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Mind the Gap

Michael Comyn

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.

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  • 24 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 9 min
  • English

Episodes 24

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  • S4 · E1
    January 10 · 9 min

    Living in Permanent Alert Mode

    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.

  • S3 · E8
    Dec 6, 2025 · 8 min

    The Pause Between Years

    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

  • S3 · E7
    Nov 29, 2025 · 9 min

    The Emotional Recession

    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

  • S3 · E6
    Nov 22, 2025 · 9 min

    The Stories Others Tell About Us

    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.

Showing 21–24 of 24 episodes