Episode 22

full
Published on:

11th May 2026

Quick Spoon: Pain is part of being human

What if the goal was never to become stress-free?

Or anxiety-free.

Or grief-free.

In this Quick Spoon from my conversation with Dr Eric Goodman, we challenge a myth that many of us still buy into:

That difficult emotions are somehow a sign that something’s gone wrong.

Eric offers a different perspective:

Painful emotions aren’t a design flaw.

They’re part of being human.

And the real skill may not be fighting what we feel…but learning how to notice it with a little more awareness—and a little more compassion.

People Soup: Real conversations about work, leadership, and being human — grounded in behavioural science, with practical ideas you can actually use.

If you’re enjoying People Soup, hit follow so you don’t miss future episodes.

Visit Ross' Website.

Connect with Ross on LinkedIn

People Soup on Instagram which also features plenty of Ross' photos of the Andalusian life

He's now also on Bluesky

The People Soup Website on CAPTIVATE

Transcript

QS5 Pain Is Part of Being Human

[:

[00:00:00] time you've ever heard things about becoming anxiety free or anger free or, or, you know, free from, from grief or

[:

[00:00:14] never

[:

[00:00:14] an option. Humans

[:

[00:00:19] of [00:00:20] our thing.

[:

[00:00:24] be

[:

[00:00:27] experience

[:

[00:00:30] is a

[:

[00:00:32] go to

[:

[00:00:34] of

[:

[00:00:37] and you're going to feel worse. Or you

[:

[00:00:43] to engage that, that compassion system,

[:

[00:01:04] Speaker 2: This one's about a myth that many of us still buy into. That somehow [00:01:10] we're supposed to become stress-free, anxiety-free, or discomfort-free. Eric reminds us painful emotions aren't a design flaw. They're [00:01:20] part of being human. So maybe just notice this week. happens if you stop fighting what you're feeling and simply notice [00:01:30] it?

[:

Show artwork for People Soup

About the Podcast

People Soup
Real conversations about work, leadership and being human
A podcast exploring work, leadership, and being human through real conversations — grounded in behavioural science and full of practical ideas you can apply straight away.

About your host

Profile picture for Ross McIntosh

Ross McIntosh

I'm a work psychologist. I want to help you navigate the daily challenges of work by sharing behavioural science in a way that's accessible, useful and fun.
I'm originally from Northumberland in the UK and I now live near Seville in Spain with my husband.