the Henny Flynn podcast

Henny Flynn
  • 4.8 (6)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

A space to settle in and listen, and see where the episode takes you. This inspiring, reflective podcast is an invitation to travel deeper, with compassionate self-enquiry. Henny shares insights from her own life, alongside practices that help us connect with our inner wisdom, explore our relationship with change and find a greater sense of flow. Henny believes we all hold our own answers, so there are no one-size-fits-all solutions here. This is a space to be with what’s true for you, and to grow from there. If you’re drawn to slowing down, listening in, and exploring what it means to live with greater authenticity, this podcast is for you. Guided by psychology, mindfulness, therapeutic coaching, flow journaling, and everyday compassion, we explore ideas that help us step further into our inner worlds, in order to shape the changes we seek in our outer worlds.

  1. Jul 4 ·  Bonus

    What Inspires You? (Bonus)

    A bonus episode inspired by a voice note from a friend, all about... Inspiration This is a stepping stone into a topic I find fascinating: where does inspiration come from?  I talk about... Inspiration as external flow, not internal genius - Touching on our potential to shift from Renaissance thinking (genius lives in the person) back to classical understanding (the muse is 'something other') Flow states as the channel - Writing, creating, journaling, problem-solving... how when we drop out of cognitive thinking, ideas emerge that we couldn't have accessed through effort alone.Inspiration as an embodied experience - Noticing how it can arrive mid-drive, drop from the sky, rise from the belly. And how it can have a physical presence that might feel like it demands action - you have to capture it, write it down... or it passes through.Universal love is easy (but human love can feel so complex) - The essence beneath the messages in everyday compassion. And the story of how they arrived.And invitation to share your inspiration - I'm inviting you to send me your questions, your challenges, your curiosities. What would you love to explore here on the podcast? I'll take the list and choose at random, live on air... and see where that takes us.With love (and gratitude for the inspiration!) FLOW JOURNALING PROMPTS When I feel the hand of inspiration...When I hear the voice of inspiration...PRE-ORDER everyday compassion - published September 2026 https://www.hennyflynn.co.uk/everyday-compassionREFERENCES Elizabeth Gilbert TED Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_your_elusive_creative_genius ★ Support this podcast ★

  2. Jun 27

    Resilience Begins With Compassion: Understanding the Inner Critic (S20E10)

    Today we're looking at the third and final aspect of resilience that's been running through the last few episodes of this season: the inner critic. That voice inside us that can feel like our worst enemy - and yet, like all our parts, is just trying to do the important job it believes it's here to do. In this reflective episode, you'll hear: How the inner critic forms - often from experiences when we were very young - and it's role in our beliefs about how resilient we areWhy turning toward these voices with compassion can lead to deeper resilience than trying to close them downThe practice of "dispassionate compassion" - observing what's hard without either collapsing into it or dismissing itHow parenting ourselves (by modelling love) teaches our Parts that there can be a different wayWhen we stand rooted in the ground rather than placing ourselves on some impossible pedestal, we can see what true self-compassion  looks likeThis is the final episode of this season, before the summer break. I also announce the publication of a beautiful new book... everyday compassion - available for pre-order now everyday compassion  (365 days of ordinary kindness) Pre-order to receive your copy September 2026 Settle in and see where the episode takes you. ★ Support this podcast ★

  3. Jun 20

    Balancing Authenticity with Resilience - In Conversation with Adam Lind (S20E9)

