Learn To Trust Yourself When Challenged
Making Positive Psychology Work
Understand what makes it safe enough to admit mistakes, ask for help, and learn alongside each other — even when you're struggling. In this final episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright share the powerful mantra "stay with me" — the opposite of abandoning ourselves when things get hard. With insights from self-compassion researcher Dr Kristin Neff and Internal Family Systems psychologist Dr Tori Olds, discover why your inner critic thinks it's helping (even when it's not), and learn to meet your protective parts with curiosity instead of shame....
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BONUS SEASON: Build Your Take-Anywhere Somatic Toolkit
Making Positive Psychology Work
Our bodies have to calm down before our thoughts can follow — and this is the step most of us skip. In this second episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright share practical body-based tools you can use anywhere, anytime: in meetings, during difficult conversations, or mid-presentation (without anyone noticing). With guest insights from somatic expert Nahid de Belgeonne, author of Soothed, learn how to think of your nervous system as an inner toddler that needs our compassion and care — not criticism. 00:03 Michelle and Evie welcome...
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BONUS SEASON: Decode Your Nervous System Signals
Making Positive Psychology Work
Discover why the pace of change has left so many of us quietly cracking — and why this isn't a personal energy or resilience failing. In this first episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright explore how to decode the signals your nervous system sends: why you say "I'm fine" when you're anything but, or "I'll take care of it" when you're already exhausted. With guest insights from therapist and author Sue Marriott, learn about the connection and protection circuits that shape your responses to stress, and discover why understanding your green, blue, and...
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BONUS SEASON: Leading Human-Centered Change - Your HEART Check
Making Positive Psychology Work
While new data suggests 58% of changes fail, organizations using human-centered methods achieve 93% success rates. What's the difference? This final episode reveals how the HEART framework helps teams thrive through today's supercycle of change by helping people feel 'safe enough' to embrace not having all the answers, self-organize around actions they care enough to own, and measure success by growing their capabilities to navigate uncertainty together. We bring together all five HEART factors into one simple practice you can do anywhere, anytime. 02:00 Michelle shares how she talks...
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BONUS SEASON: Take Tiny Steps – Sustaining Momentum
Making Positive Psychology Work
Change initiatives often start with such confidence - neat timelines, clear milestones, everyone aligned - yet within weeks things feel messy and unpredictable. What makes the reality so different from the plan? This episode explores why "tiny is mighty" when it comes to navigating complex change. We share the T in our HEART framework with practical tools for embracing polarities rather than false choices, starting where you are, sensing when to adapt, and celebrating small wins that build the resilience needed to thrive in ongoing uncertainty. 01:04 Chelle explains the benefits of Taking Tiny...
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BONUS SEASON: Reach Out – Connecting Ideas & Resources
Making Positive Psychology Work
Why do some teams emerge from uncertainty stronger and more connected, while others splinter into silos where everyone's fending for themselves? The difference lies in whether people feel safe enough to admit they're struggling and ask for help. This episode reveals why reaching out is often the one simple act standing between you and success during change. We share the R in our HEART framework with practical tools for normalizing struggle, making it easier to ask for and offer help, and ensuring no one burns out from caring. 01:12 Chelle explains why Reaching Out helps us to navigate the...
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BONUS SEASON: Appreciate Strengths – Fuelling Confidence & Capability
Making Positive Psychology Work
Ever notice how some changes leave people feeling energized and capable while others leave them exhausted and overwhelmed? What creates this difference? Why do some uncertainties feel like exciting challenges while others trigger that familiar "Oh FUD!" spiral of fear, uncertainty and doubt? This episode explores how to fuel people’s confidence, make the most of their capabilities, and help them stay curious about how they can navigate change more effectively together. We share the A in our HEART framework with evidence-based approaches to help you build on people’s strengths while also...
