Episode 44

full
Published on:

3rd Jul 2026

Quick Spoon: What resilience really means

What does resilience really mean?

For many of us, the word has become associated with pushing through, staying strong and simply carrying on, whatever life throws at us.

In this Quick Spoon, chartered coaching psychologist Dr Rose Aghdami offers a different perspective.

Rather than seeing resilience as suppressing difficult emotions, Rose suggests that resilience starts with acknowledging them. Feeling worried, overwhelmed or vulnerable doesn't mean you've failed—it means you're human.

This Quick Spoon is taken from my full conversation with Dr Rose Aghdami, author of How to FUEL Your Resilience.

If you'd like to hear the complete conversation, you'll find it wherever you listen to People Soup.

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

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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

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Transcript
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[00:00:18] Ross: I'm Ross McIntosh, and here's [00:00:20] your Quick Spoon in this clip, Dr. Rose Agdami challenges one of the biggest misunderstandings about resilience When we hear the word resilience, [00:00:30] many of us picture someone who never struggles, someone who keeps going, never complains, and always copes But that's not the version of resilience Rose is talking [00:00:40] about.

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[00:01:04] So here's something to try this week Notice one difficult moment, and [00:01:10] instead of asking yourself, "How do I stop feeling like this?" Try asking, " How can I acknowledge how I'm feeling whilst also taking one small [00:01:20] step forward?"

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[00:01:30]

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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.