    A note before you listen: Adam shares a personal experience involving grief and suicide that emerged naturally during our conversation. This episode isn't focused on those themes - we're exploring resilience, authenticity, masking, and boundaries - and I'm flagging this so you can choose whether this feels ok for you. Ultimately, this is a wide-ranging conversation between two friends; an episode of tenderness, hope and connection. Balancing Authenticity with Self-Protection and Resilience - In Conversation with Adam Lind Today I'm joined by Adam Lind, author of Floating Home, for the second of our three-part deep dive on resilience. We explore what happens when we feel we need to mask our true selves - and the difference between masking (an unconscious survival strategy) and performative behaviour (a more conscious choice about how we show up). We also discuss compartmentalisation: how we can temporarily set things aside to function, and when that strategy risks becoming unhealthy. The most important aspect of this whole conversation is that there is no 'one right response' to our experience of the world. All these strategies and behaviours are deeply, truly human. And we are all learning how to navigate what life reveals to us, in our own way, in our own time. You'll hear: How masking can show up in any environment where we don't feel safe - and why it can be exhaustingThe difference between masking, performative behaviour, and compartmentalisation - all strategies that can look like resilience from the outside (or feel like resilience from the inside)Why authenticity and unmasking can perhaps begin to feel more resilient than protecting ourselves has done in the pastBoundaries as the foundation of compassion - and how clear boundaries enable resilienceHow Adam refuses to mask, even when it's socially awkward - and what that costs and gains himThe paradox: we need both authenticity AND the ability to protect ourselvesWhy self-trust comes from honouring our own boundariesAdam and I are also co-creating a retreat in October. The Weekend of No Requirements, 16-19 October 2026 is a space where you can show up exactly as you are.Find out more here: https://www.hennyflynn.co.uk/the-weekend-of-no-requirements Settle in and see where this conversation takes you. ★ Support this podcast ★

  4. Jun 13

    The Self-Care Bank (S20E8)

    This is the first of three episodes diving deeper into resilience. Last week I explored how resilience can look like different things - this week, I'm focusing on one of the three key areas: the Self-Care Bank. It's a metaphor that's generated so much interest, and today I'm unpacking what it really means - and why what gets labelled as 'lack of resilience' is often actually lack of resources. You'll hear: Why depletion isn't a sign of weak resilience - it's a sign of low reservesHow self-awareness with self-compassion helps us notice when our bank is running low (before crisis hits)The difference between firm boundaries (that we sometimes need) and the reality of the soft, malleable boundaries we often actually live withWhy rest and pausing are themselves forms of boundary-settingHow 'staying authentic' is part of keeping your reserves topped upThe corporate culture that values decisiveness over reflection - and what it costsWhy borrowing from your future self in crisis is human and necessary (and why we need time to rebuild after)I also talk about Compassionate Resilience - from my book The Heart of Change - and why that reframe matters. Next week: a special guest episode with Adam Lind - author of Floating Home - exploring masking as a form of resilience. Settle in and see where the episode takes you. ★ Support this podcast ★

  5. Jun 6

    Resilience Can Look Like Many Things (S20E7)

    I've noticed my own emotional and psychological resilience has increased as I've aged. Things that once affected me deeply seem to affect me less. But what I'm really curious about is something different. I'm no longer willing to mask the truth of how I'm feeling. Research shows emotional resilience improves as we mature - even after significant life changes like bereavement, retirement, loss. But the way that resilience shows up might not look like we expect. It might not look like "brushing it off and getting on." You'll hear: How a loved one's hospital crisis revealed something about my own reserves - the concept of "borrowing from my future self"The Self-Care Bank metaphor: how we can invest, withdraw, and sometimes dangerously empty our reservesA story about burnout: my mother's death, a new job, nearly dying - and what I take responsibility forThe moment I felt myself return: a part of me called Joy, and why she still needs protectingWhat a mother's poem written twelve years ago reveals about resilience, courage, and dealing with difficultyThree different entry points for three different people - on masking, depletion, and the pressure to be resilientI also share why I'm no longer willing to perform, and what that means for how I move through the world. This episode is also  a Field Note on the blog - link below if you'd like to read as well as listen. Settle in and see where the episode takes you. LINKSField Note: www.hennyflynn.co.uk/field-notes/what-real-resilience-looks-like Sign up for tiny notes, filled with love: everyday compassion weekly emails Contact: henny@hennyflynn.co.uk or visit hennyflynn.co.uk RESOURCESThat longitudinal research on resilience as we age: https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/post/resilience-in-later-life-elsa-study-finds-older-adults-often-maintain-good-mental-health-after-majo ★ Support this podcast ★