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BONUS SEASON: Engage Purposefully – Winning People’s Commitment
Making Positive Psychology Work
Have you ever been in a meeting where someone shares a "big announcement" and you can practically hear everyone's minds turning off? Compare that to times when you're figuring out a problem together with people you trust - same amount of work, totally different feeling. What makes some complex changes feel safe enough to lean into while others feel dead on arrival? This episode explores how to turn grudging compliance into willing commitment during change. We share the E in our HEART framework with practical tools for meaningful conversations that support self-organization. 01.09 Michelle...
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BONUS SEASON: Honor Feelings - Your Nervous System’s Navigation System
Making Positive Psychology Work
Why do some people thrive during change while others get completely overwhelmed? It comes down to whether their nervous system feels "safe enough" to stay curious and collaborative. This episode explores how your emotions impact your brain's internal navigation system and energy for change. We share the H in our HEART framework with concrete tools for reading these signals at individual, team, and organizational levels, transforming emotional chaos into psychological safety. 3:00 Chelle explains why Honoring Feelings is the best neurological place to start when navigating change. 8.13 Chelle...
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BONUS SEASON: Navigating The Human Side Of Change
Making Positive Psychology Work
Ever wonder why change feels so much harder than it did in the past? We're in an unprecedented supercycle where disruptions collide and create ongoing "Oh FUD!" responses - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt that are flooding our nervous systems. Based on our work with organizations around the world, we share why traditional approaches miss what matters most and introduce our HEART framework for supporting teams through the emotional reality of transformation, even when uncertainty is the only constant. 1:49 Michelle discusses the concept of a "poly crisis" and why we are in a supercycle of change...
info_outlineUnderstand what makes it safe enough to admit mistakes, ask for help, and learn alongside each other — even when you're struggling. In this final episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright share the powerful mantra "stay with me" — the opposite of abandoning ourselves when things get hard. With insights from self-compassion researcher Dr Kristin Neff and Internal Family Systems psychologist Dr Tori Olds, discover why your inner critic thinks it's helping (even when it's not), and learn to meet your protective parts with curiosity instead of shame. Explore how to navigate what's ahead without pretending you have all the answers — and help others do the same.
00:03 Michelle and Evie recap the first two episodes: learning to see which zone your nervous system is in, and how to soothe your body to get back on the wobble board.
05:57 Evie shares her "back and forth to the grass" email story — why soothing the body sometimes isn't enough when we keep re-triggering ourselves.
07:12 The safari guide insight: why "don't run" makes people panic, but "stay with me" helps the brain feel safe enough to figure things out.
11:16 Why we attack ourselves when threatened — Dr Kristin Neff explains how we turn our stress responses inward with self-criticism, shame, and rumination.
13:30 The three steps of self-compassion: acknowledging this is hard, remembering we're not alone, and asking what a wise and kind friend would say.
16:15 Does self-compassion make us soft? Kristin's research shows the opposite — warmth and support make us stronger and more able to take accountability.
18:17 Going deeper: Michelle introduces Internal Family Systems (IFS) and psychologist Dr Tori Olds, who explains that our capacity for self-compassion is what our brains are wired to do at their best.
20:02 The 8 C's of self energy: calm, clarity, curiosity, creativity, compassion, connectedness, confidence and courage — what's available when our connection circuit is on.
24:19 Why our protective parts aren't enemies — they're like exhausted toddlers doing the best they can with strategies they learned when we were young.
29:14 What happens when "an adult comes into the room" — how parts can finally relax when they trust that self energy is present and not trying to fix or get rid of them.
30:00 The "moving towards" tool: three steps to notice the part, get to know what it's protecting you from, and ask what it needs to trust you can handle things now.
36:44 When you still can't get back on the wobble board — a preview of the Drama Triangle tool available in the Nervous System Advantage mini-masterclass.
Want to go deeper? Grab your free tiny nudge tools to settle your brain at michellemcquaid.com and check out our Nervous System Advantage mini-masterclass at www.michellemcquaid.com.