agency

Flipping the Script and Messing with Expectations – Episode 230

In this episode, Dara considers the power of defying expectations. Partly prompted by a conversation with his dementia-affected father, his thoughts are also informed by a New York psychologist who worked with first responders to World Trade Center attacks. Role-reversal can be both destabilising and disarming, but it rarely goes unnoticed, and it often provokes both consternation and resentment.

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I Am Not my Thoughts and Emotions! Or Maybe That’s All I Am? – Episode 211

In this episode, Dara picks up a point from last week and wonders if we can simultaneously be and not be our thoughts and emotions. He asks of what use our emotions are to others. Are we just being self-indulgent when we unload on others or is there room for more self-regulation? He also offers a way into better understanding relational estrangements and resentments.

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The Comfort of the Familiar, or Your Brain Would Like a New Pathway, Please! – Episode 210

In this episode Dara is trying to disembed some of his thinking in an attempt to do better. The well-worn pathways in his brain contribute to narratives that he can’t stop regurgitating and which are no longer serving him. Time for change – but that’s easier said than done.

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Curiosity, Aesthetic Engagement, and the Expression of Self as Anti-Fascist Statement – Episode 97

In this episode Dara wrangles with the purpose and direction of the podcast. He wonders if he’s doing the pod all right or all wrong. Before he makes any radical changes though, he remains clear that he doesn’t want it to be perfectly curated content that becomes bland and generic. He tries to work out who the podcast is for so he can better understand his target audience.

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Defiance and the Autonomous Self – Episode 38

In this episode, Dara looks at defiance as a central attitude and strategy of wellness. Understanding defiance as an expression of personal conviction allows it to be utilised in the service of personal autonomy. It can inform and be informed by one’s certitude, but that certitude is best deployed with an understanding of imperfection and flexibility.

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