  6. May 30

    You Can Always Begin Again (S20E6)

    I recorded an episode today that didn't feel quite right. Some of my thoughts felt a little confused, possibly difficult to follow. So I started over. And that became the theme of the episode... There's a Sharon Salzberg quote I love: 'We can always begin again, no matter what happens, no matter how long it's been, no matter how far from our aspirations we may have strayed.' It is so filled with hope that, for me, speaks to a deep resilience that we may find is within us all. You'll hear: Why I chose to restart the episode - and when "keeping going" might not be the wisest choiceA recognition of my own past resistance to asking for help... and how that has shiftedHow our willingness to begin again could inform conversations, relationships, work, and how we care for ourself The micro-moments of beginning again that we may notice in our livesWhy knowing we can always begin again might be the most hopeful thing we can teach young people and ourselves in times of grief, loss, or when life feels impossibly hardI also share how wonderful it's been to hear your reflections on standing on the rope bridge in New Zealand - and the ordinary, extraordinary connections people find when they're in connection with water, mountains, and trees. Settle in and see where the episode takes you. ★ Support this podcast ★

  7. May 24

    The Show Doesn't Always Have to Go On (S20E5)

    I'm sitting in our retreat house this long weekend. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the birds are singing. And I realised yesterday that I'd completely forgotten to do this week's episode...  I think this is the only time this has ever happened and I'm so sorry if you look forward to listening at a particular time. I chose to let it go rather than squeeze it in whilst rushed and anxious. And that feels interesting to explore. You'll hear: Why 'the show must go on' is one of my formative stories - and what it means to gently question itThe nuance between keeping commitments that matter and following rigid rules we've internalised about our identityHow I would have spiralled in the past vs how I'm holding this nowThe art of discernment: being in the world with profound compassion whilst holding compassion for ourselves tooAn invitation to ask: what's the worst that could happen if I don't step forward?Also: my loved one is now home from hospital. An enormous relief. Thank you for all your kindness and compassion. If there's a commitment in your life that's asking too much of you right now, maybe there's a space between this and that. Maybe there are other options available. Settle in and see where the episode takes you. ★ Support this podcast ★

  8. May 16

    The Most Ordinary Truths (S20E4)

    I'm recording this from another hospital corner; hopefully, hopefully the last time I need to record from here. But this episode is not about that... It's the story of what happened in New Zealand at the end of last year, standing on a swing bridge, about to begin a short stretch of the Kepler Trail. You'll hear: The moment I turned from looking upstream to looking downstream and felt a rush of energy so intense I felt I couldn't live big enough to hold itWalking through ancient forest and laying my hands on trees, finding the same thrumming energyThe realisation that this was the most ordinary truth, and it's what makes everything in life so specialHow we are all part of the universal hum - and what we risk when we deny that connectionThe answer to 'what makes you think you're so special?' Spoiler alert: Everything.As you listen, I wonder does any of this resonate with you? The universal hum, our shared need for connection, the places you find it? I'd love to hear your thoughts and reflections - just email me if you'd love to share, or message me through the website hennyflynn.co.uk/contact.  Settle in and see where the episode takes you. ★ Support this podcast ★

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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

A space to settle in and listen, and see where the episode takes you. This inspiring, reflective podcast is an invitation to travel deeper, with compassionate self-enquiry. Henny shares insights from her own life, alongside practices that help us connect with our inner wisdom, explore our relationship with change and find a greater sense of flow. Henny believes we all hold our own answers, so there are no one-size-fits-all solutions here. This is a space to be with what’s true for you, and to grow from there. If you’re drawn to slowing down, listening in, and exploring what it means to live with greater authenticity, this podcast is for you. Guided by psychology, mindfulness, therapeutic coaching, flow journaling, and everyday compassion, we explore ideas that help us step further into our inner worlds, in order to shape the changes we seek in our outer worlds.

Information

  • Creator
    Henny Flynn
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    224
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Henny Flynn
  • Show Website
    the Henny Flynn podcast

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