It's said, pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. But, is that true? Many of us live our lives in pursuit of certainty, believing that if we could just get things more stable - emotionally, financially, relationally - then we’d finally feel at ease. We wouldn't struggle with anxiety, stress, and fear. we wouldn't suffer so much. Problem is, that approach often deepens our suffering, rather than relieves it. Maybe you've felt this very thing.

In this powerful episode on healing and resilience and how to relieve suffering, Jonathan sits down with Dr. Suzan Song, a Harvard- and Stanford-trained psychiatrist and humanitarian researcher. Dr. Song has spent decades working with individuals and communities living through profound instability, revealing a gentler, more honest reframe: healing, lessening suffering, doesn’t come from chasing certainty and stability, but from learning how to relate differently to the inevitability of pain, uncertainty, and change.

In this conversation, discover:

• Why pain is inevitable, but suffering often grows from the stories we tell.
• The hidden role of our nervous system and memory in shaping our experience of hardship.
• The power of ritual—not as performance, but as a path to emotional grounding and resilience.
• What purpose really is, and why it’s often already present, woven into our lives through mattering.
• How genuine healing happens in relationship, not in isolation, transforming our approach to mental health.

This is an invitation to stop blaming yourself for not feeling satisfied, let go of suffering, and remember that you don’t have to navigate life’s instabilities alone. Sometimes, relief comes not from doing more, but from allowing yourself to feel everything, then learn how to live with the truth of uncertainty in a world that will never stop changing.

You can find Suzan at: Website | Linkedin | Episode Transcript

If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversations we had with Adam Grant about rethinking beliefs and inner patterns.

Check out our offerings & partners:

• Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the Wheel
• Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most new habits fizzle quickly, what if they didn't have to? We blame a lack of willpower, but what if the way we approach habits that's the real problem? Why does true, lasting habit change feel so hard to sustain? And, how can we do it better?

In this episode, we explore a gentler and more honest reframe, drawing from the work of James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. We show that lasting change doesn't begin with force or fixing, but rather with identity. Discover how listening to who you already are, and letting small, faithful actions slowly reshape what you believe about yourself, is the most powerful, sustainable, and truly transformational path forward.

In this episode, discover:

• Why habits are less about discipline and more about identity
• How small, atomic actions quietly become evidence for who we’re becoming
• The difference between forcing change and aligning with who you are
• Why environment often matters more than motivation for long-term habit formation
• How belief and behavior shape each other over time

This is a conversation for anyone who is ready to build consistent habits that actually stick. There’s no rush, no prescription—just an invitation to soften, to notice, and to remember that true transformation begins the moment you stop trying so hard to become someone else.

You can find James at: Website | The 3-2-1 Newsletter | Episode Transcript

If you LOVED this episode, you'll also love the conversations we had with Seth Godin about identity, creativity, and choosing how you show up.

Check out our offerings & partners:

• Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the Wheel
• Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not you. Your goals weren’t built for real life.

You did what you were told would work. You set the goals. You made the plan, followed the formula. And yet, that big achievement, the life-changing goal, still eludes you. It’s probably not you, it’s the wildly unrealistic, impractical way you’ve been taught to pursue goals that doesn’t survive contact with the real world.

In this episode, Jonathan explores a radically different, practical approach to achieving big, meaningful goals that honors the life you’re actually living, and comes from a mindset of wholeness and abundance, rather than lack, shame, or pain.

This conversation offers a humane, sustainable reframe for ambition called Success Scaffolding that allows you to keep growing without tying your worth, happiness, or nervous system to the next win.

In this episode, discover:

• The Happiness Delay Trap: Why achievement so often fails to deliver lasting fulfillment, and how the “I’ll be happy when…” mindset keeps moving the finish line.

• Why Goals Collapse After Motivation Fades: How real life, not lack of discipline, is usually what derails even the most meaningful intentions.

• Success Scaffolding: A practical, science-informed framework for building goals that can actually survive a human life.

• The Seven Elements That Make Growth Sustainable: How to design goals with structure, support, flexibility, and compassion, without pressure or self-criticism.

• Enough as the Fuel for Growth: Why grounding your goals in worthiness, not scarcity, leads to more resilience, creativity, and follow-through.

• A Kinder Way Forward: Simple practices to help you stay in relationship with what matters, especially when you wobble.

This episode is an invitation to stop blaming yourself for not feeling satisfied by success, and to start building goals that support who you already are, rather than asking you to become someone else first.

You don’t need to earn your okay-ness.

You need a structure that can hold your life.

Episode Transcript

Follow us on Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode.

If you LOVED this episode:

• You can find the 1-page worksheet HERE.
• Find all of the New Year four-part mini-series episodes.

Check out our offerings & partners:

• Join My New Writing Project: Awake at the Wheel
• Visit Our Sponsor Page For Great Resources & Discount Codes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.