Grow the Good

In this solo episode, I’m talking about patience, and really, about rushing. Rather than focus on time management conversation, I'm taking a look at what happens in our bodies and nervous systems when we move through life with constant urgency, and how impatience can show us where we feel out of control, overstimulated, or overly attached to productivity. I share what I’ve been noticing in my...

In this episode, I sit down with workplace well-being expert and author Jen Fisher to talk about her book, Hope Is the Strategy , and why hope matters so much in a world where so many people are burned out, languishing, and struggling to feel like they matter. Jen shares her own story of severe burnout and how achievement-based identity, constant performance pressure, and external definitions of s...

In this Mindfulness in Action episode, I’m exploring what it means to not only add value, but to let ourselves feel valued. So many of us are working hard to matter. We’re trying to contribute, perform, improve, achieve, help, and show up for other people. But even when we are adding value, we may not actually let the feeling of mattering land. We move so quickly that we miss the evidence that we...

What does it actually mean to matter? In this solo episode, I’m diving into a topic that has been occupying my mind for years and has become a central part of my research, workshops, and the book I’m writing: mattering. Mattering is more than belonging. It’s more than self-esteem. It’s the lived experience of both adding value and feeling valued — to yourself, in your relationships, at work, and i...

What if the real value of achievement isn’t what it proves about us, but how it contributes to others? In this episode, I sit down with bestselling author, researcher, and publisher Tom Rath. Tom is known for books like How Full Is Your Bucket? , StrengthsFinder 2.0 , Strengths-Based Leadership , and Eat, Move, Sleep . His work has shaped how millions of people think about strengths, well-being, p...

This Mindfulness in Action episode is a real-time practice in mental agility: the ability to notice what’s happening in your thoughts, emotions, and body, and make small adjustments that help you stay aligned with what matters. In the previous solo episode, I talked about mental agility from a more practical and educational lens: emotional agility, attentional agility, mindfulness, and the interna...

What does it really mean to be mentally agile? In this solo episode, I’m talking about the emotional and attentional skills that help us notice what’s happening inside of us, create space, and choose our next move with more intention. Mental agility is the ability to shift, adapt, and stay connected to what matters, especially when things don’t go the way we planned. Today, I’lm talking about emot...

What if so much of our suffering comes from trying to become who we think we’re supposed to be? In this episode, I sit down with meditation teachers Jeff Warren and Tasha Schumann for a wide-ranging, deeply practical conversation about mindfulness, creativity, neurodiversity, and how to let go of the societal “shoulds” that keep us disconnected from ourselves. This conversation felt especially per...

In this Mindfulness in Action episode, I’m talking about one of the sneakiest forms of distorted thinking: shoulds. You know the ones: I should be doing more. I should have this figured out by now. I should be more disciplined, more patient, more productive. These thoughts can sound helpful on the surface, but often they leave us feeling ashamed, guilty, disconnected, and never quite enough. In th...

Ever catch yourself thinking, “I should be better than this. I should be doing more. I should have started earlier” and then spiraling? In this solo episode, I’m diving into the world of "should" and how it quietly drives guilt, shame, and burnout, especially for high performers and ambitious, growth-oriented people. Recently, I injured my rib at my son’s ninja gym birthday party and bei...

Flow is one of those words that gets used all the time, but what does it actually mean? And more importantly, how do we create more of it in real life, not just in elite sport or peak performance moments? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Sue Jackson, one of the world’s leading experts on flow, to talk about what flow really is, how challenge-skill balance works, and why mindfulness, self-effic...

In this Mindfulness in Action episode, I’m recording on a trail run and thinking out loud about something I’ve been re-examining in my own life: the pressure to constantly optimize and get better. We hear it everywhere: be more productive, improve every day, maximize your time. And while growth and striving for excellence matter, I’ve been noticing how easily that mindset turns into pressure, guil...

Sometimes it's hard to say what you mean. Oren Jay Sofer says, "Communication is a learnable skill and it’s one of the most powerful levers for making change in your life and the world." Non-violent communication is about taking responsibility for what we are experiencing using empathy, deep listening, know how to make requests. // This episode is a replay from the Sonya Looney Show...

