
Hosted by Michael Comyn · EN
You already know my voice.
For twenty-five years, I've been telling you to mind the gap on trains across Ireland. This is the same instruction. The gap is just different now.
Mind the Gap is a podcast about the space between what we think we're doing and what we're actually doing. Between intention and impact. Between the behaviour we display and the one we'd choose if we were paying attention.
Each episode is a short reflection — drawn from psychology, philosophy, and the texture of everyday life — on one of those gaps. Why do we give advice nobody asked for? Why do we lie more after the mistake than during it? Why do we perform contentment, perform listening, perform strength? And what it costs us when we do.
I'm Michael Comyn — coach, broadcaster, and the voice on the platform. New episodes weekly.
15episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Contentment in a Burning World
Mar 700:17:32Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael Comyn explores a quiet but uncomfortable question. Is it acceptable to feel content while the world around us seems unsettled? With images of war, political unrest, and global tension constantly appearing in our news feeds, many people feel a subtle sense of guilt when moments of calm arise in their own lives. Does feeling steady mean we are disengaged? Or is contentment something else entirely? Drawing on the research of positive psychology pioneer Barbara Fredrickson and insights from Stoic philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Cleanthes, Michael reflects on how the human nervous system responds to uncertainty and why chronic agitation rarely produces wisdom or compassion. The episode also introduces a practical idea drawn from resilience research: creating moments of certainty when life feels unstable. Small routines, rituals, and predictable anchors can help restore psychological balance and allow clearer thinking when resilience is low. Along the way, Michael reflects on his own experience in broadcasting, where the simple certainty of announcing the time once helped bring order and structure to the rhythm of the day. This is not an episode about ignoring the world’s suffering. It is about understanding the difference between indifference and steadiness, and recognising that emotional regulation may be one of the most responsible ways we can show up for the people around us. In this episode: • Why contentment is often misunderstood • The Broaden and Build Theory of positive emotions • Stoic insights into control, acceptance, and emotional steadiness • Viktor Frankl on the space between stimulus and response • How creating small “moments of certainty” can restore resilience • The ripple effect of emotional tone in leadership and daily life Michael Comyn is an executive coach, broadcaster, and host of the Mind the Gap podcast, where philosophy, psychology, and emotional intelligence meet everyday experience. If you enjoy the podcast, you can also explore Michael’s books available on Amazon, where many of these ideas are developed further.
Transcribe →The Smile That Isn’t Yours
Feb 2800:14:50Tap to summarizeIn 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. 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. But what does that really mean in professional life? 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 unpacks the difference between shallow acting, where we fake the emotion, and deep acting, where we attempt to align our internal state with what the moment requires. This conversation includes: • A personal reflection on delivering a training programme during a week of grief • The emotional demands placed on nurses, doctors and leaders who must hold steady for others • Why acting is not necessarily dishonesty • The hidden cost of always being composed • How emotional intelligence helps us protect ourselves while still serving others Acting, Michael suggests, is not automatically false. Sometimes it is disciplined self-care. Sometimes it is leadership. The real question is whether we know the difference and how to recover afterwards. If you would like to explore these themes further, Michael’s books Mind the Gap and The Next Station Is… are available on Amazon. Thank you for listening.
Transcribe →When the System Decides You’re Old
Feb 2100:10:14Tap to summarizeMind the Age Gap | Retirement Age, Identity and the Psychology of Ageing What does retirement age really mean in modern life? 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. 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. Retirement age began as a 19th-century pension policy in Germany. Over time, it evolved into a powerful cultural label. Today, that label influences marketing, workplace perceptions, digital design, and even the tone of television advertising. In this episode, Michael explores: • The history of retirement age and its origins in public policy • The psychology of subjective age and why most adults over 60 feel younger than their years • The impact of marketing stereotypes, including the Werther’s Original “grandfather” campaign • Why certain UK television channels seem dominated by funeral and cremation advertising • The cultural reality that people now in their seventies once danced to The Rolling Stones • Why ageing is not the issue, dismissal is This episode blends psychology, leadership insight, cultural observation, and personal reflection to ask a simple question: Is the real gap between 50 and 65 — or between vitality and resignation? If you’ve ever felt younger than your demographic category, or sensed the system quietly repositioning you, this conversation will resonate. https://amzn.eu/d/irNfaHO
Transcribe →Whatever the Mistake, It’s the Lie Afterwards That Hurts More
Feb 1400:12:08Tap to summarizeThis week, during a leadership course, a participant shared a line from her father that stopped the room: “Whatever the mistake, it’s the lie afterwards that hurts more.” In this episode of Mind the Gap, Michael explores why that simple sentence holds up across high-trust professions and high-pressure environments. 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. This episode examines: • The difference between human error and reckless behaviour • What Just Culture really means in healthcare and aviation • Why psychological safety determines whether truth surfaces early • How fear of punishment drives cover-ups • Why timely honesty strengthens trust rather than weakens it Drawing on insights from leadership coaching, aviation training and emotional intelligence, Michael reflects on why cultures collapse not because people are imperfect, but because people feel unsafe admitting imperfection. If you lead a team, work in a regulated profession, or simply care about integrity in relationships, this episode asks a direct question: Do people around you believe they can survive being wrong? About Mind the Gap Mind the Gap is a leadership and emotional intelligence podcast hosted by Michael Comyn, broadcaster, author and executive coach. Each episode explores the space between intention and impact, and the small decisions that shape trust, culture and character. Michael’s books Mind the Gap, The Next Station Is… and Between the Lines are available on Amazon. Follow the podcast for weekly reflections on leadership, communication and the psychology behind how we show up.
Transcribe →Living with Fewer Filters
Feb 700:09:16Tap to summarizeHere’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. And then, occasionally, we meet someone who doesn’t do that. This episode was sparked by conversations with people on the autism spectrum, and by watching The Assembly. 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. So this isn’t an argument for saying everything that pops into your head. That’s not wisdom, that’s impulse. What this really explores is something subtler. Which filters serve kindness? Which filters serve fear? Which filters are about protecting a persona? And which filters help us stay aligned with who we actually are? We talk about non-standard communication, what it teaches us about clarity and presence, and why “social polish” can sometimes drift into quiet self-betrayal. We also look at the cost of constant self-monitoring, the exhaustion of performing, and the freedom that comes from choosing fewer, better filters rather than none at all. This is a reflective episode. No Stoic lectures. No tidy conclusions. Just an invitation to notice where you’re editing yourself unnecessarily, and what might happen if you eased off, just a little.
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