What if the version of “success” you’ve been chasing is actually keeping you stuck in survival mode? In this episode, I sit down with author and coach Jon Rosemberg to talk about what it really means to move from high-functioning survival into genuine thriving. Jon shares his deeply personal story of growing up in Caracas, Venezuela, living in chronic vigilance, and eventually discovering that ach...

I’ve known Jenny Smith since the early 2000s, back when I was a brand-new pro mountain biker watching her absolutely dominate at Nationals. She’s been a mentor, a competitor, a mom who kept racing when that wasn’t common, and someone I’ve always admired for her longevity in sport. In this episode, Jenny and I talk honestly about aging as female endurance athletes, especially navigating perimenopau...

The most valuable skill I’ve ever learned isn’t about performance, mindset, or even resilience. It’s communication. In this solo episode, I’m teaching you one of the most powerful tools I use as a coach, mentor, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, keynote speaker, parent, and partner. It comes from motivational interviewing and it’s called OARS: Open-ended questions, Affirmations, Reflect...

Many of us know what burnout looks like: exhaustion, cynicism, and the feeling that we simply can’t keep going. But there’s another state that shows up far more often and it’s easier to miss. It’s called brownout. In this episode, I sit down with Jessie Reese, leadership and executive development specialist and positive psychology practitioner, to unpack the critical difference between brownout an...

In this Mindfulness in Action episode, I’m sharing a spontaneous trail-side reflection on something that’s been very present for me lately: how we manage drive without burning out and how we stay truly connected in a world that keeps telling us to “go bigger.” I talk about rethinking social media impact, why I’m increasingly prioritizing local and real-time connection, and how and asking better qu...

One of the things I love most about podcasting is getting to have the conversations I wish more people could hear, especially the ones that normalize what so many of us quietly struggle with. I sit down with my friend and fellow MAPP grad Corinne Kneis, a psychotherapist and wellness educator whose work beautifully bridges empathy, mindfulness, ADHD, and anxiety. Corinne and I first met during the...

Gratitude is one of the most researched, and misunderstood, topics in psychology. In this episode of Grow the Good , I sit down with Dr. Bob Emmons, one of the world’s leading gratitude researchers, for a candid, nuanced conversation about what gratitude really is, where it comes from, and how it shapes our striving, relationships, and sense of meaning. What makes this conversation especially rich...

In this special Mindfulness in Action episode, I’m sharing a very personal reflection from the trails of Squamish, BC where muddy puddles, forest quiet, and time on the bike create space for clarity. For the first time in over 22 years, I’ve made the decision to step away from competitive bike racing. Not because I can’t race, but because my life, priorities, and sense of fulfillment have shifted....

What if improving your well-being didn’t require more time, effort, or productivity, but simply a deeper relationship with the world around you? I’m your host Sonya Looney, and in this episode of Grow the Good , I’m joined by nature connectedness researcher Dr. Holli-Anne Passmore and well-being practitioner Molly Peterson for a rich, science-backed, and deeply human conversation about how our rel...

Why do we sometimes feel mentally exhausted even when our bodies are rested? I’m your host Sonya Looney, and in this episode of Grow the Good , I’m joined by neuroscientist Dr. Scott Frey and former professional cyclist Brent Bookwalter to dig into the science of central (brain) fatigue, life transitions, and how to balance performance with well-being. Through stories from elite sport, neuroscienc...

What makes relationships truly thrive, not just survive? In this episode of Grow the Good , I sit down with Suzie Pileggi Pawelski, positive psychology expert and co-author of Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts , to explore how strengths, gratitude, and intentional effort create lasting connection. Suzie shares her evidence-based framework for buildin...

Today I’m sitting down for an honest reflection about something I’ve been moving through lately: change, identity, and social connection. As I’ve transitioned away from professional mountain biking being the center of my identity, I’ve been exploring how to define value beyond performance, productivity, or outside validation. It’s been a humbling and deeply human process, one that I know so many o...